The Printworks is celebrating 15 years as one of Manchester’s top entertainment venues this weekend with two days of live music and competitions.

Saturday 14 November (kicking off at 2pm) is set to be ‘Live at The Printworks, with DJ Seno, singer Julia Aljaz and bands from across Manchester performing in The Pumpyard.

Sunday 15 November (staring 3pm) will be a throwback to the summer’s Soul Festival as ‘Soultastic Sunday’ welcomes back many of the performers from the summers festival including The Casino Allstars.

In 2000 the 350,000sq.ft venue was transformed from a printing house, producing more than eleven million newspapers each week, into Europe’s first urban entertainment centre, costing £150m, and becoming home to a variety of leading bars, restaurants, a gym and Manchester’s first ever IMAX cinema.

The Printworks was opened by icons Lionel Richie and Sir Alex Ferguson, who were joined by recording artist M.J Cole, Key 103 DJ Darren Proctor, radio presenters JK and Joel, the top 40 UK lookalikes and 4,000 special VIP guests who were all treated to a night to remember, culminating in a mesmerising firework display.

Since launch, The Printworks has welcomed approximately 118,500,000 visitors over its fifteen years, including a host of famous faces and sporting stars. In fact, if every person who had visited The Printworks held hands in a line, they could wrap around the world 20 times!

There has also been many amazing moments along the way, such as the opening of Hard Rock Cafe Manchester, holding the world premiere of Hitch at the ODEON, releasing a FIFA World Cup 2014 charity single, ‘Our Telly’s Bigger Than Your Telly’, and launching the first ever Manchester Soul Festival.


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The Printworks – image courtesy Smabs Sputzer and flickr