Diwali Mela 2026

Diwali 2026 is a community event, organised and curated by the Manchester Indian Association (MIA) to celebrate the Indian culture and community in Manchester, centred around the annual Diwali celebration and has been celebrated in the city centre several years.

• Stages at Exchange Square and New Cathedral Street
• Market stalls on New Cathedral Street and St Anne's Square.
• Parade from St Anne's Square to Exchange Square at approximately 7pm on Saturday 10 October 2026. Bhangra Dancers with light batons will close the event, celebrating the festival of light.

The event is a free to attend.

📅Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October 2026

Halloween in the City

Mark the arrival of Halloween with a weekend of monstrously good events.

Celebrate the MCR Monsters' 10th birthday with live performances, party games and fancy-dress fun, plus storytelling, spooky DJs, a birthday bake-off and the spectacular Walk the Plank monster procession.

Free family events across Manchester city centre.

Join in! Dress up! Party on!

• Halloween in the City Weekender: Saturday 24 October 2026, 10am – 6pm & Sunday 25 October 2026, 10am – 5pm
• MCR Monsters: Saturday 24 – Saturday 31 October 2026

Follow @HalloweenMCR on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

From Monday 19 October until Sunday 1 November, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) will deliver the next phase of a multi-year £150m investment programme to upgrade the network, with further work at Trafford Bar and Cornbrook.

It follows the successful work to replace drainage, foundations and track in the tunnels at Cornbrook over the summer. The work is being done in phases due to its scale and complexity, and to keep disruption for passengers to a minimum.

That means no trams will operate on:

• Altrincham, Eccles and Trafford Park lines for two weeks.
• Services from East Didsbury and Manchester Airport services will terminate at Firswood.

Following customer feedback from the three-week major closure earlier this summer, TfGM is introducing several changes designed to make journeys easier. These include:

• Changes to replacement buses: More direct replacement bus services operating between key locations rather than calling at all stops.
• More buses on the Bee Network: Putting extra buses on selected Bee Network bus routes on affecting lines to provide extra capacity.

Start 2027 with a practical AI project

Got a business challenge you’d like to tackle with AI? Applications are now open for the January cohort of AIMS from Manchester Digital.

Over an 8-week AI Deployment Sprint, your business will work with a screened team of 5 emerging AI talent participants, supported by industry AI mentors and technical specialists, to explore a real challenge and identify practical opportunities for AI or automation.

Whether you’re looking to save time, improve a process or find new ways to create value, you’ll get fresh perspectives, dedicated resources and practical recommendations tailored to your business. You don’t need to be a tech company or have an AI project ready to go.

Give emerging digital talent a way in

Your business doesn’t need a big graduate programme to make a difference.

Through Switchboard from Manchester Digital, SMEs can offer an internship, work experience, apprenticeship, placement or even an hour of mentoring a month to people looking to build their careers in digital and tech.

Tell us what you can offer and we’ll help find the right match, while handling the admin and safeguarding. Whatever your size or capacity, there’s a way to get involved.

Deep tech accelerator opens for cohort #2

Applications are now open for cohort #2 of the deep tech accelerator, Greater Manchester's flagship programme for researchers, technical founders and early-stage ventures turning scientific and engineering breakthroughs into investment-ready ventures.

Delivered by Unit M over the course of six months, the programme will see successful applicants receive £25,000 in equity-free funding, specialist commercialisation support and investor readiness training.

The programme is open to teams from across Greater Manchester, not just those affiliated with The University of Manchester, with applications closing on 19 October 2026.

High Growth 50 Highlights Northern Business Growth and Productivity

The 2026 High Growth 50 report highlights how Northern businesses are achieving strong growth through increased productivity, technology adoption and international expansion.

Median turnover across the cohort grew by 115% over the last three years, while headcount growth was lower at 47%, reflecting how companies are scaling more efficiently.

Three Manchester businesses featured in this year's list: Mission Mars, Access Pay and Cloud Imperium.

The report identifies high-performing businesses from across the North with strong growth potential and financial performance. This year's cohort was launched at the London Stock Exchange and includes companies with combined assets of £2bn, with 88% expected to grow by at least a further 20% over the next 12 months.

Good Employment Week - 5-9 October
2026. 

Good Employment Week is an annual celebration
of good work, designed to raise awareness of
what good employment looks like and why it
matters.

This October, we're asking a simple question: 'What does your Work Feel Like?'

Visit Good Employment Week - 2026 to find out What's on

City wide Recruitment Event 

Are you a Manchester resident looking for a job?

Book your slot on our forthcoming recruitment event, where 20+ multi-sector employers will be on hand with jobs ready to be filled. Confirmed employers include, Northwest Ambulance Service, Metroline, Royal Navy and many more.

📅Tuesday 3 November 2026

Mitigating extreme weather risks - a practical guide for businesses

With many businesses in Greater Manchester affected by wildfire, drought and flooding this year, climate adaptation is increasingly becoming a part of business continuity planning. While the effects of extreme weather events may not be avoided entirely, taking steps to mitigate risk and establish clear response protocols can lessen their impacts.

Green Economy have put together a series of practical guides for businesses to prepare for extreme heat, wildfire, drought and flooding. 

Green Economy are a social enterprise dedicated to helping businesses leverage sustainability to grow, strengthening local supply chains to deliver a low-carbon future.

We work with businesses reduce emissions and increase competitiveness with consultancy, resource efficiency and analysis that delivers long term resilience, environmental credibility and financial savings. We also help green tech and environmental services businesses access opportunities, enter new markets, and grow their organisations.

Many of our services are free, or fully-funded, for Greater Manchester businesses - get in touch to see how we can help your business grow.

📅 Save the date 9 to 12 November 2026

Join organisations across Manchester and be part of the world’s largest climate education and action training event of its kind. You'll join more than 25,000 people already certified as Carbon Literate in the city.

Every November, people around the globe use the action day as a springboard to boost Carbon Literacy and inspire action. Use it to demonstrate your commitment to a safe and liveable future.