THE Courteeners will treat people to a free outdoor show in Albert Square, along with the Halle Youth Choir, to celebrate the arrival of the Olympic torch.
A civic reception will be held at Manchester Town Hall for torchbearers such as June Kelly, who devotes her free time to coaching children’s football in Cheetham Hill
The show, organised by Manchester City Council and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), will also feature performances from dance duo Twist and Pulse, Britain’s Got Talent finalists, and up and coming band The Tribes.
The torch will arrive in Manchester from Salford at around 5.40pm on June 23 and will travel along Elizabeth Street, Queens Road to Cheetham Hill Road, where a family event has been organised by a group of residents dedicated to improving Cheetham Park.
Next, the torch will travel along Miller Street before a 15-minute stop for another event outside the Co-op store on Corporation Street, in which visitors will be able to be photographed next to torches from previous Olympic Games.
It will then travel past the Live Site on Exchange Square, then onto Deansgate, Whitworth Street West onto Sackville Street and into Sackville Gardens to pause for a photograph by the Alan Turing Statue. It continue through Nicholas Street in Chinatown and Cooper Street before finally arriving on Albert Square for the evening celebration.
Meanwhile, a civic reception will be held at Manchester Town Hall for torchbearers such as June Kelly, who devotes her free time to coaching children’s football in Cheetham Hill despite suffering from health problems, and Sue Blaylock, who supports 400 disabled children a week with her Wythenshawe Wheelers cycling group.
The torch will stay in Manchester overnight before going into Salford and Trafford early on Sunday June 24. It will then return into Manchester to travel through Moss Side, Longsight, Levenshulme before finally leaving the city and entering Stockport.
