Some people love Manchester’s Christmas Markets and other people hate the festive city-wide takeover, but however you feel about it, it’s making a return for 2021.
After last year’s market set up had to be cancelled at the eleventh hour because of the pandemic, Manchester's ‘Mr Christmas’, Councillor Pat Karney, has promised that ‘Christmas is not cancelled’ in our city and the markets WILL take place this year.
With Manchester’s Town Hall still undergoing renovations, Albert Square is out of bounds. Instead, Karney has revealed that the market hub will be at Piccadilly Gardens which is to be transformed into a ‘magical winter wonderland’ (if magical winter wonderlands had great big concrete walls in them, obviously….)
This year, the festive retail huts will be set up over six sites across the city from 12th November until 22nd December (St Ann’s Square, Albert Square, Market Street, Exchange Square, Cathedral Gardens and Piccadilly Gardens.) Father Christmas will also be appearing at Peter's Square as part of his tour of the UK.
Councillor Karney said plans would be reviewed weekly with health officials in accordance with government guidance on public gatherings to make it safe for traders and members of the public. He promised there will be an increased number of entrances and exits, as well as strong crowd control measures in place.
Manchester City Council will decide in October whether to hold Manchester’s traditional Christmas lights switch-on and a fireworks display on New Year's Eve.
Love them or hate them, Manchester’s Christmas Markets, which began in 1998, attract thousands of visitors, providing a huge knock-on economic boost to the city as well as providing tens of thousands of jobs for traders who depend on Christmas trade.