By Meliza Sestito
Photography: Matthew Atherton
In true Mancunian style, the rain didn’t stop anyone singing and dancing along to performances from Sigala, Pixie Lott and Manchester boy band, Yes Lad, at this year’s celebrations.
The event also featured sneak peeks of upcoming Manchester Christmas shows, Guys and Dolls at the Royal Exchange Theatre and Shrek Live at the Palace Theatre, commencing this December and January.
Credit: Matt Atherton
The annual event is organised by Manchester City Council and this year was hosted by Key 103 stars Mike Toolan and Matt Haslam together with Coronation Street star Brooke Vincent, as Key 103’s own Gemma Atkinson is currently starring on Strictly Come Dancing!
Pixie Lott performed her chart topping hits as well as a stunning version of ‘White Christmas’ for the festive crowds.
Albert Square reached full capacity 50 minutes into the event with a staggering 20,000 people in attendance. Some eager fans had been waiting since the early afternoon in order to get the best view of the stage for the live performances.
A wedding party even joined in with the fun, and the bride and groom had their pictures taken in front of ‘Zippy’, the market’s infamous Santa, as the fireworks commenced.
Credit: Matt Atherton
Ben Forster and Liz McClarnon who play Buddy and Jovie in Elf: The Musical, which will open at The Lowry Theatre later this month, arrived to the stage in style via a sleigh complete with real reindeers.
Credit: Matthew Atherton
The evening ended with the performers joining the hosts on stage and the traditional countdown followed by a breathtaking fireworks display.
It was definitely a night to remember!
aAh! Magazine invites all Manchester Met students with a passion for journalism, writing, design, illustration, and photography to pitch ideas for our upcoming print issue: The REAL Issue. This issue will explore what realness means today, especially for young people and students navigating a world dominated by digital life, social media and AI. What does authenticity…
By Adam Taylor It’s time to post your top artists to show how cool and different you are. Spotify Wrapped for 2025 has finally dropped. This stat-loaded list of listening habits gets everyone excited, revealing top artists, songs, podcasts, music genres, and hours listened – which can be a bit concerning… Spotify adds new features…
Featured image: Suzy Hazelwood aAh! Magazine’s Literature and Creative Student Editors are delighted to announce our first online call for submissions for the 2025/26 academic year. This series invites creative writing students and visual artists to respond to the theme ‘Hometown’, offering the opportunity to showcase their work online. Manchester is a hometown for thousands, and simply…
Featured image and photography: Beck McNally Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield – a name that many Mancunian music-lovers will know well, died on 20 November this year. No official cause of death has been released to the public. The renowned bassist of The Stone Roses, and later Primal Scream, was a hugely influential musician – particularly in…
Leave a reply