With the first of Oasis' epic homecoming gigs now only hours away, Manchester's going all out to extend the biggest of Mancunian welcomes to all fans of the legendary band who are heading to the city.
The sold-out shows will see 340,000 fans from across the globe descend on Manchester over the course of the next week and city bosses have pulled out all the stops to dress the city and help make sure everyone has a great time, with a packed programme of fantastic music themed events and activities across the city centre as part of its MCR Live '25 campaign.
Music fans with or without tickets to see the boys from Burnage are invited to get themselves into the city centre this weekend and over the next few weeks and enjoy everything on offer.
There's block parties in the Northern Quarter with live music and djs, a fantastic market selling all music related stuff on St Peter's Square, pop-up live music performances, the Manchester Live hub bar with its Manchester themed drinks and stage with live acts and DJs in Piccadilly Gardens, and a whole week of Oasis themed stuff going on at Manchester's award-winning Central Library.
Plus there's an absolutely brilliant guitar trail Music for the Senses now open across the city - with fabulous guitars that have been turned into stunning works of art by some amazing artists, including 'Guitar Street' a whole street that has got guitars strung across it like bunting, each one with the face of an up-and-coming young Manchester musician on it, and 'Cathedral of Sound' in St Peter's Square - an incredible huge metal dome structure that's been completely covered in real guitars by artist Lazerian, that you can walk around and walk through and is both beautiful and awe-inspiring.
There's also a whole bunch of guitars to see as part of the trail that have been donated by famous faces - including of course one from Oasis which has been signed by Liam and Noel and is going to be auctioned off at the end of the summer along with all the others, to raise money for grassroots music projects and venues in the city.
So whether you've got your ticket and are looking for something to do on your way through to the big gig, or you're one of the unlucky ones without, the centre of Manchester is where it's at. There's a brilliant atmosphere right across the city, and with pre-show parties, after-shows, and a whole lot more going on, it's definitely the place to be, especially for anyone who doesn't have a ticket to the big gigs this weekend themselves.
Music fans who don't have tickets shouldn't travel to Heaton Park - they should come instead to the city centre and enjoy what's on offer there.
There are no facilities for them at the park and they will not be able to see the concert or get into the event arena - which is double-walled with solid high security fencing all the way round and in excess of 2000 event security staff and police officers on duty around the site to ensure both the safety and wellbeing of ticketholders and that only those who have tickets access the concert. Measures will also be in place to clear the park of all non-ticket holders before the concert gets properly underway.
Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: "Manchester is known the world over for our fantastic music scene which this summer alone will see 1.3m music tourists visit the city.
"The additional boost to the city's economy - already one of the fastest growing in Europe - from music fans is huge and is felt right across the hospitality and retail sector, with hundreds of thousands of pounds spent by them in our hotels, bars, restaurants, and shops.
"We're all set to welcome music fans from across the globe into Manchester today and this next week for what is going to be a supersonic string of hometown dates from Liam and Noel.
"The whole city is going all out to celebrate and help everyone have a good time. We've got some fantastic things going on with a real party atmosphere for everyone to enjoy, whether they have tickets for the Oasis gigs or not. Anyone without a ticket though shouldn't travel to Heaton Park, there's nothing for them to see or do there. They should get themselves into the city centre instead where there's a fantastic atmosphere with an absolute ton of things happening on gig days to get involved in and enjoy, and to make sure everyone has a brilliant time."
Find out the full lowdown on everything that's happening as part of MCR Live '25