Bonfire and Community Firework Displays, the Christmas Lights Switch-on event and the New Year’s Eve fireworks display have all been cancelled in Manchester.
However, there will be Christmas Lights in the city centre as usual, and of course the Giant Santa will return – along with a trail of light sculptures through the city.
Manchester’s world-famous Christmas Markets remain under review to ensure that the event can adhere to Covid-19 regulations and keep visitors as safe as possible and further detail will be released in the coming weeks.
Cllr Pat Karney, Manchester’s Christmas spokesperson, said: “Christmas in Manchester is an incredibly important time for the city’s economy. The city attracts millions of visitors each year, which local businesses rely on – and it’s important to the city’s recovery that we can bring people back into the city safely. Covid means that Christmas will be different this year, but we are working hard towards celebrating the festive season as safely as possible. So watch this space.”
Cllr Luthfur Rahman, Manchester City Council’s executive member for culture and leisure, said: “We understand that cancelling annual events will come as a blow to many people. We do not take these decisions lightly and we have been working with events organisers throughout the year to either postpone or take online where possible. Public safety must be at the front and centre of everything we do – and where events can go ahead, they will do so inline with covid guidelines designed to keep visitors as safe.”
