The Labour Party Conference in Manchester

Manchester City Council has made the following statement regarding road closures for the Labour Party Conference:

"Manchester is hosting its third Labour Party Annual Conference from 26-30 September 2010 at Manchester Central - the city's world-class exhibition and conference hub.

The success of the 2006 and 2008 Labour annual conferences meant that the organisers had no hesitation in returning to our city for a third time. Furthermore, they have stated that its 2012 and 2014 annual conferences will be held in Manchester .

More than 11,000 delegates and 2,000 media representatives will attend Europe's largest political conference and many will participate in the hundreds of fringe events being held within the convention complex and surrounding venues.

This conference is expected to generate more than £15.5 million of economic benefit for the region and increase the city's international perception as a quality conference destination.

Manchester's city centre will be extra busy during the five days of conference and roads close to Manchester Central and its surrounding hotels and restaurants will be affected.

Traffic and pedestrians will be diverted away from some streets and some buses will be rerouted."

Manchester United vs Rangers. 14th September 2010

In anticipation of Manchester United's UEFA Champions League match against Glasgow Rangers on 14 September (KO 19:45), Greater Manchester Police (GMP) will be leading Operation Surround.

"We want all genuine fans to enjoy themselves, whilst sending a message that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated in our city."

GMP is working in partnership on the Operation with Strathclyde Police, the official fan clubs from both teams, Manchester City Council, Piccadilly Partnership and Cityco.

GMP is not expecting Piccadilly to become a meeting place for a huge number of fans; it is more likely that the fans using the area will be doing so as a pass-through to the tram stops or bus station in order to get to Old Trafford. Part of the the Operation will involve taking the travelling fans to a reception area in Wigan, where they will be issued with tickets and escorted to and from the match.

Barclays Live searches for Manchester's hottest dance acts

Barclays is celebrating the ongoing investment in its branch network with a competition to find the country’s hottest dance acts, and it's coming to Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester on Saturday 4 September.

The competition is open to anyone who thinks they've got what it takes to become Britain's next dancing superstar, be it as an individual, duo, group or troupe.

The top ten entries will be put through to live auditions, which will take place on Saturday 4 September on a stage at Piccadilly Gardens. These contestants will perform in front of a celebrity panel of judges including Strictly Come Dancing's Brendan Cole, as well as an audience made up of the great people of Manchester!

The top five acts will then be subject to a public vote to decide the winner via the Barclays Live website www.barclayslive.co.uk

The winning act will be waltzing away with a pair of VIP tickets to see Brendan Cole in action as well as dancing all the way to the bank with a cool £1,000!

The Barclays Live auditions will form part of a day-long programme of events, including a dance master class by Brendan Cole and performances by a variety of fantastic dance acts.

Brendan Cole says "The Barclays Live competition is a great opportunity for talented dancers in Manchester and I am really looking forward to experiencing some fabulous performances. If you haven't entered the competition already, make it the very next thing you do, and I'd like to invite anyone in the area on Saturday 4September to pop down to Piccadilly Gardens to join me for a whole host of dancing fun."

Children under the age or 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.