If you order a takeaway with Deliveroo next week you could just be lucky enough to end up with a free holiday this summer too.
The delivery service is celebrating its seventh birthday in the city next week with a week-long ‘Deliv-air-roo giveaway’, which will see 21 different flight tickets, each worth £500, snuck into people’s takeaways at random.
Each day between 9 and 15 May, the delivery platform will celebrate one of Manchester’s most ordered global cuisines – and any customer who orders from participating restaurants in the offer will be in with a chance to win a free trip to the home country of the dish.
Throughout the week, Deliveroo will celebrate the cuisines of Italy, America, Greece, Thailand, Mexico, Germany, and Portugal, teaming up with some of Manchester’s favourite restaurants including Burgerism, Rudy’s and Just Natas.
There will be 21 different prizes up for grabs from 21 different Manchester restaurants, with three different holidays randomly given away in orders each day.
These will come in the form of 21 Deliveroo branded flight tickets, which will be snuck into delivery bags by members of the Deliveroo team at random to ensure that the competition is fair.
New Deliveroo customers in Manchester that sign up to Deliveroo from today will also get £10 off their first delivery when they spend a minimum of £15, using the code ROO10OFF.
image: The Manc Eats
Which Manchester restaurants are participating?
Monday 9 May will see Italian cuisine celebrated with a strong focus on pizza, with prizes up for grabs for those ordering from Nell’s, Rudy’s and Corner Slice.
Tuesday 10 May will focus on American dishes, with Deliveroo partnering with Yard and Coop, Burgerism and Fat Hippo on the second day of its big birthday giveaway.
Wednesday 11 May will look towards Greece, with Laros, The Athenian and The Real Greek all confirmed as taking part.
Image: Just Natas
Image: The Real Greek
Thursday 12 May’s prizes will be geared around the world of Thai food, with flight tickets hidden in orders from Rosa’s Thai Cafe, Tampopo, and My Thai.
On Friday 13 May, it’ll all be about Mexican food with Dons Tacos, Tortilla and Chilango all taking part in the big giveaway.
Saturday 14 May will see Deliveroo celebrate German food in Manchester, working alongside Donershack, Gyroland at Cargo and German Doner Kebab.
And to round off a big week of prizes, Sunday 15 May will be all about Portuguese dishes with tickets randomly hidden in orders from Just Natas, Pepe’s Piri Piri and Franguitos.
Image: Rosa’s Thai Cafe
How can winners claim their prize?
The symbolic Deliveroo flight tickets will all have instructions on the back to tell the customer how to claim their prize.
Winners will be asked to send in a selfie of themselves with the flight ticket and tell Deliveroo their unique ticket number so that the company can then verify them as a winner.
Once they have been verified, Deliveroo will send every winner a flight voucher for £500.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Rochdale has officially been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
Taking over the reins from Bolton – which held the title in 2024 – and following in the footsteps of Stockport before that, which held the title in 2023, and even hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close, it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale.
Rochdale’s year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about? It’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region.
Bury was the inaugural title-holder 2020 and held onto it in 2021 too due to the COVID pandemic, before being followed by Stalybridge in 2022, Stockport in 2023, and of course, Bolton in the year just gone.
The title celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
This includes the popular free days out for families, an exciting new urban arts festival, two different food and drink festivals, a lantern parade, the Ignite Fire Festival, a Pride parade, and so much more.
You can also expect live music performances, a new people’s gallery, and even some major international collaborations that are yet to be announced.
Rochdale is taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024 / Credit: Rochdale Council
“Rochdale is a place with a rich cultural history, so it is great to name it Greater Manchester’s town of culture as it’s town hall and town centre enter a new era,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the borough was crowned this week.
“Rochdale submitted a fantastic bid for this which, was incredibly exciting and ambitious, while being firmly rooted in its local talent and deep history.
“We are definitely going to see the very best of what Rochdale has to offer over the next 12 months and people will come from far and wide to see it.”
Featured Image – Rochdale Council
News
The Lowry Theatre undergoes revamp following Biffa Award grant
Danny Jones
The Lowry in Salford Quays has had a bit of TLC with one of its biggest theatre spaces undergoing a pretty significant refurb this past month.
Following a well-deserved grant distributed via the Biffa Award, a multi-million-pound fund that helps to build communities and transform lives through community and environmental projects across the UK, the legendary local theatre received nearly £75k last year.
As a result, all 440 seats and various other aspects of The Lowry‘s Quays Theatre have now been renovated and refurbished.
The short story is, she looks more gorgeous than ever – see for yourself:
Being initially handed over in March 2024, The Lowry was awarded a total of £74,816 to reupholster seating in the venue’s Quays Theatre with new padding and fabric.
After almost 25 years of constant use as one of the most popular theatres in the North, the seats in the Quays Theatre were much in need of a refurb, and with work completed in December, Lowry visitors can now enjoy watching the venue’s wide range of theatre, dance, comedy and drama in comfort.
The work was actually carried out between July and December, with seats being carefully removed in batches and reupholstered off-site.
This was made possible due to the Biffa Award’s most recent ‘Cultural Facilities’ theme, which aims to improve recreation, interest and education, drawing funds from the UK government’s wider Landfill Communities Fund.
The old fabric and padding were disposed of sustainably, with lots of it being repurposed where possible to minimise waste and all the new materials used meet current guidance for safety and quality.
The Lowry’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Development, Gwen Oakden, said of the long overdue update:“It is so important that our audiences are able to enjoy our world-class performing arts programme in a comfortable and welcoming space.
“For many visitors to the Quays Theatre, this is their first experience of live performance – often to see a family show or as part of a school trip. We really want it to be the best experience possible, and for them to begin a lifelong relationship with Lowry.
“As a registered charity, without the generous support of this Biffa Award, for which we’re hugely grateful, we couldn’t have carried out this important work for our audiences.
As we head into our 25th Anniversary year, we are delighted to be able to welcome audiences and visitors can enjoy the beautiful and revived Quays Theatre.”
As for the Biffa side of things, Grants Manager Rachel Maidment added: “We are delighted to have supported The Lowry in refurbishing the Quays Theatre seating, ensuring audiences can continue to enjoy performances in comfort.
“Through Biffa’s Cultural Facilities theme, we fund projects that provide engaging and inspiring spaces for communities. The Lowry is a key cultural venue, and we’re proud that our funding, made possible through the government Fund, has helped enhance the experience for visitors for years to come.”
Like most Mancs, we love The Lowry, so here’s to hosting countless more theatregoers in the most comfortable seats possible for generations to come.
We’ve been to some brilliant performances around here of late.
Georgina Pellant -
4th May 2022 
