{"id":666569,"date":"2026-01-01T09:46:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T09:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/666569\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T09:46:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T09:46:32","slug":"thousands-ring-in-2026-after-a-year-like-no-other-in-manchester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/666569\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands ring in 2026 \u2013 after a year like no other in Manchester"},"content":{"rendered":"

The characteristic Mancunian rain held off for one night so our city, rocked by heartbreak in 2025, could start a new year in hope<\/p>\n

06:17, 01 Jan 2026Updated 06:22, 01 Jan 2026<\/p>\n

Manchester as it rang in 2026(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

As the clock struck midnight, thousands of people gathered in the centre of Manchester to say farewell to a year like no other.<\/p>\n

This Christmas<\/a> has been a big one for town, with the return of the city\u2019s world-famous markets and big wheel to Albert\u2019s Square. The markets attract millions of visitors, and this year was no exception as Manchester has been filled with tourists and local Christmas shoppers alike for the last two months.<\/p>\n

And for New Year\u2019s Eve tonight, town didn\u2019t let anyone down. The characteristic Mancunian rain \u2013 that saw St Peter\u2019s Square covered by umbrellas last year<\/a> \u2013 held off for one night.<\/p>\n

The clear night allowed the sky to be lit up by incredible fireworks outside the Central Library, soundtracked by Oasis, of course, and a bouncing audience only Manchester could provide.<\/p>\n

It’s an audience that bar and pub owners in town are thankful for, especially after a difficult few years marred by a pandemic and the still ongoing cost-of-living crisis still. Nick O’Halloran runs operations for Nancy Spains, which opened in spring of this year.<\/p>\n

It’s been a great start here in Manchester, he told the Manchester Evening News: “[The economic climate] has upped standards and that’s a good thing. People are making more effort.<\/p>\n

Nick O’Halloran(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

“It’s a great spot with a great presence.”<\/p>\n

A little later, one bar-goer, Amelia hung out of a taxi on her way to her night out as she told the M.E.N. about her New Year’s resolution: “I want to be more confident, to put myself out there a little more at work.”<\/p>\n

Friends, Niamh and Amelia, on their way to their night out(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to look at these celebrations yet not feel the heartache of one of the events that defined Manchester in 2025. This year is one many will look back on in devastation, one that many are desperate to leave behind as it claimed lives all too cruelly.<\/p>\n

Manchester became the centre of the world on October 2, as a terror attack unfolded on the steps of Heaton Park<\/a> Synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.<\/p>\n

But in the face of unfathomable horror, 2025 showed Manchester how its people could come together.<\/p>\n

The city gathered in love to show its support for Manchester\u2019s Jewish community, as crowds came out to vigils through the autumn in a moving symbol of defiance against hate.<\/p>\n

And there were plenty of other examples in 2025 where Manchester demonstrated how its spirit unifies us all.<\/p>\n

A city, united(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

Like walking through this same city in the summer, when the place came alive with Oasis fever. Hundreds of thousands hugged, danced, and chanted their hearts out to 20-something-year-old songs, born here in Manchester, that still mean something so special to each one of them.<\/p>\n

Tonight proved, again, that this city\u2019s power is its people. Families, tourists, glammed-up couples on their date nights \u2013 St Peter’s Square showed off all the walks of life calling Manchester home.<\/p>\n

Revellers on Deansgate(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Crowds began gathering hours ahead of time, including Fred Rigby, who caught the bus from Tyldesley. He showed up at 5pm, wearing two jumpers to keep himself warm, for a prime position on St Peter’s Cross.<\/p>\n

Next to him, wrapped in a blanket, were Noelia and Teo. A couple from Alicante in Spain, holidaying here in Manchester for the big night.<\/p>\n

Looking at the rest of the square, thousands more people with their own stories, coming together to join hands and go bravely into a new year with hope and heart, celebrating a fresh start in the way only Manchester can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The characteristic Mancunian rain held off for one night so our city, rocked by heartbreak in 2025, could…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,8086,37999,31848,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-666569","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-manchester-city-centre","13":"tag-new-years-eve","14":"tag-st-peters-square","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115819209486496760","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}