With Piccadilly Gardens now resembling a mud bath after hosting the 2022 Manchester Christmas Markets, councillors are said to be urgently reviewing where to locate the "main hub" for 2023. Piccadilly has been used in recent years because Albert Square, the original "hub" of the Christmas Markets is currently out of action while the major Town Hall renovations continue.
Albert Square will remain out of action until 2024 - so it leaves council bosses with the conundrum of where exactly to locate the main hub of the Christmas event this year. Coun Pat Karney said this week that Piccadilly Gardens was left in such a state after all the wooden huts, beer stalls and drinking areas were put there at this year's Christmas extravaganza, that it won't go back.
That may be music to the ears of many who felt that the hectic Piccadilly Gardens was the wrong location for the event anyway. It certainly lacked the special kind of Manchester magic that Albert Square could give with the stunning Town Hall backdrop.
