What is the Best of Manchester?
Manchester is full of really good people. But the good they do is easy to miss. Because they don’t make a fuss - they just get on with it.
Yet they really are everywhere in our city. On every Manchester street and in every neighbourhood:
- the ones who show up for others, or,
- the everyday, consistent supporters of our communities, or,
- those who freely give their time, energy and compassion.
They put others first. They embody the values that make our city stand out. They do us proud. Yet they expect nothing in return.
We received over 900 nominations across the ten award categories – a phenomenal response.
To say ‘thank you’ to everyone who was nominated, we held three celebration events in September, hosted by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, the Leader of Manchester City Council, and its Chief Executive. A civic reception, hosted by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, was also held to celebrate the 32 winners in the Best of Neighbourhood Award category.
Each category was judged by a mixed panel of community groups, businesses, residents, councillors and Council staff. Three finalists, one each from the north, central and south areas of the city, have been invited to the final awards ceremony.
The event takes place Thursday 22 October 2026 at the Midland Hotel. You can watch a live stream of the ceremony on Vimeo from 7pm.