Greater Manchester is warming up for its biggest summer of sport yet

21st April 2023

Greater Manchester has a global reputation for being a leading sports city. The city-region has two World-famous premier league football clubs, is home to numerous sporting organisations and governing bodies such as British Cycling and has a world-famous cricket ground. It has produced sporting icons across multiple disciplines and has been responsible for many memorable sporting moments over the years. So, it’s safe to say that sport is a part of Greater Manchester’s DNA.

Because of this, Greater Manchester is home to iconic sporting venues and state-of-the-art sporting facilities, which makes the city-region no stranger to hosting international sporting events. Of course, we host both national and international football matches almost weekly, but we’ve also hosted the Commonwealth Games, the Rugby League World Cup, the ICC Cricket World Cup, and just last year our region played host to some of the Women’s Euro 2022 matches.

Manchester Convention Bureau’s Sport Bidding unit helps to bring some of these events to life working in partnership with event organisers and sporting authorities including MCRactive, an arm of Manchester City Council responsible for driving sport and physical activity across Manchester. The Bureau identify major opportunities for Greater Manchester, connecting event organisers to key stakeholders across the city-region. The team also work with UK Sport, international federations, and local and national governing bodies of sport to help event planners through the bidding journey from identifying suitable venues and training facilities to accommodation booking and promotional support.

Now, with the help of Manchester Convention Bureau’s Sport Bidding unit and the city’s history of hosting successful international sporting events, Greater Manchester is gearing up for its biggest summer of sport yet with some very exciting return fixtures and new additions.

2023 is set to be a huge year in the city-region’s sporting calendar with large-scale events that will contribute millions to the local economy and help reaffirm our status as a leading city for sport globally.

Some of the biggest names in sports and athletics will be among the global athletes making their way to Greater Manchester this summer, creating excitement for thousands of spectators across the region and beyond.

With events and world championships spanning a whole host of different sports, there is something for every sports fan in Greater Manchester during 2023. Here are just some of the sporting events that the region is looking forward to over the summer.

Soccer Aid for UNICEF – Sunday 11 June

Thanks to Manchester’s sporting heritage and legendary sporting venues, Soccer Aid has chosen to once again return to Greater Manchester this summer with a star-studded line-up on 11 June. Hosted at one of the UK's most iconic stadiums, Old Trafford, legendary footballers, musicians, actors and entertainers will go head-to-head in the world’s biggest charity football match. This year, Lionesses Euro 2022 winner Jill Scott will captain the England team which includes Sir Mo Farah, Tom Grennan, Jermain Defoe, Paul Scholes and more. The Soccer Aid World team captained by Usain Bolt will include Lee Mack, Mo Gilligan, Tommy Fury and Heather O’Reilly. There are still more names to be announced and an incredible halftime show to entertain the thousands of fans, expected to attend.

UK Athletics Championships – Saturday 8 – Sunday 9 July  

Following an epic championship in the city last year, the UK Athletics Championships will return to Greater Manchester for the fourth consecutive year in 2023. Between 8 and 9 July 2023, more than 800 of Britain’s best athletes will compete as they race, throw and jump for glory. The event is the pinnacle competition of domestic UK athletics, and hundreds of athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators will be flocking to Manchester. Expect records to be broken as the likes of Dina Asher-Smith and Keely Hodgkinson compete for medals at the Manchester Regional Arena once again. This event will see athletes battle for both UK Championship titles and the potential for selection to the GB & NI team for the World Championships in Budapest later in the summer.

Para Swimming World Championships – Monday 31 July – Sunday 6 August

Manchester’s Aquatic Centre, home of the British Para-Swimming National Performance Centre, will host the Para Swimming World Championships. Over 1,000 global athletes will come to Manchester for the 11th edition of the world-class competition which is estimated to contribute over £1.7m to Manchester’s economy. The Manchester Convention Bureau’s Sport Bidding supported this bid to create a memorable event for both athletes and fans.

