Manchester is changing. New devolution powers; record hotel occupancy; soaring airport arrival numbers; thriving creative and digital, life science and advanced manufacturing sectors; a booming property market; cranes on every corner; some of Europe's most sought after universities; and a truly burgeoning tourism sector worth £7 billion.

Adrenaline and energy abounds across the city and it hasn't gone unnoticed. The New York Times rated Manchester as one of their 'Places to Go in 2015'; Lonely Planet picked it out as a top city in its 2016 'Best in Travel' list; and countless media outlets have had their say on the continuous rise of Manchester as the centre of the Northern Powerhouse conversation. The Guardian summarised the excitement up perfectly when it said that Manchester is now “…the most mentioned place in an increasingly loud conversation about British cities.”

2015 was a standout year for tourism in Manchester. There were a number of world-class arts and cultural development throughout the year – the Whitworth art gallery and HOME cultural centre opened whilst the Manchester International Festival and Manchester Pride's 25th anniversary were just two of the city's headline cultural events – meanwhile new hotels and a booming food and drink scene added further reasons to visit.

In 2016 there is plenty more to write about. Additional new hotels, a number of significant anniversaries, new airline routes into Manchester Airport including a direct route from Beijing commencing in May. On top of this, throughout 2016 Manchester is the European City of Science and the city will be celebrating its scientific heritage with a series of high profile science events. There are also plenty of long term developments in the pipeline to write about: work is beginning on the construction of The Factory Manchester, a £110 million arts centre whilst the RHS starts building its fifth official garden, RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford - both will open in 2019

Geeks guide to Manchester: European City of Science

Bestowed on the city by the EuroScience Open Forum – Europe's largest and most prestigious general science conference – which will visit Manchester in July 2015; the title of European City of Science will give the city an excuse to hold a yearlong celebration of it's prestigious (yet often overlooked) scientific achievements. Most know that Manchester was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, but less known is the fact that alongside industrialisation Manchester also gave the world the modern canal, the railways, the cast iron beam and the steam hammer. It birthed atomic theory, the computer, the submarine, the law of thermodynamics and 25 Nobel Prize winners who were awarded, almost exclusively, for work in physics, chemistry and medicine. 2016 will see science getting top-billing across the city throughout the year with events ranging from performances by a robot orchestra to a major exhibition about the discovery of graphene.

manchestersciencecity.com | @ScienceCity2016

Manchester music: then and now

2016 is strong year for musical anniversaries in Manchester. Arguably the most significant and certainly the most influential concert in modern history – the Sex Pistols 1976 gig at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall – turns 40 on 4 June 2016. The gig is said to have inspired a generation of musicians including Joy Division, The Smiths, The Fall and The Buzzcocks as well Factory Records and Hacienda legend, Tony Wilson. The Lesser Free Trade Hall was also the venue for Bob Dylan's 1966 “Judas” gig, so called due to the heckling by a fan upset at Dylan's shift from acoustic to electric guitar; it turns 50 on 17 May 2016. Oasis fans will note that 18 August 2016 marks 25 years since the band's first gig at the Boardwalk nightclub, whilst those with more classical tastes will be interested to know that it is 20 years since the acclaimed Bridgewater Hall first opened its doors. Finally, less an anniversary and more history in the making, the Stone Roses will perform four sell out dates in summer 2016 at the 60,000 capacity City of Manchester Stadium. Weave together these anniversaries and other significant Manchester music moments on a tour with Inspiral Carpets drummer, Craig Gill, and then stay at the Radisson Blu Edwardian, housed within the former Lesser Free Trade Hall.

manchestermusictours.com | @McrMusicTours | radissonblu-edwardian.com | @RBEhotels

Renaissance city: 20 years since the IRA bomb

Whether it was being praised for its new cultural offering, examined as the leader of the devolution and Northern Powerhouse agendas, or lauded as a must-visit destination by the likes of Lonely Planet and the New York Times; Manchester was rarely out of the spotlight in 2015 and is experiencing something of a renaissance. As the Guardian recently put it: “Manchester is [now] the most mentioned place in an increasingly loud conversation about British cities”. Fitting then that the city will mark a very poignant anniversary on 15 June 2016 which will be the 20th anniversary of the IRA bombing of the city; an event where thankfully no lives were lost, but one which changed the city forever, kick-starting a regeneration story which has rapidly snowballed in recent years. A series of walks, talks and seminars by Manchester's walking tour groups will uncover some of the stories from that fateful day in 1996 and showcase the incredible change which swept through the city in the aftermath of the bomb.

manchesterguidedtours.com | @mcrguidetours | newmanchesterwalks.com

An alternative guide to the 'UK's cultural boomtown'

