Man City Women are hosting one of the biggest fixtures in the football calendar and the third Manchester derby of this season already at the Etihad Stadium next month.
The Barclays Women’s Super League title race is seriously starting to hot up now. Both Manc teams went close to lifting the trophy in the 2022/23 campaign and have been setting record-breaking crowds every time derby day rolls around, so the excitement ahead of this huge fixture feels bigger than ever.
Blue vs Red is as old as it gets and simply cannot be missed.
Better still, as more eyes continue to tune into the WSL and matchdays at the Etihad and Old Trafford continue to deliver some of the best matchday atmospheres and value-for-money days out, with Man City set to make the pre-match excitement the best it’s ever been.
With top-level football from two of the best teams in the country and countless Lionesses on show, more family-friendly entertainment than ever, adult tickets starting at just £10 and under-18s admission for just a fiver, you’d be a fool not to get your colours on and soak in the matchday splendour.
The Manchester derby will be the fourth time the Women’s team have graced the Etihad. (Credit: Supplied/Man City via X)
Gareth Taylor’s side took home bragging rights in both of the last two meetings between the teams, with an all-time record attendance for the derby at Old Trafford back in November 2023 and a huge win in the Conti Cup for the Blues last month.
The Joie Stadium has been a bit of a fortress for the home side but it goes without saying that playing under the lights across the campus at the Etihad itself, with what is no doubt going to be the largest and most pulsating crowd of the season, will serve as a huge motivation for City.
From the pyros and light shows, thumping music and drummers in the stands, to some of the best matchday scran and drinks you’ll find on-site anywhere in Greater Manchester for two-and-a-half hours up until kick-off at 12:30pm, we genuinely can’t wait for derby day on Saturday, 23 March.
City have now won eight on the bounce in the league but the big question is, can they make it three from three in the derby? A treble, if you will. Here’s how they faired in the reverse fixture in the Conti Cup:
The Etihad Campus fan zone has more on offer than ever too, taking the dedicated pre and mid-match festivities from league fixtures at Joie’s Stadium and doubling it at the men’s ground — there’s even going to be a dedicated kid’s fan zone this year too.
With soft play for the children and a dedicated kids’ fan zone on the indoor pitch at the City Football Academy itself; quizzes and interactive competitions where there are great prizes to be won, not to mention the chance to meet the much-loved Man City mascots, ‘Moonbeam’ and ‘Moonchester’, they’re going to have a blast and so are you.
Once again, even on derby day, watching Manchester City Women remains one of the most affordable ways to watch live sport and some of the best female talent anywhere in the region. It’s no wonder season tickets sold out but you still have time to grab a derby day seat on Saturday, 23 March HERE.
Hit theatre production set at a house party to visit Manchester on UK tour
Daisy Jackson
Alright then, 24 hour party people, we’ve found a theatre production you might like the sound of – it’s called The House Party, and it’s set in (you guessed it) a house party.
This smash hit production by pioneering theatre company Headlong is set to land at HOME in March as part of the arts venue’s 2025 theatre season.
It tells the tale of a wild 18th birthday party, where Christine is trying to pick up the pieces of her best friend, a newly-dumped Julie (who happens to be the birthday girl).
Themes of class, power and privilege are all explored with a raw intensity as the cast on stage plough through shots and dive head-first into a night that will change everything they know.
The House Party, which has received glowing reviews from previous showings, is filled with ‘privilege, desire and destruction’.
When it stops off in Manchester, its cast will include Bridgerton’s Sesley Hope as Christine, Synnøve Karlsen (Miss Austen, Last Night in Soho) as Julie, and Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack, Patience) as Jon.
The ensemble of Frantic Assembly performers includes Ines Aresti, Oliver Baines, Cal Connor, Micah Corbin-Powell, Rachael Leonce, Jaheem Pinder and Jamie Randall.
The House Party is written by Laura Lomas and is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie for today’s generation.
It’s directed by Headlong’s artistic director Holly Race Roughan, who directed the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere of David Edgar’s major new political play The New Real.
The House Party. Credit: Ikin YumThe production will be at HOME. Credit: Supplied
Movement direction will come from Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham.
Prior to the UK tour of The House Party, Headlong celebrated its 50 year anniversary, including the hit production of A Raisin in the Sun which played nationwide.
The House Party will be at HOME in Manchester between 25 and 29 March, 2025 – you can get your tickets HERE.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff
Daisy Jackson
If you’re not a handy person, when something breaks, the temptation is often to abandon or bin it straight away.
But that’s just not how we’re gonna do it here in Greater Manchester any more, with the return of the annual Repair Week to help you learn valuable repair skills and save money at the same time.
Whether it’s tinkering with your bicycle, fixing up your small tech items, or having your furniture re-varnished and upcycled, there are so many places and people who are on a mission to help you fall back in love with your belongings.
There are even workshops to help you put flat-pack furniture together.
Taking place between 3 and 9 March, Repair Week will be the chance to learn skills, fix your stuff, gain repair confidence and find local fixers.
Events throughout the week (and beyond) will be hosted by community groups, businesses and plenty more.
You can sharpen knives, fix zips, and un-wobble chairs with a little hand from local repair heroes.
JillyGDesign Jewellery in Heaton Moor will fix up your sentimental and special jewellery items, while Rag Revival will help you turn unusable textiles into new creations with basic sewing skills.
There are repair cafes popping up all over Greater Manchester where you can take your belongings.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff. Credit: Supplied
Repair Week will highlight schemes like the Manchester Library of Things, where you can borrow the tools and equipment you need for those repair jobs at home.
During the week you’ll also be able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the incredible Renew Hub, the UK’s biggest reuse hub, where donated items are brought back to life.
Similarly, you’ll be able to get inside the textile recycling centre run by homelessness charity Emmaus Bolton, where you can choose your own fabric from the scrap store and turn it into a very handy draught excluder to keep costs down and your heat in.
Recycle for Greater Manchester’s Repair Week will take place between 3 and 9 March, with workshops, events and resources to help you revive your belongings.
Danny Jones -
21st February 2024 
