Manchester Day 2016

Manchester is a city of wonders. It never fails to amaze me . . . and today’s Manchester Parade 2016 (19th June 2016) was just another instance. The city is filled with its own share of history, culture, science and development; and with time it has encompassed within itself various other cultures and their customs. Manchester Day was a glimpse of what this city  had to offer to its people. 

The Manchester Day Parade was the special highlight of the event. Originating from Liverpool Road, the parade ran all the way up to Exchange Square through Albert Square and St Ann’s Square. I reached Albert Square around 11:30 am . The grounds were still prepping up for the parade and the crowd caught up as time went by. 

Children enjoying on the Merry-Go-Round

Displays at Albert Square

Display at Albert Square

A band before its performance

It was an amazing feeling sitting on the benches and seeing young children taking rides on the merry-go-round. Soon after, the adults joined them too. Not only was the merry-go-round colourful with its prettily dressed up horses and dragons; but also the smile and happiness of the children enjoying the ride made it all the more colourful. The expressions on the face of the children and the adults; who were either taking the run along with their children or on their own to relive their childhood memories, made it worth watching them for minutes. 

There was ample food to enjoy a sumptuous lunch with ice creams as desserts. While waiting for the parade, I decided to have my lunch as well ending with a Double Sherbet Vanilla Softy with chocolate flakes. 

Soon, it was around 1 O’ clock and the parade was due at 1:15-20 in Albert Square. People started setting up cameras, tripods, go-pros to capture the moment. Children sat down on both sides of the street waving their colourful flags and blowing bubbles. The commentators took their positions on the stage . Many VIP’s seated themselves on a vintage bus borrowed especially from the Manchester Transport Museum. The number of people were beyond guessing. Being a Sunday parents had brought their children to see the beauty of the city, the rich culture and heritage of the city . Thankfully, the weather complied – it was neither too sunny nor did it rain. 

Awaiting the parade

Taking a seat on the Vintage Bus

Finally, the parade began with the Lord Mayor of Manchester leading the way with his two dogs. He was followed by various groups, schools, associations and organisations with their beautiful inventions and actions in colourful costumes. the entire parade lasted for about 45 minutes after which I went to St Ann’s Square and Exchange Square to get a glimpse of the activities going on there. Trust me, the enthusiasm was as high as ever in both the places and the events went on till 6 pm.

The Lord Mayor Opens the Parade

The Parade in Action

Spaceman

Skeleton Man

Beautiful Planetary Display

A Colourful Display

The Kathakali Puppet by Malayali Association

An Astronaut

Innovative Investions- Steam Engine and Light Bulbs

Mr. Dino

Mr. Doggie Man

 

People in Action

Live Mona Lisa with Leonardo Da Vinci’s

Jelly Dance

The Backwards Weather Forecast

Musicians at St Ann’s Square 

The crowd at Exchange Square

I personally loved the parade and would take this opportunity to Congratulate the thousands of people who worked relentlessly to make this parade successful. their hard work clearly paid off. Lastly, but not the least, I would also mention the amazing crowd management volunteers, security and traffic control, fire brigades as well as medics who are always on -the-go to help the people of Manchester, day and night. 

Happy Manchester Day Everyone 🙂 !  If you missed the parade, catch all the actions here. .