Last week was a pivotal moment for the events industry as BBC 6 Music announced they would be bringing their first ever indoor festival to Victoria Warehouse. The tickets for this much sought after event sold out after an incredible 7mins.

This bold move by the BBC to move away from the South confirms Manchester is rapidly becoming a hot spot for innovative entrepreneurs and established businesses wanting to rejuvenate their approach and keep audiences enthused with spontaneous moves. The anticipation already circulating around the festival confirms it was a calculated risk that will pay off dividends.

Urban Labyrinths — Event Spaces Like No Other

Manchester is a city of untapped potential with many restoration possibilities waiting to be turned into unforgettable event spaces for hire. Old warehouses, churches, storage houses and other unusual places offer distinctive opportunities for highly desirable music, arts and corporate venues. Magnetised by a grassroots attitude and the North’s inclusive approach to culture, music and the arts it’s no wonder promoters, artists and organisers are flocking here and that top locations for hire are increasingly located in its sprawling metropolis.

Victoria Warehouse’s unique event space attracted the attention of BBC bosses last year on the hunt for a location to rival the scale and production capabilities of London’s top sites minus the predictable trappings, costs and congestion. They wanted to hire an event space with character – contemporised but still speaking volumes about its cultural legacy and regional heritage.

The Trafford Park based venue on the fringe of the centre excelled in these aspects with its rich history, bold dimensions and unpretentious charisma. Its three tiered layout, in which no two rooms are the same and sound bleed is minimal, provided everything an indoor festival needs. With multiple bars, 20,000sq ft of floor space plus ample nooks and crannies for stalls, installations and exhibition spaces it couldn’t have been better suited.

The BBC 6 event includes a two day festival and fringe event divided between the main event space and the neighbouring hotel. The programme includes live bands such as Damon Albarn, KELIS, Franz Ferdinand, James Blake, Metronomy and The Horrors in traditional gig format. This ticketed part of the festival will be held in the warehouse arena and broadcast live across the world.

In addition a fringe festival will take place in the neighbouring hotel where comedy, theatre, a record fair, live band karaoke, acoustic sets and more will take place. This section is unticketed and guests will be selected via an application process and random lottery selection. We anticipate it will be the first of such trend setting events to enrich Manchester’s cultural capital.

Victoria Warehouse opened in Sept’ 2012 with an ethos of creativity and adaptability. It is comprised of an event space, hotel, Spa and its sister company Victoria Warehouse Records. With two buildings neighbouring each other, one three floored events arena and a hotel with bistro, the layout has been designed to complement a huge range of cultural happenings. It is a malleable hire space and entertainment and hospitality hub for a modern city.

 

Notes:

ADDRESS  - Trafford Wharf Rd, Stretford, Manchester, Greater Manchester M17 1AB

TELEPHONE – 0161 660 7000

EVENT BOOKINGS / ENQUIRIES – [email protected]