Noughties pop sensation Girls Aloud have announced a huge reunion tour next year, including two nights in Manchester.
Cheryl Tweedy, Nicola Roberts, Kimberly Walsh and Nadine Coyle will regroup to embark on a massive arena tour to mark their 21st anniversary.
It’s been over two decades since they won over the nation on reality TV programme PopStars: The Rivals. It’s also been 10 years since they last performed together.
The anniversary tour, called ‘The Girls Aloud Show’, is set for next summer and will honour band member Sarah Harding who died of breast cancer at the age of 39, in 2021. The tour will include two dates in Manchester at the AO Arena on May 23rd and 24th, 2024.
The band have confirmed the show won’t feature any new music but instead will ‘be a celebration of Girls Aloud’s rich back catalogue and all the groundbreaking success they have achieved as a band’.
The hugely anticipated shows will feature all of the band’s historic pop hits including No.1 songs ‘Sound Of The Underground’, ‘The Promise’ and ‘I’ll Stand By You’, alongside cast-iron classics such as ‘Love Machine’, ‘Call The Shots’, Biology’, ‘Something New’ and ‘The Show’.
Rumours of a reunion started circulating online on Wednesday evening (November 22nd) after eagle-eyed fans spotted each band member had posted something to their Instagram platforms.
The posts were vintage cinema screens with numbers, seeming to create a countdown to something.
It started with Nicola on Sunday as she posted the image with the number ‘four’. Kimberly did the same on Monday with the number ‘three’, followed by Nadine posting the number ‘two’ on Tuesday.
Social media users soon understood that some big news would be announced. On Wednesday, Cheryl dropped the number ‘one’ and sent fans into a complete frenzy as her caption simply read ‘8:30am tomorrow’.
Information regarding tickets can be found on Ticketmaster, with Tickets due to go on presale on November 29th.
About the upcoming reunion tour, Cheryl said: “We all started talking about the possibility of doing something to celebrate Girls Aloud’s 20-year anniversary a few years ago.
“The anniversary seemed like an obvious thing that we would celebrate. But when Sarah fell ill all priorities changed.
“She passed away a year before the anniversary and it just didn’t feel right, it felt too soon. But now, I think there is an energy that does makes it feel right.
“It’s the right time to celebrate Sarah, it’s the right time to celebrate the band and the right time to celebrate the fact we can still do this 21 years later. That’s a big honour in lots of ways.”
Kimberley said: “It feels like something has changed and it does feel like the right time to celebrate Sarah and the 20-year anniversary that we didn’t celebrate at the time.”
Nicola continued: “It will be massive celebration of everything we’ve done up to this point. We want people to leave being like, ‘Wow, I’ve just had one of the best nights of my life’.”
And, Nadine added: “Girls Aloud are a band that made such a huge impact on people’s lives.So for us not to do something again feels like such a shame and a waste. We want to have that moment with fans where we can all enjoy it together.”
To find out information about the The Girls Aloud Show arena tour and tickets, visit Ticketmaster by clicking HERE.
Get in the festive spirit with a brand new FREE Christmas makers night market, with over 40 traders and small businesses from across the region. Brought to you by Renaker, the Manchester Made Christmas night market is coming to New Jackson, Deansgate Square from Friday December 6th to Sunday December 8th.
Following on from a successful summer market in May, the Manchester Made Market is returning bigger and better than before but with a Christmassy twist.
Manchester Made Market
Expect a ‘cosy and magical’ Christmas night market experience, with food, drink, live music and even a grotto for visits to Father Christmas. There’ll be Christmas trees galore, glittering with lighting, with one huge show-stopping tree taking centre stage.
Bringing together over 40 artisanal traders and small businesses from across the region, the three-day event will showcase a plethora of food produce, homewares, crafts and creations.
Manchester Made Market
Visitors will be sure to find unique Christmas gifts that support local businesses, including from The Cole Men and their award winning sauces, Moon & Sixpence’s handmade jewellery, and fine art photography by Craig Barker.
There’ll be live music from a 20-piece choir, playing Christmas classics, cocktails from Manchester Gin and Gooey’s sweet treats. The experts from Millington Hall Farm in Altrincham will be bringing a taste of their Wild Grill experience, including live sausage making demonstrations and an array of German sausages served from a festive BBQ trailer.
Manchester Made Market
Families with children can visit the Christmas grotto, where Father Christmas himself will be waiting in a cosy tipi – kids will get a gift from Santa, and bookings can be made online for £8.50 per child.
Manchester Made Market will be open from 4pm to 9pm on Friday December 6th, and 1pm to 9pm on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th – pre-register for a free guest list ticket and 50% off a hot chocolate HERE, or book the Christmas grotto HERE.
Stockport’s free, one-day Christmas festival is returning this festive season, with 200 performers and more than 50 shows.
Spectacular Sunday will return to the town on November 17th at various sites and venues.
Following the success of last year’s event, hundreds of performers will take over Stockport, with everything from giant roller-skating presents to a living snow globe and roaming Christmas dolls.
There will also be street theatre, including grumpy Christmas grandads, a gigantic balloon man and water show.
Matthew Nichol Photography
Produced by carnival arts organisation Global Grooves and organised by Stockport Council, Totally Stockport, Merseyway and Stockport Market, the town centre will be buzzing with Christmas excitement. Events will be happening in iconic Stockport locations like Market Place, Underbanks, Merseyway, Redrock and Suffragette Square.
A grand finale in Merseyway will bring together the brass bands of Stockport, ending the day with a huge flash mob and rendition of All You Need Is Love.
Cirq Delight
Cllr Singleton, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Sport, said: “We’re so excited to bring this event back after last year’s amazing success.
“It’s such a fun way to get everyone in the festive spirit and really shows off what makes Stockport special – our sense of community and joy.
“With loads of free performances and activities, plus a chance to enjoy the newly improved areas of Merseyway, it’s a perfect day out for families.
“Stockport’s Spectacular Sunday is all about having fun, making memories, and starting the holiday season in style.” Spectacular Sunday is happening from 11am to 5pm on Sunday November 17th – find out more HERE.
The prestigious Manchester Art Fair is back in town for its 16th year next month, bringing with it a vibrant gallery space showcasing thousands of works from over 500 artists.
One of the biggest and most significant events in the UK art world calendar, it’ll take over Manchester Central for three days, from Friday November 15th to 17th.
The city will be flooded with art from all corners of the world, championing everything from local heroes to new emerging talent, as well as international artists with worldwide acclaim.
Manchester Art Fair
A wide range of artistic disciplines will be represented at the event, from painters, illustrators, and sculptors to graffiti artists and everything in between.
Expect exhibitions, workshops, Q&A sessions, demos, book signings and parties happening across the event.
Tickets include free access to art workshops and talks from leading artists and cultural experts, and are on sale now.