Manchester’s New Year’s Eve celebrations to go ahead at Piccadilly Gardens without fireworks

New Year’s Eve celebrations will be going ahead at Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens this weekend – minus the fireworks.

Manchester City Council will be ending its run of seasonal events with a celebration at Piccadilly Gardens, where the live countdown to 2023 will be broadcast on the big screen.

There will be two areas for people to gather – a bar area and a family-friendly, alcohol-free viewing platform. A DJ will also be there to spin some tunes and entertain the crowds. Both areas will have limited capacity and will be closed once they are full.

Following on from the cancellation of the annual Bonfire Night events in November, the council have announced that there will be no fireworks at the stroke of midnight this year due to ongoing budgetary pressures.

Cllr Pat Karney, Manchester’s Christmas spokesperson, said: “We know that New Year’s Eve is a special night - one that everyone looks forward to – and we are all disappointed that we can’t go ahead with our usual fireworks this year.

“Unfortunately, we simply cannot justify the increasing costs of putting on a big display while also worrying about funding essential Council services. We believe that we should use the limited funding we have to put on free events in communities throughout the year and we look forward to seeing more of this in the coming months.

“But we couldn’t let New Year’s Eve go by without a true Mancunian countdown. So join us before midnight in Piccadilly Gardens and help us bring in 2023 in style.”