Manchester Central

Train station, car park and yes... GMEX. Just like a certain global pop sensation, we too have had many eras. We asked local writer and tour guide, Jonathan Schofield, to take us on a whistlestop tour of each one and journey through the venue's history 🔙 Take a look 👇🏼 | 📽 What Media |

💡 Manchester: Where Packaging Meets Progress Manchester isn’t just the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution - it’s now one of the UK’s fastest-growing innovation ecosystems, making it the ideal location for the future of packaging. Here’s why this city is shaping the next era of packaging across retail, food & beverage, pharma, and beauty: 🧠 World-class research – The University of Manchester's Innovation Factory and Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub are powering breakthrough packaging technologies with over 300 industry partners. 📦 A hotbed for startups – With 1,600+ tech startups, Manchester has the largest tech ecosystem outside London, nurturing sustainable packaging disruptors and cutting-edge design firms. 💡 Investing in the future – Local manufacturers have invested £6.7M in robotics, AI, and automation, creating 451 jobs and boosting the economy by £69M—innovation with impact. ♻️ Sustainability in action – Initiatives like Open 3P are transforming packaging data into real, circular solutions for a greener supply chain. Manchester isn’t just hosting a packaging show. It’s fueling a movement. 📍 Join us at the epicentre of progress at Manchester Central on 3rd & 4th September! Marketing Manchester #PackagingShow #Manchester2025 #InnovationHub #PackagingSolutions #SustainablePackaging #SmartPackaging #UKTech #CircularEconomy #FMCG #FutureOfPackaging

Our venue is not just a hub for events, it’s also located at the heart of a vibrant cultural landscape… To celebrate some of the incredible cultural offerings we have on our doorstep, we have produced a unique illustrated map in collaboration with Modern Designers ✏️ Whether you are looking to get some fresh air after a busy day of networking or are just looking for areas to explore outside of your working day, our new Cultural Map is the perfect starting guide to explore the culture and creativity in Manchester all within walking distance of the venue! Take a look at the map and download now via the link in the comments 👇

Supporting CN Agency100 🙌 We are so excited to be sponsoring the 25-26 edition of the CN Agency100, which is an amazing opportunity for agency leaders within the event management space to collaborate and share best practice. Here's to new connections and collaborations 🌟

Central Manchester, from Manchester Central… Our venue is not just a hub for events, it’s also located at the heart of a vibrant cultural landscape… To celebrate some of the incredible offerings we have on our doorstep we have produced a unique illustrated map, in collaboration with Modern Designers, which is the perfect accompaniment to any event. Whether you are looking to get some fresh air after a busy day of networking or are just looking for areas to explore outside of your event schedule, our new Cultural Map is the perfect starting guide to explore the culture and creativity all within walking distance of the venue! Interested in taking a closer look, or want to share with your delegates? You'll find a link to download the map in the comments below 👇 Interested in staying up to date with what is happening at the venue? You’ll find us @mcr_central on Instagram 📸

Meet the Team 👋 Lee, an Events IT Technician, has been working here at the venue for almost 3 years and is an integral part of ensuring the events taking place under our roof run smoothly... After another successful DTX event, which is part of Manchester Tech Week, we caught up with Lee to talk about his involvement in an event like that; "My role in DTX is to help install the large number of hardwired internet cables before the build, which for this show was approximately fifty and work alongside Aztec AV and the organisers to iron out any issues during the build and the event going live". To put the work into context - DTX has about ten times the average amount of hardwired internet cables and takes the team two full work days to install and network! Lee also has spent time as producer for some local bands, and shared with us that his favourite thing about Manchester is the vibrant independent music scene; "it’s just nice to live in a city where it’s possible to have that kind of music scene where you can support smaller local acts as well as the big bands" 🎵

From Car Park to Car Shows 🚗 Between its life as train station and being regenerated into an exhibition centre, the Manchester Central building was used as a car park for the local area. Who would've known that around 50 years later the building would be home to all kinds of unique events - even automotive exhibitions! Archive photo of Manchester Central from 1971, image courtesy of Manchester Libraries. #ThenAndNow #ManchesterHistory

It's countdown time! #WST2025 Next week marks the start of World Snooker Tour Championship, which is the third and final event in the Players Series, bringing together the best players of the season. Alongside the exciting competition matches, fans will also be able to get involved themselves with the return of the FREE WST fan zone! The fan zone will be open to the public and you won't even need a World Snooker Tour ticket to access it. The fan zone will be open in the venue all next week, and is perfect for fans, families, and children 🎱 🗓️ 31st March - 6th April 📍 Manchester Central

📍 Manchester meets Leeds Our teams are out in force today at CHS Leeds ready to meet #eventprofs and tell them all about why Manchester is the perfect destination for their next event. Anna, Paul and Elise are on stand 76 talking all things Manchester Central 😎 Hayley and Amy are on stand 5 representing our sister venue Concorde Conference Centre ✈️ If you're attending, pop by and say hello, they're buzzing to meet you!

English Tourism Week 🙌 With this year's theme of 'Supporting people and places to drive growth', we have been reflecting on the growth and impact we have seen from events held at Manchester Central... With Northern Restaurant & Bar increasing its attendance by 13.4% this year in comparison to its 2024 edition, we are proud to support our clients grow their events year on year ⬆️ The growth of events doesn't just have a direct impact though, the ripple effect is massive; for every £1 spent at the venue, £6 is spent in the wider city, meaning the positive effect of events held in Manchester benefits local businesses, communities, and the city's growth as a whole. We are excited for 2025 to unfold further as we expect to welcome almost half a million visitors though our doors, which would see £130million invested back into the city. Interested in reading more about why Manchester is the perfect location for events? Read our latest blog via the link in the comments 👇 #EnglishTourismWeek25 VisitEngland Visit Manchester VisitBritain