This past 12 months has seen some incredible events grace venues across Manchester, from Liam Gallagher to Red Hot Chili Peppers, alongside festivals such as Parklife, Neighbourhood Weekender and Sounds of the City.
And 2023 is set to be just as big as tours rescheduled from the pandemic finally hit the road, as well as new venue openings and fantastic theatre shows to complete a jam-packed schedule of entertainment across the music and arts sectors.
Big name artists like Blink 182, Paramore and Arctic Monkeys are all in the diary for 2023, while The Lion King, Mamma Mia and Six will thrill audiences at theatre stages across the city.
READ MORE: Blossoms announce huge Castlefield Bowl gig at next summer's Sounds of the City
Here we take a look, month-by-month, at some of the biggest events and highlights that are being planned for Greater Manchester and beyond in 2023.
January
In January, The Lion King continues its mammoth run at Manchester’s Palace Theatre. Originally the production of the Disney classic was to run from October 27 to February 19, but it will remain in the city centre until March 11 , due to ‘phenomenal demand’.
The show, which uses more than 200 puppets, has a very limited number of tickets available for the cheapest price of £20 which you can buy on ATG Tickets - some nights are already completely sold out. But let us assure you that it’s not one to be missed. Read our full review of The Lion King here.
Sticking with theatre, if you’re an ABBA fan, you’ll love the stage production of Mamma Mia, coming to the Opera House on January 31. You can buy tickets from £22 for this feel-good jukebox musical.
On the gig front, there’s loads of events on to get your year off to a great start.
Two-time BRIT Award winner Lewis Capaldi is returning to the city after playing Castlefield Bowl in the summer. It follows the release of his latest single ‘Forget Me’ from his sophomore album Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent, which will be released in May. Fans can catch him at the AO Arena on January 18.
Manchester’s own Liam Fray, originally from Middleton, will be performing at the O2 Ritz on January 13 as part of a series of intimate acoustic shows. The Courteeners frontman is promising to play some of the band’s best loved hits as well as deep dive into rarely heard songs from the decade old back catalogue.
The 1975 are also set to partake in a homecoming concert this January 20. Fronted by Matty Healy, the Manchester band will be touring their highly anticipated fifth studio album Being Funny In A Foreign Language, stopping off at the AO Arena.
Always an exciting calendar event, Chinese New Year in 2023 falls on January 21, and Chinatown celebrations will focus on Sunday 22, marking the Year of the Rabbit. The event promises traditional celebrations and performances in Chinatown, alongside contemporary art pieces and red lanterns across the BID shopping district.
And last but not least, Strictly Come Dancing fans can watch their favourite contestants perform once more at the AO Arena from January 28-29 as the show completes its 2023 tour.
First staged in 2008, Strictly Come Dancing – The Live Tour brings all the joy of the popular BBC One TV show to arenas around the UK, with some tickets under £50 still available.
February
February will see the reopening of Manchester Museum, part of The University of Manchester after being closed for nearly 18 months. The museum closed in August 2021 for an ambitious capital development project and will return in February with beautiful new galleries and objects.
Manchester Museum is one of the UK's largest university museums with a collection of about 4.5 million items. The exciting new £15 million project, hello future, is working to transform the museum so that it is more inclusive, imaginative and caring to the diverse communities it serves.
Over at the Opera House, pull up your stockings and crack out the feather boas for The Rocky Horror Show, which is certain to be a fun-filled night out for theatre fans. Tickets are available for the week-long run from as little as £13 - and trust us, it’s astounding.
The AO Arena will also see a number of huge names, including Florence and the Machine’s rescheduled show after breaking her foot on February 3, followed by Chris Brown on February 21.
March
In March, Eurovision superstar Sam Ryder will be performing at Manchester Academy on March 21 - with tickets selling for an affordable £24.75. The singer first found fame through TikTok, after posting music covers during the first UK lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic, going on to represent the UK in the song competition, narrowly beaten by Ukraine.
Other artists stopping off in the city in March include Panic at the Disco, on March 10 followed by About Damn Time singer, Lizzo, on March 11, both performing at AO Arena, while Suede take on the Albert Hall later in the month.
And on the theatre front, Opera House will play host to the Rock of Ages musical lavished with over 25 classic rock anthems including Don’t Stop Believin’, We Built This City, The Final Countdown, Wanted Dead or Alive, Here I Go Again, Can’t Fight this Feeling and I Want To Know What Love Is, played loud and proud by an awesome live band.
