Over a thousand people use the Manchester10 iphone app

The free Manchester10 iPhone app is no stranger to regular visitors to this blog and it is growing in popularity and usage across the city. Over a thousand people now use the app regularly to give them quick look at what's happening in Manchester.

On any given night or day, Manchester is packed to the brim with a wide variety of special events, restaurants, concerts, places to have a drink etc. etc. etc. To produce a website to cover it all is tantamount to trying to create a Death Star. Great fun, obviously, but ultimately all too cumbersome. That's why we produce the Top Ten Things to do in Manchester and make it available for free on this blog and to iPhone users.

The iPhone version is updated throughout the week and the blog version is updated on a Monday. Nobody pays to be on the list. The only way events, places and things are listed is by being outstanding.

Thanks to everyone who uses and enjoys the list. It's a labour of love for us. This is our city and we're simply pinpointing 10 great things to do in it each week.

The Library Theatre has a new home

This looks like fantastic news to us so here's the press release in full:

Plans have now been confirmed for the Library Theatre Company’s new home and we are delighted to announce our brilliant and exciting new opportunity.

From 2014 a brand new building situated at the top of First Street*, will be The Library Theatre’s permanent base.

And it won’t just be a theatre. Cornerhouse are looking for a new home too and our two organisations will be working in partnership in this new world-class arts facility.

The building will boast a 500 seat-theatre, up to five cinemas, 600 sq m of contemporary gallery space, an education space and informal and outdoor performance spaces as well as an impressive café and state-of-the-art back of house facilities. It will enable LTC and Cornerhouse to work collaboratively, creating a major cross-artform production centre and ‘arts factory’.

Investigations into the refurbishment of the Theatre Royal, (the original proposal for the LTC’s relocation), and further architectural work have proved that it would not be possible for the building to match the ambitions of the company.

The relocation to the new cultural facility will allow The Library Theatre Company to enrich the theatre programme and extend and broaden the community and education offer.

Chris Honer, Artistic Director of the Library Theatre Company, said: “This is terrific news for Manchester audiences and the Library Theatre Company. It will enable the company to develop and expand its work and achieve its aspirations. The artistic potential of the collaboration with Cornerhouse is immense.”

Dave Moutrey, director and chief executive of Cornerhouse, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to create a unique, audience-focused centre for the arts and we are thrilled to be at the heart of it. We’re looking forward to collaborating with the Library Theatre Company to make the best use of our skills and resources to develop a financially sustainable artistic and social hub, that secures Manchester’s position as a leading destination on the UK’s cultural map.”

Councillor Mike Amesbury, Executive Member for Culture and Leisure for Manchester City Council said “These are extraordinarily exciting proposals which will create a world-class new cultural attraction. Combining the undoubted strengths and growing audiences of the Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre Company will allow the two companies to expand and flourish.”

Our next gathering is October 22nd at Manchester Art Gallery

Manchester Made It Easy
Lecture Theatre
Manchester Art Gallery
October 22nd at 10am

The next Manchester Made it Easy gathering is at Manchester Art Gallery at 10am on Friday 22nd October 2010.

With radical cuts to current levels of arts funding and increasing pressures to budgets, the focus of the next MMIE will be to examine how cultural organisations can further develop new and mutually beneficial partnerships with hoteliers and retailers around the city, and provide a forum for information sharing and networking.

Howard Raynor (Managing Director, World Class Service) and Kate Farmery (Head of Services, Manchester City Galleries) will open the discussion with a look at the opportunities, including a look at the mission and future plans of the Creative Tourist initiative.

Anyone with an interest in developing new ideas and partnerships are welcome and there is no cost to attending this meeting.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Louise If you're not able to make it, please feel free to send a colleague along. We hope you can make it....

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.

Metrolink extensions confirmed

Manchester has confirmed that three Metrolink extensions will go ahead. The extensions will see the system running to Oldham, Rochdale town centres by spring 2014 and Manchester Airport by mid 2016.

The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) confirmed funding of £0.5 billion from the Greater Manchester Transport Fund to deliver the three new tram lines.

Chair of the AGMA Executive, Lord Peter Smithsaid: “Public transport has a crucial part to play in supporting Greater Manchester's economy and these Metrolink extensions will give a huge boost to the region. I am delighted that these vital projects can now go ahead. These new Metrolink lines in particular will also be the catalyst for regeneration in several areas, so the announcement is great news.”

Manchester Airports Group has also agreed to provide a contribution to funding for the Airport line.

Chief Executive of the Manchester Airports Group, Geoff Muirhead said: “We are delighted at this news, and have been long standing supporters of the Metrolink extension since it was first proposed. We have consistently maintained that support and are pleased to see it coming to fruition, as it will make us one of the most accessible destinations in the region.”

14 new trams will be ordered to serve the extensions to Manchester Airport and Oldham and Rochdale town centres. The total number of new trams for Manchester’s expanded Metrolink is 62.

For much more detail and a list of the stations see LRTA.org's pages on the Oldham and Rochdale extensions and the spur taking the tram out to the Airport via Chorlton and Wythenshawe