Salford centenary celebrations: major programme highlights revealed
Following a series of city-wide celebrations and commemorative art commissions that have brought communities together and celebrated civic pride since April, Salford City Council has announced the next highlight moments in the year-long programme marking 100 years of city status.
Co-produced by two of Salford’s leading creative organisations Walk the Plank and From The Other, the programme continues into autumn, with a series of landmark cultural experiences, showcasing Salford as a forward-looking creative powerhouse.
Supported by public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, the cultural programme for Salford’s centenary has been exploring the past, celebrating the present and imagining the future of Salford through a series of art commissions and community events.
Each commission has been designed to ensure world-class culture is accessible to all, with all events free to attend, cementing Salford as a cultural hub for the arts.
Councillor Hannah Robinson-Smith, Lead Member for Culture, Heritage, Sports and Leisure at Salford City Council said: “There’s already been such a huge programme of activities that residents have been enjoying throughout the year, and now it’s time to get ready for some more unmissable moments as we continue to celebrate Salford’s centenary.
“We’re so proud to be working with these brilliant creative organisations based here in Salford and delighted that we’re able to provide these events for free for our residents.
These are truly unique experiences for everyone to enjoy and will be the culmination of special collaborations and community engagement from across the city. It will be amazing to see so many local Salfordians being a part of these events and I encourage everyone to come along and join us for what will be some really special moments within our city’s centenary year.”
What’s coming up:
Salford Everywhere: A City Gathering: October, 9 and 10, 6pm, Peel Park
From The Other presents the world premiere of Salford Everywhere, a monumental living portrait of Salford and its people created by award-winning visual artist and filmmaker Matthew Rosier, his most ambitious project to date.
On October 9&10 video artworks featuring over 1500 Salfordians will be projected onto buildings in the city, including the iconic Salford Shopping Centre building in Pendleton. A major free event will take place over both evenings from 6-10pm at Peel Park where Rosier’s 45 minute video, shown live twice each night, will be projected at scale onto the University of Salford’s Maxwell Building. The video will be accompanied by a live score celebrating the city’s rich musical heritage, featuring local choirs and brass bands, arranged by Michael Betteridge, with music direction by Salford-based composer and DJ, AFRODEUTSCHE.
Salford Shopping Centre in Pendleton will be illuminated simultaneously each evening (7-10pm) by the 1553 local contributors who feature in the project, silently projected at monumental scale, creating a powerful tribute to the people who make up Salford’s story.
From pigeon fanciers, NHS workers and builders to supermarket teams, school children, chess players, dementia support groups, food bank charity teams, local athletes and Royal Mail staff, Salford Everywhere captures the spirit of the city through the people who make it.
Speaking about the artwork and its premiere, artist Matthew Rosier said: “I’ve always loved working with the people of Salford. This city has such a strong social identity and history, from the first publicly funded park, Peel Park, where our project culminates, to the social clubs, where groups and teams from across the city participated in the film. Having spent a month editing the footage of over 1500 Salfordians, what comes through is the humour, togetherness and toughness of this place.”
Mark Carlin, Co-Director, From The Other, added: "It's a true culmination of the commission, seeing so many Salfordians projected 20m tall above the park (and 75m tall in Pendleton)! This is not just a public spectacle, it’s an important project about representation and collective identity in 2026. We had so much fun making this with people from all walks of life from across Salford. It was a vital reminder about just how much as humans, we have in common."
Salford Centenary: The Wagon Train Finale - Sunday October 25 , 6pm, Seedley Park (part of Buile Hill Park)
The Wagon Train stage has been travelling across Salford all summer and is now set for a grand finale edition taking place on Sunday October 25.
Residents can expect a magical outdoor spectacle for a family audience of 3000 created by outdoor arts curators Walk the Plank. As the clocks turn back, the event celebrates the city's heritage, shines a spotlight on today's talent, and looks to Salford’s future.
Visitors can expect aerial performances, a glittering glowing Time Capsule, the Wagon Train of Inventions (celebrating innovations such as electricity and space exploration).... and the return of the gigantic birthday cake! The event will feature dancers representing the heydays of Salford’s entertainment nightlife from ballroom to northern soul; and live music from drummers, plus DJs.
Children will get the chance to work with artists to create the Fuel of the Future: lanterns made from willow and tissue paper which will be carried by the children in the performance; and the Pride of Salford torch bearers will arrive to ignite a huge fire drawing, designed by young people, before a short firework finale illuminates the night sky.
Speaking about the finale event, Liz Pugh, co-founder of Walk the Plank, said: “The Wagon Train Finale will be a chance for families and communities to come together to celebrate Salford’s centenary with a bang, while looking ahead to the city's bright future and shining a spotlight on homegrown talent. From musicians to dancers, the show will feature over 350 Salfordians, many of whom we've been working with throughout 2026. It’s been an absolute pleasure to be such a huge part of the city's birthday and to collaborate with communities on this scale. We can't wait to share this spectacle!”
Preview: Songs of Salford (Live)
Saturday November 14 , 7.30pm Swinton Grand Palais
Limited spaces - FREE tickets to be released soon
A collection of Salford musicians, forged in its neighbourhoods and communities, come together to tell the story of the city, in Salford’s 100th year. To mark Salford’s centenary, From The Other and award-winning Producer Charlie Deakin-Davies have assembled five artists, to create the definitive sound of Salford today.
The record features collaborators: classically-trained vocalist and pianist Salo, spoken work artist The Thirsty Poet (AKA Matt Concannon), infamous battle rapper Che3kz who works with young people at Salford’s Youth Zone, Zimbabwean-born songwriter & poet Meduulla who studied at Salford City College and singer-songwriter Sam Seth, a University of Salford alumni. The record also features communities from Age Friendly Salford, Salford Youth Zone, Monton Community Choir and music engineering students from University of Salford - celebrating Salford’s history, people and future.
Saturday 14th November at the iconic Swinton Grand Palais will be the first opportunity to hear the record performed in full, ahead of its release in 2027. Performing the record will be: Salo, The Thirsty Poet, Che3kz, Meduulla and a ten piece ensemble from BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
Emma Thompson, Co-Director, From The Other, says: "We're really excited to share a live version of the full Songs of Salford record. It will bring together all the creatives who worked on the project for a really special performance ahead of the release in 2027. Working with these incredible artists to write new songs about Salford and its people has been a joy and we cannot wait for everyone to hear the sounds of Salford in 2026 - we’re really proud of what we’ve made together.”
The Songs of Salford record will be released in 2027. More information available soon.
A look back on some highlights from earlier in the year:
Birthday City
The city-wide celebrations began on Salford’s official birthday -April 21, as lucky residents who share their birthdays with the city received special surprises.
After months of research and reviews of friends and family nominations, creative stalwart Walk the Plank identified seven Salfordians set for a special birthday treat. Amongst the lucky ones were a teaching assistant who’d worked in the same school for over 20 years, turning 61, a nine-year-old boy and founder of local suicide prevention charity Jak’s World.
The day was filled with cheer as special performances from the likes of Mr Wilson’s Second Liners, Manchester Dhol Players and BBC Philharmonic accompanied by dancers and a giant cake took place across the city, including on a commuter train, surprising residents in their places of work, school and even in a local supermarket.
The Centenary celebrations continue across the city throughout the rest of the year. For more information about the full programme and the individual commissions, visit https://www.salford100.org.uk/ .