Manchester Day is officially back this weekend, and our fair city is going all Barcelona on us. Switching for the first time to a Sunday instead of its usual Saturday, there promises to be a distinctly Catalan flavour to the day as performers from Barcelona head to Manchester to join in the festivities, also marking the first time that Manchester has welcomed international performers to join in with the Manchester Day festivities.
Given the gravity and excitement around Manchester Day 2026, we’ve put together a guide so you can navigate the festivities without having to get your head around it as you go. This one’s also for those not joining in on Sunday, because let’s be real, some people still have to get around despite the commotion in the middle of town.
When does Manchester Day 2026 take place?
Manchester Day takes place on Sunday 26 July this year, between 12pm and 5pm.
Do you need a ticket?
No, and entry to any of the festivities is completely free.
Manchester Day 2026 schedule
Manchester Day Parade
Starting from St Peter’s Square at 1pm
Bringing together over 500 performers and feature community groups from across Manchester and beyond, you can marvel at the Manchester Day Parade, featuring larger‑than‑life characters and the rich cultural heritage of the city as its diverse communities come out to play.
Giant puppets and bold costumes inspired by Catalan tradition will also take to the streets, and you can enjoy samba bands, dance troupes and community performers.
Albert Square
- 12.40pm to 1.15pm (and 3.10pm to 3.40pm): Baked A La Ska. Original tunes and ska-infused covers of your favourite songs.
- 1.20pm to 2pm (and 4.10pm to 4.35pm): Mr Swing’s Dance Orchestra. A big band playing classic nostalgia-packed swing hits from the 30s onwards.
- 2pm to 2.30pm: Mr Wilson’s Second Liners – Brass Rave. A New Orleans‑inspired street party blending live brass with 90s club classics.
- 3.40pm to 4.10pm: Always Drinking Marching Band – The Street Is Ours. A street music show combining live music with humour and visual gags.
- 4.35pm to 5pm: Finale. The best of Catalan street music, Always Drinking Marching Band collides with brass band Mr Wilson’s Second Liners, featuring glorious puppetry, drumming from Global Grooves and two of Barcelona’s traditional Gegantes.
St Peter’s Square and Central Library
Central Library
- 11.30am to 5pm – Sunday Funday: see book characters step off the page as Central Library celebrates the National Year of Reading.
Pop-up shows
- Circo Rum Ba Ba – The Whale. An immersive storytime inside a giant inflatable sperm whale. Various times
- 12 noon to 12.30pm (and 1.15pm to 1.45pm, 3.45pm to 4.15pm): The Circus House – Catalogued. Acrobatic librarians will be popping up between the shelves on a surprising bookcase with a difference.
- 1.15pm to 1.55pm (and 3.45pm to 4.25pm): TS Crew – No Sugar No Milk. Theatre, martial arts, dance, beatboxing, and circus artistry inspired by Hong Kong’s diner culture.
- 2pm to 2.30pm: Always Drinking Marching Band – The Street Is Ours. A surreal street music show combining live music with humour and visual gags.
- 2.45pm to 3.15pm: Dance Like a Mother. A joyful large‑scale dance celebrating parents, babies and the community.
- 3.15pm to 3.45pm: Mr Wilson’s Second Liners. New Orleans-style brass band mash-up with 90s club classics.
Roaming performances
- Creature Encounters – Smoked. A fantasy walkabout encounter filled with dragons, knights and theatrical adventure.
- Creature Encounters – Inka. A giant polar bear story about a bear driven south in search of a new home.
- Autin Dance Theatre – Brimstone Dragon. A six-metre roaming dragon brought to life by four puppeteers.
- AWOL Circus Arts – Knightly Nonsense. A comic walkabout with two unicycling knights on a quest to spread laughter and joy.
- Apus Productions – The Animals. Roaming characters creating playful chaos through music, movement and audience interaction.
St Ann’s Square
St Ann’s Square – The Birdcage Stage, outside the Royal Exchange
- 12 noon to 12.20pm (and 2pm to 2.20pm, 3.30 to 3.50pm): Rebecca Mills. Harp performance.
- 12.10pm to 12.30pm (and 2pm to 2.30pm, 4.25pm to 5pm): Told by an Idiot – Kill Will. Fast-paced street theatre where two rival Shakespeares battle it out with chaotic comedy.
- 12.30pm to 1pm (and 2.50pm to 3.20pm, 3.55pm to 4.25pm): Birdcage Stage – Queen of Hearts. A reimagining of Alice’s Wonderland with aerial performance, puppetry and humour.
- 2pm to 2.45pm: Joan Català with Pelat. A show that blurs the lines between circus, dance and thrilling theatre.
St Ann’s Square – The Dance Floor
- 12 noon to 12.30pm (and 2.20pm to 2.50pm): Elelei – Too Much. A dance and physical theatre work exploring the line between care and control through acrobatics and movement.
- 12.30pm to 1.30pm (and 3.55pm to 4.55pm): Kamchàtka. An immersive performance exploring human connection and migration.
- 1pm to 1.30pm (and 3.25pm to 3.55pm): Company Chameleon and Clémentine & Lisard – The Ultimate Player’s Handbook. A dance piece where play, rules, movement and teamwork unfold like a living handbook, inspired by everyday games.
