GALLERY | Manchester Day 2016

IT WAS sometime around 250 BC when Greek mathematician Archimedes, preparing to settle down for a nice bath, stepped into his bathtub and realised something quite revolutionary: the water level rose relative to the amount he was displacing with his submerged body part. The implications? The face of science changed forever - and Archimedes exclaimed ‘Eureka!’ (I have it) before running down the streets of Syracuse stark naked in his excitement.   

The parade, as always, was spectacular in its vision and creativity

 

Hence why Manchester Day’s theme for 2016 - inkeeping with the city’s history of pioneering discoveries, recognised this year in its European City of Science status - was ‘Eureka’. And why we saw Archimedes happily ensconced in his papier mache bathtub during the vibrant parade, joined by several other recognisable characters: Laika the dog, the first animal to orbit Earth; Leonardo da Vinci and his Mona Lisa muse, alongside some spectacular Italian flag throwers; and robot Albot², the Manchester Day mascot. 

Elsewhere, viewers looked upon complex solar systems, dinosaur skeletons and an enormous dancing Frankenstein’s monster - as over 80 local communities and charitable groups, clad in a rainbow of colours, sashied and shimmied their way through the city centre to a fanfare of drums, trumpets and bagpipes. 

Thankfully, the weather didn’t rain on their parade, instead holding off until mid afternoon; after a finale which saw nineties club classics pounding from a gigantic prismatic disco ball. Antics continued in each of the four squares - Albert, St Ann’s, Great Northern and Exchange - with energetic dance, a multitude of music genres and a giant Pendulum Wave Machine. Albert’s Square, meanwhile, saw aerial circus feats and a day-long Brain Box event in the Town Hall: with the city’s leading scientists taking visitors on a hands-on-voyage through the complexities of the human brain. 

Spectators were kept watered and fed with a variety of international nosh, courtesy of street food collective Guerrilla Eats, and encouraged to take part in spontaneous Eureka flash mobs throughout the day.

Manchester Day crowds in Exchange Square

Commissioned by Manchester City Council and produced by local outdoor arts experts Walk the Plank, Manchester Day is now in its seventh year and continues to be a beacon of inclusivity and participation; representing the city’s cultural diversity and drawing together both local talent and international. Attendance this year was anticipated at a phenomenal 70,000. 

Cllr Pat Karney, Chair of Manchester Day, said: “I’m always impressed by the sheer number of things to marvel at during Manchester Day. The ambition and scope of the event grows with the years and now in our seventh celebration it feels like the whole of the city centre has been dressed for the occasion and the majority of the city has come in to town to enjoy it.

Here’s how the day unfolded: