All About Manchester

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Manchester mourns the death of one its most colourful characters, Manchester to get its very own beach, BBC set to relocate 1,500 jobs to Salford. Plus, much more.

Manchester music legend dies

Manchester is mourning the death of a cultural icon - music mogul Tony Wilson. The Salford-born journalist, music impresario and club owner has died in hospital after a heart attack. A leading light in the Madchester pop culture boom and a passionate advocate for Manchester, he had been battling kidney cancer since 2006.

Dubbed 'Mr Manchester' by the local media, Tony founded the legendary Factory Records and The Hacienda and kept Manchester in the centre of the music universe by persuading the music industry to meet here for the annual In The City international convention. He truly was one of a kind ? a maverick, an idealist, a man with a big soul and a personality full of fascinating contradictions. Flash but humble, bitterly honest but caring, uncompromising but open-minded, he stamped his personality on Manchester.

He leaves behind his partner, two children, many friends, a fantastic legacy and a massive hole in the heart of his beloved city. Rest in peace Tony, you?ll be sorely missed.

Tony was known as 'Mr Manchester' for his love of the city.

All About Manchester landmark

All About Manchester Magazine celebrated the publication of its 25th edition with a party at Lotus last month.

"It was an opportunity for us to say thank you to our partners - Manchester City Council and Marketing Manchester - clients, distributors and friends, and to announce the launch of our website," said Evie Lucas, All About Manchester's founder.

"Hundreds of people have already logged onto the site, designed by our web guru Alex Kearns, to dip into local news, event listings, interviews and features on everything Mancunian. We have also teamed up with some prestigious local businesses to offer our website readers exclusive offers on dining, accommodation and entertainment.

"In the coming months, we plan to develop our website further to include more of the people, the places and the passion that put the 'Great' into Greater Manchester. If you do not want to miss a thing, you can now sign up to the All About Manchester electronic newsletter.

"Special thanks to the people who helped to make our party such a big hit: the wonderful Sarah Gormley for offering us the beautiful venue; Ali Kamel and his fantastic team at Lotus for serving their famous champagne cocktails and dim sum canap�s with a genuine smile; our good old friend and DJ John Locke who added oomph to the party with his funky tunes; Mark Davis from Paramount Print for the gorgeous invitations; and our talented photographer Joe Gardner. And, of course, the good friends and colleagues who really went out of their way to help make our big night special: Deborah Purtell, Iain Duncan, Kim Brown, Dipti Lakhani and Michael Lucas.

"A big thank you to all our lovely guests for the wonderful reminder that we are surrounded by great people who are supporting us every step of the way."

Sun, sand, surf... must be Manchester

While some lucky people are jetting off to tropical beaches this summer, those left behind in the city may also be able to get sand in their hair at Manchester's first ever beach.

If their plans are approved by the council, Urbis in partnership with Sankeys nightclub will transform Cathedral Gardens in Manchester city centre into an urban beach from June 25 until Sept 9.

The beach, which will consist of over 80 tons of Fair Trade sand, will be the biggest ever in the UK, with room for 1,500 people. It will be dotted with palm trees and surrounded by exotic, thatched-roof bars and food stalls.

Open from 11am until 11pm, the beach will also host an outdoor cinema, live music gigs and visual art shows, while WIFI access for workers will put a new spin on beach surfing.

Manchester hosts UK's first Art Car Parade

It is a car, but not as we know it. Manchester is unleashing a new breed of vehicle onto the country's streets and motorways ? the art car.

Arts organisation Walk the Plank, in partnership with Manchester City Council, is launching the UK's first Art Car Parade in Manchester on Sept 8, featuring vehicles that have been re-styled and reinvented by artists into drivable installations.

The Art Car Parade is a totally new concept in the UK. It is designed to challenge the glorification and dominance of the car in a creative, playful and inventive way, which also encourages people to think about using their cars less, to reduce congestion and pollution.

Artists from all over the UK have been commissioned to create weird and wonderful vehicles to take part in the parade, and the organisers are keen to get the public involved, too, by inviting everyone to create their own art car.

Cllr Mike Kane, Manchester City Council's executive member for arts and leisure, said: "Art Car Parade is yet another UK first to take place in Manchester. Following the inaugural Manchester International Festival this summer, the city has become known for hosting unique premiere events. I expect Art Car Parades to take off all over the country but we will remember that it was Manchester who had it first!"

It's bling up North

Manchester is set to sparkle this summer as Ars Ornata Europeana, a prestigious biennial symposium of contemporary jewellery, makes its UK debut in the city.

The 11th Ars Ornata is being organised by Jo Bloxham and Sarah O'Hana. It will comprise a series of lectures, debates and presentations to an audience of 150 jewellery designers, gallery owners and other delegates from around Europe and beyond.

There will also be a range of exhibitions of contemporary jewellery across Manchester, which will be free and open to the public.

"I attended the last symposium in Lisbon with my colleague Sarah, which we really enjoyed," says Jo Bloxham. "When we heard Ars Ornata were looking for another country to host the 2007 event, my hand went up. And I was particularly proud to bring this symposium to Manchester before London could snatch it."

Bloxham and O'Hana spent the last two years preparing for this event. One of the highlights is the Romancing the Stone exhibition, which takes place at Manchester Town Hall and is curated by Bloxham.

She explains: "I researched all 22 sculptures in the town hall, all of which celebrate people who helped to build Manchester, and invited 22 jewellery designers from 17 countries to create a piece of jewellery each for one of the sculptures. I thought this was a great way to get these artists to understand what Manchester is about, while also helping to bring the sculptures into the 21st century by displaying contemporary art jewellery on them."

See our ?What's On' section for more information on Romancing the Stone and other exhibitions.

Made in Manchester

Never Forget, a new British musical written around the songs of boy band Take That, will be world premiered in Manchester at the end of August.

Set in Manchester and written by Manchester-based screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst (Shameless, Clocking Off and Sorted), Never Forget is a feel-good comedy following the rollercoaster journey of Ash Sherwood and his best mates in the pursuit of their dreams as members of the unlikeliest Take That tribute band.

Packed with Take That hits, the musical is set to appeal to both Take That fans and musical theatregoers alike when it opens at the Opera House in Manchester city centre on Aug 21 for two weeks.

BBC move North confirmed

The BBC's relocation of five departments (and approximately 1,500 London-based posts) from London to mediacity:uk at Salford Quays has been sealed with the signing of contracts between the broadcaster and developer Peel Holdings.

The confirmation ends months of speculation and gives the green light for work to begin on creating the UK's first purpose-built media city on a 200-acre site at Salford Quays.

Mediacity:uk is set to become one of the most significant developments in British broadcasting in recent years, creating a world-class hub for the media and creative industries and delivering a significant economic boost to the North of England.

Work has now begun on site and the first phase of the mediacity:uk development, which includes the BBC buildings, is scheduled for completion by 2011.

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