PICCADILLY Gardens will welcome a brand new attraction from Friday 29 March.
This addition is one step in making Piccadilly Gardens a family friendly destination for the city, and will be followed by a new children’s play area in the summer.The Manchester Starflyer, a Mellors Group attraction, is similar to the traditional chair-flyer rides, but goes much higher.
The Starflyer will transport up to 24 people at a time 70 metres (a shade under the height of the Civil Justice Centre) into the air, offering a view of the city and surrounding areas combined with the excitement of a modern fairground ride.
The attraction, entertained thousands of people on London’s Southbank during last year’s Olympics and in Hyde Park for the Winter Wonderland at Christmas, will fly into action at midday on Friday 29 March in time for Easter weekend, and remain until 30 June 2013.
The council reckon that the Manchester Starflyer could attract up to 10,000 people per week to the city centre, generating income at no cost to the council. The income will be reinvested into the Piccadilly Gardens area and support future events in the city.
Star Flyer Sunset
This addition is one step in making Piccadilly Gardens a family friendly destination for the city, and will be followed by a new children’s play area in the summer.
A Task Force, led by city centre spokesperson, Cllr Pat Karney, will also be set up to review and tackle the community safety issues in Piccadilly.
Cllr Pat Karney, Manchester City Council’s city centre spokesperson, said: "We want Piccadilly Gardens to be a top family friendly destination and this starattraction will make the most of this great space. In the Manchester Starflyer, we have a ride that offers not only white knuckle excitement, but is also a real statement – a brand new icon of the Manchester skyline - and will attract thousands of people to the city centre.”
The Starflyer will be open throughout the day from 10am to 10pm. Cost will be £6 or £20 for a family concession ticket (2 adults and 2 children). Passengers must be over 6 years of age to ride the Starflyer. Plans for the Starflyer will include provision for maintenance and upkeep of the lawn area within the immediate vicinity of the attraction and a full reinstatement plan included as part of the exit strategy.
Starflyer, will be officially opened by the city’s latest generation of rock stars, The Last Party.
The Manc-born and bred four-piece will be the first to ride the new 70-metre attraction as thanks for their phenomenal performance at the city’s Christmas lights switch on last year. The chair-flyer ride is expected to draw 10,000 people per week and will remain in Piccadilly Gardens in the city until 30 June 2013.
Keyboard & Vocalist Greg Williams, said: “When we got the request from the Council, for one hair-raising moment I actually thought they wanted us to perform whilst on the ride – I was trying to work out how to hold me keyboard whilst spinning round 200 feet in the air – could have been a Spinal Tap moment. Thankfully, we’ll just be christening its first voyage in Manchester."
The Last Party will be filming the video for their new single A Thousand Smiles at a secret location in Manchester next week. The video will be directed by Hollywood actor and director, Idris Elba.
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