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The M.E.N. Arena to host the first world swimming championships of its kind in the UK, Manchester commemorates world famous exhibition, and a major fashion event is set to take place in the city shortly.
M.E.N. Arena set to make a splash
Manchester's famous concert venue will be temporarily transformed into a world-class aquatics centre for the FINA World Swimming Championships next year.
Two huge swimming pools will be built in the M.E.N. Arena before 650 swimmers from 120 countries converge on Manchester for the first world swimming championships of its kind ever to be staged in the UK.
Australian dual Olympic 1500m champion Grant Hackett has already announced his intention to swim in Manchester in what promises to be a very rock 'n' roll event, complete with lighting and sound effects.
Exhibition turns back the clock
One hundred and fifty years ago Manchester hosted the largest art show ever seen in Britain. Next month, Manchester Art Gallery will mark the 150th anniversary of this extraordinary artistic event with a hotly anticipated exhibition.
The original show, Art Treasures of the United Kingdom, was held in May 1857 in a temporary glass pavilion at Old Trafford. Opened by Prince Albert, it featured over 16,000 exhibits, including paintings, sculptures, photographs and decorative arts borrowed mainly from a range of private collections. It was visited by more than 1.3 million people, including Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Florence Nightingale and the French emperor Louis Napoleon.
The new show, Art Treasures in Manchester: 150 years on, will run from Oct 6, 2007 until Jan 27, 2008, celebrating what was an incredible achievement for the city. It will bring to life the experience of the Victorian exhibition for the 21st century visitor, complementing outstanding works of art from the original show with contemporary material such as newspaper reports, guide books and individual accounts.
Around 160 works of art from the original show will be on display, including paintings by Hogarth, Gainsborough, Turner and Constable. But the highlight of the show will be the historic return to the city of Michelangelo's The Virgin and Child with Saint John and Angels. Painted around 1497, it was nicknamed the Manchester Madonna due to the excitement it caused when shown at the original Art Treasures exhibition and has been known by its alternative name ever since.
Passion for fashion
Manchester is hosting the region's biggest fashion event this autumn; a weekend of designer shopping that will have fashionistas drooling in anticipation.
Bolton-born celebrity Sara Cox will open Fashion Weekend Manchester at Urbis on Oct 4, and for the next three days Manchester's centre for urban culture will be transformed into a stylish fashion emporium.
More than 100 designers are expected to showcase their collections, including well-known British labels such as Ben de Lisi, Paul & Joe and Janet Reger.
Visitors to Fashion Weekend Manchester will be able to buy the garments and accessories at fabulously reduced prices. They will also have the opportunity to enjoy live fashion shows and indulge in beauty treatments.
Vaughan Allen, chief executive of Urbis, said: "Manchester and the North West have a burgeoning fashion culture in terms of designers and producers and, of course, an extremely strong consumer base. The fact that Urbis has been chosen to be the main venue for this event demonstrates the strength and success of the local fashion networks which Urbis is proud to support and encourage."
Ordsall Hall enters new era
A much-loved Salford landmark, Ordsall Hall, has moved a step closer to securing the cash it needs to be transformed into a world-class visitor attraction.
Salford's stunning Grade I-listed Tudor mansion dates back over 650 years and offers a unique glimpse into Tudor lifestyles. Earlier this year it was crowned Small Visitor Attraction of the Year at the Manchester Tourism Awards. However, restoration work is crucial in preventing its deterioration.
A bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund has passed the first phase of the process, meaning £4.1 million has been set aside for improvements, with a final decision expected this autumn.
If the bid is successful, it will help open up rooms of the hall that the public do not yet have access to; redevelop its grounds; create a high specification learning and community room; improve the exhibits and cement it at the heart of community life.
Salford City Council would still need to raise a further £900,000 through donations, and a campaign is now underway to sell 'virtual' roof tiles - a permanent acknowledgement in the fabric of the building once the refurbishment is complete. Each roof slate costs just £10 and you can buy your own by visiting www.salford.gov.uk/ordsallhall.
Flying the flag for Manchester
The M.E.N. Arena has done it again. Europe's largest indoor concert venue has sold more tickets than any other venue in the world this year, according to a recently released Pollstar report.
Manchester's 20,000-capacity venue has sold more than 600,000 tickets so far this year, beating New York's Madison Square Garden and London's Wembley.
The arena's popularity has recently been boosted by a number of sell-out performances by the likes of Kylie, Beyonce, Barbra Streisand and Dolly Parton, while hotly anticipated comebacks from The Police and Take That are still to come this year.
And the M.E.N. Arena's 2007 success is not a one-off. Its ticket sales over the last five years have reportedly topped five million, making it the world's top-selling venue over this period.