Manchester Christmas Markets will open for the last time on Thursday before closing for the year. It comes as the markets celebrate a bumper season with visitors back up to pre-Covid levels.
Thousands of shoppers have descended upon this year’s markets, which have featured 220 wooden chalet stalls spread across nine different locations in the city. The market has proven so popular this year that it has even sold out of the special 2022 Manchester Market Mugs - breaking all previous records.
A total of 140,000 collectable mugs have been taken home as a memento by shoppers, forcing market bosses to bring out vintage mugs from previous years to meet the demand. Visitors were bolstered this year by the introduction of the Festive Sundays programme, which saw six weeks of roaming puppets, supersized penguins and illuminated bands taking to the streets to bring extra festive cheer to the city.