April
Start your engines because Ru Paul will be back with the Drag Race season four tour at the Opera House, as well as an evening with Priscilla Presley. The Bodyguard will also be arriving at Palace Theatre, starring Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton, with tickets from £13.
Moving on to music, Peter Hook and the Light will perform at Albert Hall for an Easter Homecoming on April 6 for a three night run, while the legendary Billy Ocean will play Bridgewater Hall as part of his UK tour.
The AO Arena will see American rockers Paramore thrill fans on April 18 as they celebrate the launch of their sixth studio album This Is Why, with Duran Duran also hitting the stage on April 29.
And comic Ricky Gervais will bring his Armageddon tour to the O2 Apollo from April 24-25. The 2024 Netflix TV stand-up is Ricky's latest project after the success of 2022's SuperNature.
May
May shows no signs of slowing down, either, with Palace Theatre hosting not one, but three shows: The King and I, Dirty Dancing and the new official Take That musical, Greatest Days. Meanwhile the Opera House will see The Spongebob musical, comedian Frankie Boyle and the reunion tour of boyband Union J, who released their first single a decade ago.
Lots to see at the AO Arena too, with the Magic Mike tour, Olly Murs, Unholy singer Sam Smith and the icon that is Sir Elton John, in what are likely to be his last UK tour dates. It has been announced that the star will headline Glastonbury Festival next summer, marking his final UK performance as he completes the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour - which first kicked off in 2018.
Performing at the O2 Apollo, James head out on the James Lasted tour in celebration of their 40th anniversary and double album, featuring both a full orchestra and gospel choir and new versions of their greatest hits, fan favourites and deep cuts. There are very limited tickets available for the two night run from May 9-10 here. Punk Princess Avril Lavigne will also take to the stage of the Apollo on May 6.
Headlined by Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbot and Pulp, Neighbourhood Weekender will be back at Victoria Park, Warrington from May 27-28. The festival forms part of Pulp's long-rumoured 2023 reunion tour.
June
Old Trafford will be welcoming Arctic Monkeys to the grounds for not one, but two nights from June 2-3. Their new tour will be supported by The Hives and The Mysterines.
But they aren’t the only huge headliners in town, with Manchester rockers The Courteeners will take over Manchester's Heaton Park for a huge homecoming gig in June 2023 to mark 15 years since the release of their debut album St Jude. It will be the third time that the Middleton band have held court at Greater Manchester's biggest park for a landmark moment in their career.
Also at Heaton Park is Manchester’s favourite festival, Parklife. The biggest metropolitan festival in the UK will take over the park once again on June 10 and 11. While the lineup for 2023 has not yet been revealed, this year’s festival featured headline sets from 50 Cent, Tyler, The Creator and Megan The Stallion. There were a number of standout moments from Lewis Capaldi, Loyle Carner, Arlo Parks, Jamie xx.
Big names visiting the AO Arena will be Coldplay, Ozzy Osbourne, and Iron Maiden, as well as The Weeknd.
Also opening in June 2023, Factory International is a brand new, global destination for arts, music and culture, where audiences will be invited to see some of the world’s most exciting artists push the boundaries of possibility. The giant futuristic building will form the centrepiece of the 2023 Manchester International Festival from June 29-July 16.
July
From July onwards, things do start to quieten down - but that’s because we’re still expecting lots of events to be announced for the back half of 2023. Throughout the summer, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be at Palace Theatre from July 11-31, with Six making a run at the Opera House from July 18-23.
The description of the musical taking social media by storm reads: “From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into an 80-minute celebration of 21st century girl power.”
Sounds of the City is back this July, too. The Castlefield Bowl concert series will see sets from Stockport’s Blossoms, as well as Bastille, Porcupine Tree, Bastille and as usual, Hacienda Classical.
Finally, with their End of the Road tour, KISS will take to the AO Arena after an epic and well documented 50-year career.
August
Manchester Pride is held in the city centre annually over the August bank holiday weekend on August 25-28 2023. At the heart of the extravaganza is the Gay Village Party, it's the ultimate street party and celebration of LGBTQ+ life as the sun shines down on our famous cobbled streets. A firm favourite is the annual Manchester Pride Parade, a proud display throughout the streets of Manchester as the LGBTQ+ community march to the cheers of tens of thousands of supporters. You can buy your tickets to the event here.
Palace Theatre will be bringing us the TikTok viral Heathers musical, while - perfect for the kids - Shrek the Musical will be hitting the Opera House.