This year will mark the third time the Para Swimming World Championships have taken place in the UK following London and Glasgow in 2019 and 2015 respectively. The event showcases British and international athletes at the very pinnacle of their sport as well as showcasing inspirational stories and breaking world records. For many, this event will be a warmup for the Paris 2023 Paralympic Games.

British Weightlifting Championships – Saturday 5 – Sunday 6 August

In August, Manchester Central Convention Centre will host the British Weight Lifting (BWL) Championships. Thanks to another successful bid by the Manchester Convention Bureau’s Sport Bidding team, world-class athletes will come to the city to compete for British Championship titles. The championships include Senior championships, Masters Championships and Para Powerlifting Championships which will see athletes of all ages, weight classes and genders compete for glory. This means hundreds of athletes and spectators from across Britain will be heading to Manchester Central to compete and celebrate weightlifting as a sport.

The Hundred – Saturday 5 – Wednesday 23 August

Following a successful summer last year, the popular cricket tournament The Hundred will be heading back to Manchester for 2023. This unique tournament provides four weeks of entertainment and cricket action for sports fans with both men’s and women’s action running alongside each other as well as live music and entertainment for the whole family. With world-class players from across the globe, eight city-based teams created specifically for the hundred compete every summer. Each team has 15 players, with a maximum of four overseas stars. Manchester Originals men’s and women’s teams will once again take up residence at Emirates Old Trafford and will be bringing this high-intensity 100-ball cricket game to our city once again. 

Tour of Britain – Sunday 3 September

As the home of British Cycling, The Tour of Britain will return to Greater Manchester this year for the first time since 2019. The city will host the Grand Depart of the UK’s biggest professional cycle race on Sunday 3 September 2023 alongside a weekend of cycling events, activities and community engagement before the race begins. Being the city that kicks off this prestigious cycling race means that Greater Manchester can provide spectators with a chance to meet riders, get autographs and selfies with the team buses and check out the latest cycling equipment. The race will then continue across Britain for eight days before finishing in Wales on 10 September 2023.

Around 600,000 spectators are expected to come to Greater Manchester to watch the race begin, bringing an estimated £3.9m to the regional economy. Manchester is home to the National Cycling Centre, team GB athletes and even the offices for British Cycling, so it feels fitting that the country’s biggest cycling race should begin in a city with such strong connections to the sport. The weekend of activity hopes to inspire more people to get on their bikes and showcase Greater Manchester as a premier cycling region.

Davis Cup Group Stage – Tuesday 12 – Sunday 17 September

Closing Manchester’s summer of sport is an event widely regarded as the men’s ‘World Cup of Tennis’. Between 12 and 17 September some of the sports' biggest names and best players will descend on Manchester’s AO arena for the Group Stages of the Davis Cup Finals. Worth an estimated £10m to Greater Manchester’s economy, the Davis Cup will see Britain’s best tennis professionals taking on three other nations before they reach the quarter-final knock-out competition in Malaga this November.

Manchester is the fifth UK city to host the Davis Cup over the last 10 years. It’s hoped that bringing this major tennis tournament to the region will showcase the sport to more communities across the city region following recent successes in increasing participation in grassroots tennis, especially in Manchester parks.

The Manchester Convention Bureau’s Sport Bidding team worked alongside Manchester City Council and AO Arena with this bidding process and will continue to work with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to promote the event across the region, maximising its success.

Sheona Southern, Managing Director of Marketing Manchester, said: "We are thrilled with the announcement that Manchester has been selected to host the group stage of the Davis Cup later this year. With our strong history in supporting tennis over the years, we are confident in delivering an exceptional experience for tennis fans in Greater Manchester and hosting some of the best names in the game. 2023 is shaping up to be a spectacular year of sporting events in Greater Manchester, with the World Para Swimming Championships in August, the Tour of Britain Cycling Grand Depart in September, and the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final in December, we look forward to celebrating our success and welcoming the world."

To find out more about sporting events taking place across Greater Manchester this year, visit our upcoming conferences page. 

To learn more about how Manchester Convention Bureau’s Sport Bidding Unit can support you with your sporting event bid and planning to bring your competition to the city-region, contact us.