And he’s from a familiar ‘family’Zippy used to sit in front of the town hall, but the latest ‘Manchester Giant Santa’ now is on top of the central library(Image: Manchester Evening News)

Manchester will get a new giant Santa for this year’s Christmas celebrations — and it’s from a familiar ‘family’.

The city will host its biggest-ever festivities this Christmas, as Albert Square returns to the celebrations for the first time since 2019.

Closed for the long-running town hall refurbishment, it is making a spectacular return to the Christmas party with a market and ferris wheel.

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It’s not the only new addition to 2025’s festive season, council Christmas spokesperson Pat Karney revealed on Wednesday (October 1).

“I can reveal Manchester is going to have a new Santa this year,” he said. “We have a new Santa, he is from the Zippy family. I will say no more.”

Zippy was an inflatable Father Christmas that sat on the town hall for years, who Mancs took into their hearts.

Manchester’s latest giant Santa — not-too-imaginatively called ‘Manchester Giant Santa’ — has been placed on top of the central library in recent years.

The ‘new Zippy’ will live in the same spot this winter, as the town hall refurbishment is not set to finish until summer 2026, the Local Democracy Reporting Service understands.

Albert Square was the focal point of the Christmas Markets in previous years(Image: Mark Waugh Manchester Press Photography Ltd)

Coun Karney made his comments as the council launched a new campaign to ‘celebrate pride in Manchester’.

The drive includes ‘a brand-new community events programme that celebrates every local area in our city’ off the back of Harpurhey Together, which held its inaugural neighbourhood parade in June.

There will also be a ‘flagship Pride in Manchester Awards’ which will ‘recognise champions in every ward of the city’, with winners nominated by Mancs themselves.

Next year’s Manchester Day will be the culmination of ‘the biggest celebration of Manchester we have ever seen’.

Council leader Bev Craig said the plan is not ‘frivolous fun’ and can genuinely bring the city together.

She explained: “The spirit of the city is not to ask for permission to change the world. We crack on and do it.

“To be able to say you are from Manchester is to be proud of Burnage or Moston, or Moss Side. To be proud of where you are from.

“This is what this city is about. It recognises everyone has a role to play and everyone will be celebrated in what they do.”

The city already hosts a variety of celebration parades for St George’s Day, LGBTQ+ Pride, and the city’s Italian community among others.