Manchester Christmas Season: Advice for Stakeholders

November 2025 - January 2026

Last Updated: 8 October 2025

From Friday 7 November, the Christmas season begins with the grand opening of Manchester Christmas Markets.

The Markets will open across the city centre from Friday 7 November, until Monday 22 December. Cathedral Gardens and Albert Square markets will remain open until Sunday 4 January 2026 (except Christmas Day).

The region will also see an increase in other events, such as gigs, football matches, comedy shows and many more. Full list of events happening during this time can be found in our Events Calendar.

Jump to travel advice:

Key Advice for Stakeholders
Travelling by Bus
Travelling by Car
Travelling by Tram
Possible Industrial Action
Keeping you Moving
Social Media Resources
More about events during Christmas period
Information about how industrial action may affect journeys

Key advice to keep you and your teams moving

From mid-November until Christmas, Manchester city centre and key surrounding roads will be very busy as the return of the Manchester Christmas Markets, seasonal tourism, events and shopping attract visitors.
We advise those travelling into the city centre to avoid driving, especially on days when multiple events will take place.
If you need to drive, consider in advance where you are going to park, and be conscious that you are likely to see significant increases in congestion and journey times.
We anticipate the busiest areas will be within the inner ring road particularly around night life hotspots, event venues and car parks (especially the one closest to retail centres, Deansgate and event venues).
For those visiting the Christmas Markets or attending any other seasonal events, the best way to travel is by tram or bus. You can complete your journey via tram by using on of the many park & ride sites, located across the network.

Events taking place over the festive period:

Saturday 22th November: Gladiators Live at the AO Arena and Hits Radio Live at the Co-op Live.
Tuesday 25th November: Manchester City V Bayern Leverkusen at the Etihad Stadium.
Saturday 29th November: Manchester City V Leeds at The Etihad Stadium, Sonny Federa at the Co-op Live and Hauser at the AO Arena
Wednesday 3th December: Manchester United V West Ham at Old Trafford and Mumford & Sons at the Co-op Live.
Saturday 6th December: Jamiroquai at the Co-op Live and Pete Tongue at the AO Arena
Saturday 20th December: Manchester City V West Ham at the Etihad Stadium and the last week of Manchester Christmas Markets.

Advice for travelling by bus

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Advice for travelling by car

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Advice for travelling by tram

Metrolink tram services are likely to be busier than usual as people make their way to the events taking place in the city centre.

Park and Ride

If you have to drive, did you know that there are 24 Park and Ride sites in Greater Manchester?

Park and Ride sites allow you to park your car for free and hop on the tram to your destination. With the roads in and around the city centre likely to be very busy, consider completing your journey by tram to avoid event congestion.

Below are our recommendations of which locations to use, depending on your journey:

From the north:

Radcliffe (Bury line) - 480 spaces and 22 disabled spaces.
Whitefield (Bury line) - 331 spaces and 13 disabled spaces.
Derker (Rochdale line) - 235 spaces and 16 disabled spaces.

From the east:

Ashton West (Ashton line) - 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces.
Ashton Moss (Ashton line) - 183 spaces and 12 disabled spaces.

From the south:

East Didsbury (East Didsbury line) - 278 spaces and 18 disabled spaces.
Sale Water Park (Airport line) - 285 spaces and 16 disabled spaces.

From the west:

Parkway (Trafford Park line) - 341 parking spaces and 19 disabled spaces.

Keeping you moving:

The event promoters, Transport for Greater Manchester, the Local Authorities, and the emergency services have all been involved in the planning and delivery of the transport operation for the event.

To reduce disruption, we are collectively introducing the following key mitigations:

Enhanced monitoring of the highways and transport network from TfGM’s Control Centre and using intelligence to strengthen Metrolink and
public transport provision
Collaborating with transport operators to provide a co-ordinated response to events and congestion
Working with event organisers and partners, including local authorities and National Highways to limit non-urgent roadworks on major routes to and from venues during this period
Monitoring traffic signal timings across the network and on diversion routes, running special timings plans before and after the events.
Introducing planned bus diversions around road closures and providing customer information on affected bus stops to advise passengers of bus diversions
Updating live navigation devices in real time with events, road closures and incidents
Using roadside electronic message signs to advise of events and disruption at key points across the Greater Manchester road network
Co-ordinating social media communications plans with other agencies to maximise reach
Boosting posts on social media to further amplify the transport message
Regularly updating stakeholders and highlighting the key messages in transport newsletters and briefings

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Resources for communicating industrial action messages on your social media platform

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