Despite drizzle, hundreds of performers brought their own sunshine to the annual Manchester Day celebrations on Sunday. Thousands lined the streets to cheer the centrepiece—the big Manchester Day Parade—snaking through the city centre. 600 performers from 25 community groups gave their all in a spectacular procession featuring dancers, drummers, giant bees, and Spain's regal "gegants" in a Catalan and book-themed parade for 2026.
Parade Draws Thousands Despite Rain
Artists from Barcelona joined as part of a unique partnership following Manchester's role as guest city at last year's La Merce Festival in Barcelona. The parade, months in the making, was brought to life by local community groups working alongside artists. Led by Manchester's giant Queen Bee and Worker Bee, and Barcelona's larger-than-life festival king and queen on their first trip outside Spain, it sparked whoops and cheers.
Parade highlights included a Chinese junk boat with the Hong Kong skyline, an enormous basket of colourful fungi, a huge bookshelf stuffed with oversized books, the Hungry Caterpillar cycling along, stilt walkers, exotic birds on umbrellas, a kingfisher, a phoenix, and an eagle on a bike. Volunteers from Friends of the Earth brought a troupe of endangered species animals, including a red squirrel, puffin, and butterfly.
Catalan Connection Strengthens Cultural Ties
With dancers in traditional costumes and live music, the parade wound from St Peter's Square along Deansgate, Cross Street and Princess Street, finishing back at St Peter's Square. Away from the parade, city squares filled with live music, dancing, theatre shows and pop-up performances, including duelling Shakespeares, unicycling knights, a giant polar bear, a brimstone dragon, and a walk-in sperm whale for story-time sessions.
Catalan highlights included The Ultimate Player's Handbook, a dance piece by Company Chameleon and Clementine & Lisard, first performed at La Merce last year. Performance artist Joan Català also performed with Pelat on Albert Square, blurring lines between circus, dance and theatre. In a nod to the National Year of Reading, Central Library opened with book-themed fun, including a ride in Willy Wonka's glass elevator and a walk through the wardrobe into Narnia.
Book-Themed Fun and Finale
The day's festivities closed on Albert Square, hosting for the first time since 2018 amid ongoing Town Hall refurbishments. Musicians and performers from Manchester and Barcelona joined in a finale featuring a battle of the bands with Barcelona's Always Drinking Marching Band, as the giant bees and gegants performed alongside, ending with confetti and fireworks.
Councillor Pat Karney, Chair of Manchester Day, said: "Hola Manchester! And hola Barcelona! What an amazing Manchester Day we've had this year. It's been a fantastic day from start to finish with such a brilliant atmosphere right across the city. I want to say an enormous thank you to our friends from Barcelona for bringing the most amazing Catalan vibes to Manchester and joining in our celebrations with such spirit and energy. And thank you also to all the artists and performers from Manchester and from Barcelona for sharing their talents with us and helping make it such a special day for all the thousands of people who came along and got involved."
The city council worked with outdoor arts specialists Walk the Plank, Global Grooves and others. The involvement of Catalan performers was supported by Barcelona City Council and the Institut Llull. Xavier Marcé, Councillor for Culture and Creative Industries of Barcelona City Council, said: "Barcelona has been delighted to participate in Manchester Day and to strengthen the cultural ties that connect our two cities. Through this collaboration, we celebrate creativity, diversity and the capacity of culture to bring people together across borders. We've been proud to share a glimpse of Barcelona's cultural spirit with the people of Manchester and to be part of this vibrant collective celebration."
