Not much comes free these days, so when it does happen, we really have something to celebrate. Now, We Invented the Weekend festival is back for 2026, with a host of free activities to celebrate time outside of work, education, and all things free time.
Across Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June 2026, Salford Quays and MediaCity will be buzzing with over 200 free activities in the UK’s most ambitious, creative, original and fun-filled festival celebrating the most precious of commodities – our free time! Communities from across Greater Manchester, the North West and beyond are invited to celebrate the amazing variety of ways in which we spend our weekends.
What to expect at We Invented the Weekend
The two-day free festival throws open the doors of MediaCity and Salford Quays with activities spanning live music, interactive sports, gardening, team games, family fun, theatre, dance, creative crafting, workshops, talks, food and drink, wellbeing and much more.
As always, there will be lots of different activities to try out – jump on a boat and sail across the Quays whilst enjoying the sound of Northern Soul. Or if sport is your thing then you can sample everything from rock-climbing to BMX to football, skateboarding, skipping and hula hooping, or find out what British Cycling, Taekwondo and the National Football Museum have to offer.
Club Culture
New for this summer’s festival is Club Culture, a zone dedicated to recognising Manchester’s rich contribution, past and present, to electronic dance music. This space is packed with sets from outstanding local DJ’s with a female and non-binary identifying line-up on Saturday plus Living Room Dance Club, Semi Peppered and Aficionado on Sunday. In addition to the DJ sets, festival-goers can attend curated DJ workshops and panel talks that will give dance music lovers of all ages an opportunity to learn and get inspired.
We Invented the Weekend 2026 embraces all that is happening across Salford this year, from the huge centenary celebrations of Salford 100 to the role that Salford will play during the FIFA World Cup 2026 when the BBC’s coverage is beamed across the world from the MediaCity studios.
Bringing arts, culture and sport together in one energetic weekend, there are sure to be some surprises in store. We Invented The Weekend will take place on 6th and 7th June in MediaCity and Salford Quays – the full festival programme will be announced in the spring so watch this space for more.