A weekend of major events in Greater Manchester
Your guide to key events and travel plans
Key events in Greater Manchester
Pride Festival and parade – Manchester city centre – Friday 25 – Monday 28 August
Bolton Food and Drink Festival – Bolton town centre – Friday 25 – Monday 28 August
Manchester United v Leicester City – Old Trafford – Saturday 26 August - KO 5.30pm
Greater Manchester is preparing to celebrate its inclusivity, diversity and love for all things food and drink as the Bank Holiday weekend approaches.
Over 350,000 additional people are expected to attend a number of special events between Friday 25 and Monday 28 August and transport co-ordinators are confident they have a plan and the expertise to keep everyone moving and enjoying the festivities.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) have well-rehearsed operational plans in place which will provide as much additional capacity as possible and planners have developed specific customer advice and guidance for Pride, the Bolton Food and Drink festival and MUFC’s home game with Leicester City.
Manchester’s world famous and annual celebration of the LGBT community is set for another record breaking year with over 100,000 attendees expected to enjoy the four day festival and the Pride parade on Saturday 26 August.
Whilst the city centre and public transport are expected to be busier than normal, TfGM have worked with Pride organisers and the city council to develop robust and detailed plans.
A number of city centre roads will be closed and bus services may operate to alternative routes in and around the Gay Village.
All of Greater Manchester’s Park and Ride sites will be open and as many Metrolink trams as possible will be in operation.
During the parade on Saturday 26, Metrolink services operating to and from St Peter’s Square between 1230pm and 6pm, may be subject to minor pauses to allow for the parade to pass. A map of the parade route is available here.
Customers with a Pride event bracelet can travel for free on Metrolink throughout the city centre over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Metrolink have demonstrated their support for inclusivity and diversity by wrapping a number of trams in the Pride rainbow and TfGM’s offices have been transformed to offer a striking and colourful welcome to Manchester.
Bolton’s annual Food and Drink festival also returns this August Bank Holiday weekend (Friday 25 August to Monday 28 August).
Over 250,000 food lovers are expected to attend the culinary event, meaning both the town centre, public transport and the road network around Bolton will be much busier than normal.
The festival which will be headlined by well-known celebratory chiefs such as Simon Rimmer, James Martin and Michael Caines, takes place in the heart of the town centre and within a few minutes walk of the well served bus interchange at Moor Lane.
Whilst Network Rail improvement works mean that very limited train services will be in operation, train operators will be providing replacement coaches to and from stations between Manchester and Preston. Customers are advised to plan their journey and use National Rail Enquiries or follow @northernassist for further information.
Bolton has a free and regular Metroshuttle service linking the bus station, the train station and the festival site.
Commenting on the weekend activities, John Fryer, TfGM’s Transport and Event Planning Lead said,
“Greater Manchester will once again welcome hundreds of thousands of customers to some exciting and high profile events this coming Bank Holiday weekend.
“There is lots going on, from the Pride event in Manchester to the food and drink festival in Bolton to another sell out MUFC fixture at Old Trafford.
“We have been working hard with event organisers and partners and we are confident that our transport plans will help to support what promises to be another excellent weekend for the region.
“We’ll be providing as much capacity as possible and our TfGM website has lots of useful information.
“Our advice is that public transport will provide the best and quickest way of getting around and you should plan your journey in advance, allowing a little bit of extra time as it is going to be busy across the region.”
In addition to the two major events in Manchester and Bolton, Manchester United will play Leicester City at Old Trafford on Saturday with 75,000 expected for the 1730pm KO. TfGM’s official travel advice for getting to and from Old Trafford is available here.
Roads around Saddleworth in Oldham are also expected to be busy as the annual celebration of Morris dancing is celebrated at the Rushcart Festival between Friday and Sunday.
TfGM are also advising that a portion of the A6 through Stockport town centre remains closed and diversions are in place and that rail services between Manchester and London and Manchester and Preston via Bolton will not operate over the bank holiday weekend