Festival – Articles about Manchester

On 25 and 26 October, giant monsters will rule the streets and rooftops of Manchester as part of the biggest city centre Halloween celebration in the UK. The free Halloween in the City festival features two days of frightful fun for the whole family, highlighted by giant inflatable monsters occupyin...

Manchester Pride has dropped its final headliner for 2025, and it's a biggun'. Pop queen and 2000s icon Nelly Furtado is officially joining the party, taking over the main stage across the August Bank Holiday weekend. She'll be serving nostalgia and bangers right in the heart of the Gay Village. She...

Japan Week 2025 is set to transform Manchester into a hub of Japanese culture from 4–9 September, with a six‑day free festival marking the annual event's 50th anniversary. Chosen by the International Friendship Foundation as this year's host city, Manchester joins a prestigious list of past location...

Chicken wing fans from across the North will converge at Victoria Baths in Manchester in September. Ten of the finest wing slingers from the UK will slinging wings in the hopes of ruling the roost at Manchester Wing Fest 2025. It's estimated around 100,000 chicken wings will be devoured by hungry pu...

Manchester Rum Week is launching for the first time ever, bringing a week-long celebration of rum and cocktails to bars across the city and beyond from 21–27 July 2025. Venues like The Alchemist, Cloud 23, Blinker, and many more will offer exclusive serves and limited-edition drinks.  Cosmic Co...

Festa Italiana, the UK's largest celebration of Italian culture, returns to Manchester's Cathedral Gardens from 22–24 August 2025, transforming the space into a lively Italian piazza. Now in its eighth year, the festival promises its biggest and boldest edition yet, featuring celebrity chefs, exclus...

One of the UK's pre-eminent metal festivals has put together a stunning line-up to commemorate 20 years of bringing filthily heavy music to the northern masses. Taking place on 8 and 9 November at Manchester's Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Damnation Festival 2025 will be headlined by English grindcore...

Nell's Pizza is bringing Glastonbury spirit to the heart of Manchester with a pair of free festivals at its Kampus and Altrincham branches. Running from 27–29 June, Kampus Fest features live streams of Glasto sets, an outdoor tequila bar, happy hours, and, of course, Nell's famous pizza. Pyramid Sta...

The North West's favourite food and drink festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a special appearance by Michelin-starred celebrity chef Marco Pierre White. Marco Pierre WhiteTaking place over the August Bank Holiday weekend, the Bolton Food and Drink Festival brings dozens of food trader...

Manchester's streets are set to bloom again as the Manchester Flower Festival returns over the late May Bank Holiday, but this time with a global spin. It takes place from 23–26 May with the theme 'Manchester and Other Great Cities Around the World'. They're turning the city centre into an internati...

Grub MCR is set to host its annual Taco Fest over the early May bank holiday, celebrating the beloved Mexican dish with a diverse line-up of street food vendors. The event will run from 12 noon to 8 pm on Sunday 4 May and from 12 noon to 6 pm on Monday 5 May. Attendees can look forward to unique tac...

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2025 (JFTFP25), the UK's largest festival dedicated to Japanese cinema, is set to return across multiple cities from 7 February to 31 March. This year's edition explores the theme of “Justice, Justification and Judgement in Japanese Cinema,” showcasing a d...

Following the previous announcement of Charli XCX as one of the headliners, the Manchester festival is fleshing out its line-up with both old and new favourites. Parklife 2025, one of the biggest events of the summer in Manchester, has revealed the full line-up for the 2025 edition, with previously...

Outbreak Festival is one of the buzziest festivals on the local hardcore and hip-hop scene, regularly knocking it out of the park with line-ups featuring some of the biggest names in alternative music, and it's no different this year. Taking place at the B.E.C Arena, Outbreak Manchester 2025 will fe...

Parklife, one of the highlights of Manchester's festival summer, has announced the first wave of acts for next year's edition, and it looks like we're in for another Brat summer. That's right – none other than pop royalty Charli XCX is coming to Heaton Park in Manchester next year, riding the massiv...

The folks over at Manchester's popular hangout Grub have announced the return of their much-loved Winter Beer Festival in January. This year's event promises a fantastic selection of winter brews, featuring brewery bars and over 30 guest taps. Attendees can look forward to a variety of street food,...

Wing Fest is landing in Manchester this month, celebrating its tenth anniversary. The festival, which honours all things chicken wings and is the largest of its kind in the world, will take place at the new Victoria Baths from Friday, September 20, to Sunday, September 22. The festival will celebrat...

On a September Saturday, the city will host the inaugural Copita Mezcal and Tequila Festival, with visitors able to sample more than 100 different Mexican spirits. Taking place on the grounds of the Manchester Cathedral, the Copita Mezcal and Tequila Festival offers Mancunians the chance to sample a...

The Manchester Literature Festival, established in 2006 from the legacy of the Manchester Poetry Festival, is a welcoming space where people gather to celebrate language, culture, and connections. Held every October across various iconic venues in the city, the two-week festival offers a blend of li...

Celebrating Greater Manchester's storied history of queer screen talent, Scene will highlight new and classic LGBTQ+ productions. Across seven days, the Scene festival will showcase new and classic LGBTQ+ films and TV series with a varied programme. Launching on 16 August with a screening of a class...

Taking place in the Greater Manchester town of Bolton, the Bolton Food & Drink Festival is a massive undertaking, attracting upwards of half a million hungry, thirsty punters across the weekend, as well as some of the biggest culinary names in the country. During this year's four-day event, Bolt...

Later this month, the Northern Quarter will host a major 10-day comedy festival organised by the Creatures Comedy Club. The Creatures Comedy Festival will feature 30 performances by both local and international comedians at The Corner Boy, near Stevenson Square. The lineup includes Raul Kohli, winne...

Over the August bank holiday, a varied line-up of DJs and producers will take over Whitebottom Farm in Etherow Country Park for three days of music, dancing, and fun. Moovin Festival is a 5,000-capacity festival taking place in the Stockport countryside. A three-day getaway for fans of Bass, House,...

Joining the incredible line up of summer events in the city, Manchester Rum Festival is bringing its special brand of celebration to New Century on World Rum Day, 13th July, with its biggest ever line up of rums. Around 50 incredible brands from every corner of the world will be showing off their be...

June sees the return of a special food festival to Manchester, which in previous years has had people queuing down the street. Modern Polish restaurant Platzki in Deansgate has announced that its pierogi festival will take place between 12th and 14th June this year, offering you a whole load of dump...

If you're already thinking ahead to the August bank holiday and wondering what you can get up to over the long weekend, we've got some great news - the biggest Italian food festival in the UK is returning to Manchester for its seventh year. Festa Italiana is taking place on 23rd-25th August. The eve...

A brewery and taproom in Stockport has announced its first ever beer festival to celebrate its 10th anniversary and one year since it moved into its current premises. Runaway Brewery is known for brewing contemporary beers using traditional methods and runs brewery tours and tastings, as well as hav...