Manchester City Council has announced that council-run Bonfire Night events will not take place in Manchester parks for another year. Like in 2023, the council’s own firework display taking place in Heaton Park will also not be reintroduced this year, with the Bonfire Night event in Manchester being cancelled following a two-year lay-off during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Hosting an array of large-scale events every single year for the community to enjoy, bonfires have previously been held at eight parks including the likes of Heaton Park, Platt Fields Park, Cringle Park and Debdale Park, but will not go ahead for the fifth year in a row. Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods said: “We won’t be holding bonfires/fireworks events in November as we have reprioritised our funding to support and enhance the delivery of a wide range of free, community focused activities in parks across the city.”
Reiterating its previous stance, Manchester City Council said that in 2022 it took the decision “in consultation with key agencies and local partners” to not reinstate the traditional bonfire and firework events that had not taken place in parks since 2019.
As an alternative, the Council said it engaged with community partners to develop a programme of Autumn and Winter events in the wards which had previously held those events such as pumpkin carving, Halloween in the City and the Christmas parade. The Council has described this alternative approach as “a success” with over 30 additional free and community focused events taking place in the target wards over the last two years.
Therefore, according to a report as part of the Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee for October, Manchester City Council plans to adopt the same approach for their Autumn and Winter Programme for 2024. The programme will launch in October with the half term holiday events kickstarting this year’s activity.
The last time Bonfire Night displays were held at Manchester parks was pre-Covid in 2019, but these have been cancelled and will not return for 2024. However, this year will see the return of the only city centre organised firework display at the new urban park, Mayfield Park.
In terms of more seasonal events, this October will see the return of Halloween in the City, and an announcement is expected of the Festive Sundays and Christmas parade which took place last year.