On Saturday, August 26, 2023, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will return to Manchester for a special homecoming show at Wythenshawe Park, marking their first full headline performance in the city since 2019.
The show announcement follows the incredibly well received release of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds' brand-new single, ‘Pretty Boy’. Support will come from two internationally acclaimed acts, Primal Scream and Future Islands.
September
Five-time Grammy Award-winning singer Shania Twain is heading on a 2023 UK tour to celebrate her sixth original full-length offering and first record since 2017 - Queen of Me.
The tour marks the first time fans will get to see the queen in all of her glory in nearly five years. The Queen of Me Tour kicks off on Saturday, September 16 at London’s O2 Arena, and stops in Dublin, Glasgow and Manchester before wrapping up in Birmingham on Tuesday September 26.
Shania will play Manchester’s AO Arena on September 25, and you can buy your tickets to the show here.
October
Another huge act coming to Manchester in 2023 is Blink-182, with Tom DeLonge back behind the mic after nearly a decade. Since their humble beginnings nearly thirty years ago, Blink-182 have sold over fifty-million albums worldwide and rocked audiences from across the globe, racking up more than their fair share of platinum records and blockbuster singles, and are gearing up for their 10th studio album.
Fans can expect that electric on-stage magic that the trio has delivered over the years, and there are still a number of tickets left for their two-night run at the AO Arena from October 15-16.
Having conquered the world’s most prestigious opera stages, Alfie Boe will be taking a trip to Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on October 8 as part of a nationwide UK tour for autumn 2023 and it’s a show not to be missed.
Alfie kicked off 2022 filming BBC One’s new show Freeze The Fear with Wim Hof. The show followed Alfie along with seven other celebrities as they gave up their warm cozy lives to live in the Italian mountains in sub-zero conditions, facing a series of daunting cold challenges designed to push their minds and bodies to the limit, all under the watchful eye of the global sensation Wim Hof.
Filming the series had a huge lasting impression on Alfie as he opened up about his own struggles with mental health.
November
Time to start getting festive, and November is the month we can set to see the return of Manchester's Christmas Markets.
They usually start on the second Friday in November, but this year they launched on Thursday, November 10, ending on Thursday, December 22. Although dates have not yet been confirmed by the council, we can expect to see the Christmas Markets return around November 9/10.
But before all that we are also looking forward to the return of Bonfire Night festivities. While Manchester City Council announced its decision to axe any official Bonfire Night celebrations this year due to 'escalating costs', we hope next year there will be scope to see some displays. There will still be a number of independent displays taking place in the region so you can get your fireworks fix.
One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson will play the AO Arena on November 11 to support his Faith in the Future sophomore album, while disco queen Sophie Ellis Bexter takes on Bridgewater Hall for her Kitchen Disco tour on November 27.
The 2023 tour will feature hits from throughout Sophie’s career, as well as some very festive classics, all in Sophie’s own seasonal disco style.
December
Christmas party and pantomime season, we're waiting for confirmation on a host of shows for this month, but rest assured there are plans for the return of the big Manchester panto at the Opera House with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves confirmed for 2023, although no star names announced just yet.
We are also set to enjoy the return of a host of outdoor lights spectaculars, including Christmas at Dunham Massey and a lights trail at RHS Worsley.
Another launch to get excited about is that of Co-op Live, a venue set to reinvent the VIP fan experience once doors open in December 2023.
Boasting itself as the only music-first arena, the 23,500-capacity venue will feature an innovative 'smart bowl' which was inspired by conversations with rock legend Bruce Springsteen and star Harry Styles. The music-focused approach to the arena's design has resulted in an impressively large floor space, a noticeably lower ceiling, and tiered seating that allows fans to be as close as possible to their favourite musicians.
What else?
Peter Kay kicked off his whopping 121-date tour this year, with dates set to continue in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Next year, the Bolton comedian will be playing seven Manchester shows at the AO Arena between September and December, while will definitely be something to look forward to. The dates are as follows:
Friday, September 22 - Manchester AO Arena
Saturday, September 23 - Manchester AO Arena
Thursday, October 19 - Manchester AO Arena
Friday, October 20 - Manchester AO Arena
Sunday, November 5 - Manchester AO Arena
Monday, November 6 - Manchester AO Arena
Friday, December 1 - Manchester AO Arena 2023
After announcing the tour a month ago he said: "It’s good to get back to what I love doing best, stand-up comedy, and if there’s ever a time people need a laugh it’s now."
You can buy tickets for the tour here.
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