What's On in Manchester

The Girl Games - September 2026 — Kick your Sunday off with something genuinely inspiring at Bowlers Exhibition Centre, where The Girl Games brings together female and non-binary athletes for a celebration of sport, community, and competition from 9:00am. Whether you're competing or cheering from the sidelines, the atmosphere promises to be electric and uplifting. Tickets run from £15 to £40 — a brilliant way to start the day with purpose.

Stockport Guildhall Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Fair — For just £2, you can spend a slow, satisfying Sunday morning rummaging through the Stockport Masonic Guildhall's treasure troves of antiques, vintage curiosities, and collectors' gems from 9:30am. The Guildhall itself is a magnificent backdrop — all grand architecture and hushed reverence for things that have outlasted their owners. Go with an open mind and you'll almost certainly come home with something wonderful.

ALL THE FEELINGS TOUR with METRIC, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, AND STARS — This is the one that will have people talking for weeks — three of Canada's most beloved indie acts sharing a single stage at Manchester Academy from 6:30pm. Metric's propulsive synth-rock, Broken Social Scene's euphoric orchestral sprawl, and Stars' bittersweet pop romanticism make for a lineup that covers virtually every emotional frequency. Check the website for tickets, but do not sleep on this one.

FutureShock Wrestling: Hangover XII — Don't let the name fool you — FutureShock Wrestling at Fairfield Social Club is a full-throttle, breathlessly theatrical spectacle that turns Sunday afternoon (2:30pm) into something beautifully absurd and utterly unmissable. This homegrown Manchester promotion has been nurturing future stars for years, and Hangover XII promises drama, athleticism, and more than a few jaw-dropping moments. Tickets from £16 to £160 depending on how close to the action you want to be.

Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey — Tom Bailey — the man behind some of the most euphoric pop hooks of the 1980s — brings his Thompson Twins songbook to the magnificent Bridgewater Hall at 7:00pm, and the thought of 'Hold Me Now' reverberating around that acoustic masterpiece of a venue is genuinely thrilling. This is a night for anyone who has ever danced in a kitchen to a song they hadn't heard in twenty years and felt every single second of it. Check the website for ticket availability.

Desi Central Comedy Show Manchester — The Frog and Bucket is one of Manchester's most beloved comedy rooms, and at 7:00pm it hosts the Desi Central Comedy Show — a riotous celebration of South Asian voices, perspectives, and punchlines that consistently sells out wherever it lands. If you've never been to a Desi Central show before, prepare to laugh harder and more unexpectedly than you have in months. Tickets are £22, and honestly, worth every penny.