What’s on in Manchester for Jubilee bank holiday weekend: 2-5 June 2022

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will be celebrated early in June with a long four-day weekend that marks her 70-year reign.

Some folk will be holding street parties but there are a host of other events to help keep people entertained across the double bank holiday which runs from 2-5 June.

Here are a few of our favourites. If you’d like to let us know about an event, email us at [email protected]

Piccadilly Boardwalk presents ‘Platinum Jubilee celebrations’

Piccadilly Gardens will once again turn into an exciting hub of live music and dance performances, alongside food and drink stalls fit for a queen.

Local vendors will be hosting a variety of food and drink at a free event for the whole family to enjoy.

Piccadilly Boardwalk will be open 11am until 7pm between 2 June and 5 June.

Irlam Live

Irlam Live is back for its sixth year and runs from 2-5 June.

The annual music festival will be hosting Marti Pellow, Bananarama, The Feeling, N-Trance, Hue & Cry, Nadine Coyle and lots more.

Thursday and Friday of the festival will feature a variety of tribute acts, including Queen, Abba, Take That and Little Mix tributes. The four-day adult ticket costs just over £100, but a single day ticket can be bought for between £27-41.

More information can be found here.

Picnic in the Park

Friends of Clarence Park is a local voluntary group that is hosting a 1950s themed picnic with live music, entertainment and refreshments for the Jubilee weekend this year on Sunday June 5.

It is a free event at Clarence Park in Bury and guests are welcome to bring their own picnic lunch or grab cream tea at The Green Cafe.

More information can be found here.

The Manchester Flower Show

This year’s Manchester Flower Show is celebrating the Queen’s 70 years of service with flower displays, gardens and blooms including red, white and blue decorations.

Headlining this year’s free event is The Queen’s Jubilee Trail - 10 stunning professional displays located across the city centre inspired by the Queen’s 70 years of service, the Crown Jewels, the Changing of the Guard, the Queen’s love of horses and more.

It will be taking place between 2-5 June and more information can be found here.

Edgeley Park presents ‘An Evening with Queen’

Stockport County’s Edgeley Park is preparing for a 70th Jubilee celebration like no other with an incredible tribute to one of the world’s greatest rock bands – Queen.

The tribute band from London’s smash hit West End musical theatre show ‘We Will Rock You’ will bring ‘a kind of magic’ to Edgeley Park on Thursday 2 June, performing a host of the band’s greatest hits.

The event will take place from 6.30pm – 10.30pm with support acts leading up to the big show with Edgeley Park decked out in celebration of the Jubilee. There will also be the chance to grab a bite to eat and plenty of refreshments on offer from the various kiosks including pies from the award-winning Great North Pie Co.

Early bird tickets are available to buy fo £20 an adult and £15 for concessions (under 18s, over 65s, students, and guests with disabilities). Hospitality tickets, which include a three-course meal and welcome drink, are available from £75.

More information can be found here.

20 Stories Jubilee Garden Party

The restaurant rooftop terrace will play host to a ‘right royal’ British party celebrating all things royal and the best of British.

Expect a very British special afternoon tea along with live music from the resident DJ.

Reservations here.

Red Bank Cider Fête

Grub Manchester and Hogan’s Cider are collaborating to host the Red Bank Cider Fête from 4-11pm Wednesday 1 June and again at 4-11pm Thursday 2 June this year with a range of over 45 ciders and perries from around the UK.

A £5 ticket includes entry and a free glass and there will be a street food market, cocktails, DJs, pop up tasting events and more.

More information can be found here.

Exhibition celebrating the Jubilee in Central Library

Manchester City Council, Archives+ and Manchester Metropolitan University have collaborated to curate an exhibition in Central Library to celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.

Visitors can follow the story of her extraordinary life and seven-decade reign, starting from her birth in 1926 and including her visits to Manchester over the years.

There is special footage of the Queen extracted from historic archives especially for this exhibition, produced by Manchester Metropolitan University’s North West Film Archive showing how life and Manchester has changed during her reign. The exhibition is on display in Central Library on the ground floor and is open now, running until 30 June.

Scandalous Affair

Ducie Street Warehouse and Native Manchester have announced a packed programme for a festival-style weekend celebrating the Jubilee.

Scandalous Affair will include live performances from cabaret to drag queens and a line-up of top DJs gracing the venue, both inside and out on the terrace.

There will also be plenty of special food served, from weekend brunches to BBQs on the terrace.

Scandalous Affair starts on Wednesday 1 June and runs until Sunday 5 June. Entry is free and more information can be found at the Ducie Street warehouse website here.

A day of celebrations at the Trafford Centre

The retail and leisure destination is putting on a full day of celebrations to mark the Jubilee on Thursday 2 June between noon and 10pm.

In the afternoon there will be tea dances performed by the Miss Joanne Farnell School of Dancing on the main stage located in The Orient, with the dancers strutting their stuff to a soundtrack including Elton John, Queen and the Spice Girls.

Then in the evening there will be a Jubilee Beacon lit outside the Great Hall at 9.50pm. Around 600 local Girlguiding members from Salford and Trafford will be joining in the festivities at Trafford Centre throughout the day, while performances by Louby Lou and local musicians will take place on the main stage in The Orient from 7pm.

Find out more on the Trafford Centre website here.

A Royal Jubilee Celebration at Circle Square

Circle Square is throwing a Royal bash in Symphony Park in Manchester’s newest neighbourhood on Oxford Road.

The event is on Friday 3 June from 11am until 6pm and there will be pop-up food and drink stalls, family-friendly activities and live entertainment including characters for party-goers to grab a selfie with and stilt walkers.

A red double decker bus will also be there full of quintessentially British floral displays for people to see and photograph, and afterwards the flowers will be donated to Holy Name Primary School’s eco garden and Forest School.

Entry to the celebration is free.

Moxy Jubilee Pooch Party

It’s not just people who will be joining in the celebrations - your four-legged furry friends can also enjoy a Jubilee party.

Moxy Manchester City is throwing a special party for dogs and their owners, with a British-inspired cocktail on arrival for you and a Pupaccino for your pooch before enjoying activities such as a DJ, doggie ice cream, interactive games to play with your dog from ball pit to tunnels and a photo booth.

There will also be sweet treats, floral displays and a competition for the best canine fancy dress.

The event is on Sunday 5 June from 1pm until 3pm and tickets are £25 for two owners and a dog, with extra pups costing a further £5 each.

Jubilee Steamings at Bolton Steam Museum

Volunteers from the Northern Mill Engine Society will be firing up some of its collection of old steam engines at the Bolton Steam Museum to celebrate the Jubilee.

The events take place on Saturday 4 June and Sunday 5 June from 10am until 4pm and entry to the museum on Mornington Road off Chorley Old Road is free, though donations are much appreciated.

The volunteers have now restored a collection of more than 30 steam engines, the oldest of which dates back some 180 years.

Find out more here.

Jubilee Afternoon Tea at The Lowry Hotel

Five-star Manchester venue The Lowry Hotel is bringing a touch of class to the Jubilee celebrations with an afternoon tea fit for a monarch.

The tantalising menu includes indulgent sweet treats such as a lemon curd Swiss roll, lemon custard and crushed amaretti, and Gateaux Opera cake alongside savoury food such as a haddock kedgeree tart with cured egg yolk and caviar, roast beef and horseradish sandwiches with pickle and roquette and hot smoked salmon bagels with lemon crème fresh and dill.

The special afternoon tea is being served in the River Restaurant from Thursday to Sunday throughout June, with the exception of Father’s Day.

It costs £29.95 for adults and £13.75 for children and can be booked on The Lowry Hotel website.