The nation is now in a period of national mourning as it comes to terms with the death of Her Majesty the Queen, which was announced yesterday evening. It was confirmed that she passed away peacefully at Balmoral in Scotland.
Intricate plans have been drawn up for when the Queen passes away, codenamed Operation London Bridge, which will lead to major changes to what events are on, and whether shops and venues will be open, both nationally, and locally. On the day of her funeral, which is expected to take place at Westminster Abbey, 10 days after the Queen's death, there will be a bank holiday and most places be shut or will change operating hours.
Here, we look take a look at the events that are due to be cancelled and the shops and venues that be be closed across Greater Manchester in the wake of the Queen's death.
Read More: Sporting events postponed but Premier League yet to announce plans amid Queen's death
Shops, restaurants and pubs
The day of the funeral will be a Day of National Mourning, but employers will not be compelled to give staff a day off. Unless it falls on the weekend, there will be a national bank holiday, following church services and memorial services across the UK.
Shops will close or only be open for reduced hours, while banks will shut. Selfridges led tributes to the Queen last night and said it would not open its doors this Friday. All branches, including the Manchester branch closed early on Thursday evening, confirming that in line with protocol would reopen on Saturday, September 10.
The retailer Marks & Spencer also shared a message on its website, stating: "We’re deeply saddened to hear the passing of Her Majesty The Queen. For over 70 years she has dedicated her life to service for her country and the Commonwealth, and been a figurehead of national unity and stability at a time of enormous change.
"She has led at all times with a quiet determination and selfless devotion, and has been all that is the very best in us. While being Monarch she has raised a loving family whom she adored, and they her. As HRH Prince Philip The Duke of Edinburgh was to her, she has been our nation’s strength and stay. We join the Royal Family and the nation in their grief and offer the Royal Family our heartfelt condolences."
In terms of hospitality, there are no suggestions that restaurants, bars, pubs and other venues under this umbrella must close. However, it will be up to individual landlords and proprietors to decide whether to shut their doors, but it is not in the mourning plan. Whether this will be the case on the day of the Queen's state funeral has not yet been confirmed.
The British Pub & Beer Association shared on Twitter: "We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Her Majesty the Queen. Her duty to our country has been extraordinary and our condolences are with the Royal Family. In the coming days we will work with our nation's pubs & brewers to pay respect in communities across the country."
Theatres and Cinemas
Many theatres across the country will continue with performances, but will be dimming their lights and observing a minute's silence. Yesterday evening, The Lowry theatre in Salford Quays said it was "saddened to hear of the death of HM The Queen", and confirmed Thursday night performances would go ahead, but that customers wishing to postpone should contact their customer care centre.
On its website, a further tribute was payed to the queen. It stated that LS Lowry was an official artist of Her Majesty’s coronation in 1953 and we the theatre was proud that she was present for the ceremonial opening of The Lowry on 12 October 2000. The Lowry added that when the date of the funeral is announced, customers should refer to their website and social media for details of those performances and public events affected.
The Ambassador Theatre Group, which includes both The Palace Theatre and Manchester Opera House issued a statement saying: "Everyone at Ambassador Theatre Group is saddened to hear the news that Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II has passed away. We send our condolences to the Royal Family and everyone connected to the Her Majesty." The ATG website statement also confirmed that while performances on Thursday evening would go ahead, customers will be contacted in due course about bookings made for future listings.
The Bridgewater Hall shared: "At this time we would like to express our sincere condolences to the Royal Family for the passing of HRH Queen Elizabeth II." Performances went ahead as scheduled on Thursday evening with a a moment's silence - there has been no confirmation yet as to whether scheduled performances including The Magic of Motown and Kim Wilde's scheduled tour date will be affected.
HOME arts centre, which is an Arts Council England organisation said: "We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of HM The Queen and our thoughts are with the Royal Family." There has been no confirmation yet on scheduled productions and films due to we shown over the next ten days.
Large cinema groups operating in Greater Manchester including Odeon and Everyman Cinema also shared tributes to the Queen on their websites. None as of yet have announced if any screenings will be cancelled or whether cinemas will be closed.
Music Venues
Last night, the AO Arena in Manchester City Centre issued a statement on Twitter, writing: "The AO Arena family extends its sincerest sympathy to the Royal Family on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II." It has not yet confirmed whether there will be any changes to scheduled events including Machine Head + Amon Amarth on September 12 and George Ezra on the September 16-17.
Many music venues including The Apollo, Manchester Academy and 02 Ritz Manchester have not confirmed whether scheduled gigs and performances will go ahead over the next ten days. The 02 Ritz is scheduled to host The Official Move In event for University freshers at 02 Ritz on Saturday, September 10. We will be update this section as and when individual venues update us.
Festivals and Events
There are a number of music events, live performances and festivals due to take place across Greater Manchester over the weekend and next week. We will continue to add to the list below once we have confirmation on whether they will go ahead or be cancelled.
Confirmed cancellations:
The Gin & Rum Festival
Last night, The Gin & Rum Festival confirmed that the event, which was due to take place on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 of October, could no longer go ahead. The festival received news from Manchester Cathedral that following the news of Her Majesty The Queen's passing, the Cathedral would immediately become a place of mourning. The festival has said it will update all customers on a rescheduled date as soon as possible.
We Invented the Weekend
This afternoon (Friday, 9 September), the inaugural 'We Invented the Weekend' at MediaCity was cancelled. Organisers said: "After careful consideration and conversations with key partners and funders, due to the very sad news of the Queen’s death, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the inaugural ‘We Invented the Weekend’ festival this weekend.
"We are so grateful for the passion and commitment of the partners, community groups and everyone that has worked so hard to put on this incredibly special event and we look forward to announcing a new date for the festival very soon." Despite postponing the full festival programme, we firmly believe that in moments of national significance, it’s important to create an opportunity for the community to come together.
"Participants of The Weekend Orchestra are still encouraged to come together to rehearse from 10am and we invite you to watch the performance, together with the BBC Philharmonic from midday on Saturday and Sunday in the MediaCity Piazza. The BBC Philharmonic will open with a performance of The National Anthem followed by a minute’s silence, and The Weekend Orchestra musicians will join to play an original piece."#
NOMA's Garden Party at Sadler's Yard
Also this afternoon, organisers of the family focused Garden Party cancelled and said: "In light of yesterday's news, after careful consideration we've decided to postpone tomorrow's Garden Party in Sadler's Yard. We will be announcing new plans in the near future so please keep a look for further updates."
Wythenshawe Hall opening
The reopening of historic Wythenshawe Hall has been postponed. A statement on the site's website reads: "Following the sad news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we are postponing the opening of Wythenshawe Hall this weekend, Saturday 10 & 11 September. Friends of Wythenshawe Hall will operate a social media blackout for the duration of the mourning period. The new dates will be announced in due course."
We have turned comments off on this story but you can share your tribute in our online condolence book.
READ NEXT:
- His Majesty King Charles III releases first statement since becoming Britain's monarch
- The day-by-day plan for all the key events following the Queen's death
- When does Prince Charles become King following the death of Queen Elizabeth?
- Huge crowds gather outside Buckingham Palace to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II