- 1.30pm to 2pm (and 4.25pm to 4.55pm): Zum-Zum Teatre – Hippos. A visual theatre work in which a herd of hippos explores identity, connection and what it means to be human.
Exchange Square
- 12 noon to 12.35pm: Kemoy and the KYSO Project CIC. Manchester youth collective bringing DJing, dance and live performance together in a high‑energy set.
- 1.05pm to 1.35pm: Rochdale in Rhythm CIC – Langley Bookuleles. Community ukulele group, rooted in library and reading culture, will be performing some popular songs for you to dance and sing along to.
- 2.05pm to 2.35pm: Royton Ukulele Group. Relaxed singalong ukulele performance.
- 2.40pm to 3.10pm: The Bridgewater Hall Singers. One of our favourite Manchester Day choirs returns for a good singalong.
- 3.30pm to 3.50pm: Prestwich Community Choir. A welcoming local choir will perform a feel-good set of contemporary pop and musical theatre songs.
- 4pm to 4.30pm: Soulbeats Dance Troupe – Bollywood Fusion. Bollywood fusion and semi-classical dance rooted in storytelling through movement.
Brazennose Street
Brazennose Street is the place to be for sports enthusiasts and newbies alike.
Pedal Party
Head over to our Manchester Day Pedal Party on Brazennose Street.
Seasoned cyclists or beginners –everyone is invited! Have a go on the specially created bike circuit and test your MTB skills in our activation zone.
In collaboration with British Cycling and MCRactive, we’re bringing the joy of cycling to all.
GLL
Have a go on GLL’s running track or challenge your friends and family to a giant game.
City in the Community
Take part in a football cone challenge for your chance to win a prize.
Plus, find out more about Manchester City Football Club’s charity and how they support people across Greater Manchester.
You can find a map of locations for Manchester Day 2026 here.
Manchester Day Parade route
This year’s parade will start at St Peter’s Square before travelling down Peter Street onto Deansgate. After heading down Deansgate, it will turn onto St Mary’s Gate, then continue along Cross Street and Princess Street, before returning to St Peter’s Square.
How to get around Manchester
Tram
On the day, trams will operate every 15 minutes on the following service pattern due to planned works taking place:
- Bury – Ashton-under-Lyne
- Victoria – Etihad Campus
- Rochdale Town Centre – Victoria
- East Didsbury – Firswood
- Manchester Airport – Firswood
There’ll be a 7.5-minute service between Victoria and Piccadilly to help people transfer between trams and replacement buses.
Bus
Road closures will be in place to allow the parade to take place safely.
As a result, the following bus services will operate on diversion and may experience delays: 8, 10, 35, 36, 37, 38, 50, 67, 67A, 100, Free bus 1 & 2, V1 and V2.
Train
Manchester Oxford Road or Manchester Victoria train station will be closest to the parade route. In addition, from Piccadilly, you can walk or connect with Metrolink trams to take you to Market Street/Shudehill.
The following planned engineering works will take place on parts of the rail network over the course of the day:
- Salford Central Train Station will be closed as engineering works taking place nearby. Trains will still be able pass through as normal.
- Engineering work will also take place between Stalybridge and Mirfield and also between Huddersfield and Lockwood, closing some lines. Train will run to an amended timetable on the following routes: Manchester Victoria – Todmorden, Manchester Victoria – Leeds via Bradford Interchange, Halifax – Leeds (via Dewsbury)
Road closures
To allow safe passage for the procession, road closures will be in place along the route.
Minor delays are expected on the highways close to the route, so allow more time for your journey.
The following road closures will be in place on the day:
11am to 3pm
- Peter Street (Hall Street to Deansgate)
- Mount Street (Windmill Street to Albert Square)
- Deansgate (St Johns Street to Cateaton Street)
11am to 4pm
- St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
- Market Street (Cross Street to Exchange Street)
- St Ann’s Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
- Cross Street (Corporation Street to Princess Street )
- Princess Street (Cross Street to George Street)
- John Dalton Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
- King Street (Spring Gardens to Cross Street)
Parking Suspensions
From 9pm on Saturday 25 July to 9pm on Sunday 26 July. Suspensions to include all loading bays and accessible parking bays.
- Deansgate (St John Street to Cateaton Street)
- Peter Street (Portland Street to Deansgate)
- Mount Street (Windmill Street to Albert Square)
- Central Street (Southmill Street to Mount Street)
- Southmill Street (Windmill Street to Jackson Row)
- Museum Street (Windmill Street to Peter Street)
- George Street (Princess Street to Dickinson Street)
- Dickenson Street (George Street to George Street)
- Central Street (Southmill Street to Mount Street)
- St Ann’s Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
- Market Street (Cross Street to St Mary’s Gate)
- St Mary’s Gate (Market Street to Deansgate)
- John Dalton Street (Cross Street to Deansgate)
- King Street (Cross Street to Spring Gardens)
- St James’ Square (King Street to South King Street)
- St Mary’s street (Southgate to Deansgate)
- Southgate (King Street West to St Mary’s Street)