After a year in which Manchester consistently hit the headlines for its cultural developments – with the universally acclaimed reopening of the Whitworth art gallery, the introduction of new arts centre HOME and the fifth outing of the city's ambitious Manchester International Festival – 2016 will be the year that such developments begin to hit their stride. Looking beyond the headlines then, the timing is perfect for an alternative cultural guide looking at some of the lesser-known establishments throughout Greater Manchester. Literary buffs should check out the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, especially in the lead up to 2017 which will be the centenary of his birth. Manchester Jewish Museum will continue its recent form of hosting unusual events as one of six UK museum to take part in the 'Creative Museums' programme run by Battersea Arts Centre. The Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art has just turned 30 and is currently hosting an ambitious, six month programme of special events and exhibtions. The Lowry arts centre has a new LS Lowry gallery and an impressive new onsite restaurant, Pier Eight. Throughout Greater Manchester there are museums and galleries dedicated to all manner of quirks including: millinery (Hat Works Museum, Stockport), the co-op movement (Pioneers Museum, Rochdale) and the labor movement (Working Class Movement Library, Salford).

anthonyburgess.org | manchesterjewishmuseum.com | cfcca.org.uk |thelowry.com

Round up: new hotels

A 2013 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report suggested that Manchester has the strongest hotel pipeline in Europe and the city has been making good on this claim. Bed stock across Greater Manchester has soared with new openings such as Hotel Gotham, Hotel Football, Innside Manchester and Motel One Piccadilly accounting for 750 new rooms in 2015 alone. 2016 will see this trend continue with new openings at all price points and King Street Townhouse is one of the most anticipated. Opened in December 2015, the fifth venue in Eclectic Hotels' portfolio utilises a former bank and Grade II listed building with 40 bedrooms and a south facing rooftop infinity spa pool overlooking Albert Square and Manchester Town Hall. Also at the higher end will be Oddfellows On The Park, sister to the award-winning Oddfellows in Chester. The design-led hotel will offer 22 boutique bedrooms in the heart of Bruntwood Park near Manchester Airport and is due to open in summer 2016. Roomzzz is set to open its second Manchester property later in 2016, converting the upper floors of the refurbished Corn Exchange into serviced apartments. easyHotel will open a new 114 bedroom hotel in Manchester's Northern Quarter, whilst a new Holiday Inn (296 rooms) will open at Piccadilly and a new Crowne Plaza (210 rooms) at the University of Manchester. Looking ahead to 2017, the city is set to welcome another Motel One, an Indigo Hotel and Manchester Grande Hotel which will rework the iconic Granada Studios building.

eclectichotels.co.uk/king-street-townhouse | oddfellowschester.com/our-story/oddfellows-on-the-park

The rebirth of the Northern market town

Market towns across the Greater Manchester are flourishing, due in part to a shift in public taste for more high-quality food and drink as well as increased investment from local councils. Five years after The Sun infamously labelled it the UK's "ghost town", Altrincham, whose fortunes have remained inextricably linked to its market, is now thriving. A £600,000 facelift to the main Victorian market building has attracted permanent traders such as Honest Crust Pizzas, Blackjack Brewery and Sam Joseph Chocolates and around 6,000 per week now eat amid the up-cycled vintage lights and reclaimed timber tables. On the other side of Greater Manchester, Bolton Market has recently completed a £4.5 million redevelopment with a host of new traders and regular cooking events. Of course, staples such as Bury and Ashton are still going strong and have increasingly varied traders, but the one that everyone is talking about is Levenshulme Market. Community run, with up to 50 traders every Saturday, Levy Market is the only social enterprise of its kind in Manchester, working towards reinvigorating the high street and supporting both existing local businesses and budding entrepreneurs.

@altrinchammkt | @boltonmarkets | @burymarket | @TamesideMarkets | @levymarket

News in brief

The National Speedway Stadium is the latest addition to Manchester's expanding collection of world-class sporting venues. Home to the world famous Belle Vue Aces, the stadium is location along the city's "Sport Corridor" and will attract some of the world's best riders to Manchester. It will play host to one of speedway's biggest meetings next year when the Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Race Off and Final returns to Great Britain for the first time in a decade next summer (July 29 and 30).

nationalspeedwaystadium.co.uk| @NSS_Speedway

The RHS has unveiled plans to create a stunning new 63 hectare (156 acre) garden in the heart of the North West - by bringing back to life the lost historic grounds at Worsley New Hall in Salford. RHS Garden Bridgewater will open in 2019.

rhs.org.uk | @The_RHS

Grade II-listed building the Corn Exchange has undergone a £30 million redevelopment to transform in to a culinary destination. There are now thirteen restaurants onsite including Wahaca, Vapiano, Pho and Mowgli.

cornexchangemanchester.co.uk | @cornexchangeMAN

Local tour guide, author, journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Schofield has been given the contract to deliver Clock Tower Tours a Manchester Town Hall. The tours have previously only been available seasonally but will now run daily year-round.

jonathanschofieldtours.com | @JonathSchofield

Plans for the Factory Manchester, a major £110 million arts and cultural development and new permanent home for Manchester International Festival, are gathering pace. Rem Koolhaas' Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) has won the international competition to design the building with construction planned to start early 2017 and a target opening date of summer 2019.

manchester.gov.uk | @ManCityCouncil

A series of high-profile flight routes open into Manchester Airport in summer 2016. Thomas Cook will launch twice-weekly Los Angeles and Boston in May then Hainan Airlines will launch a four-weekly route from Beijing. New European routes to Manchester include Bratislava, Bremen, Brindisi, Carcassonne, Limoges and Malta – all with Ryanair.

manchesterairport.co.uk | @manairport

For further information about any of the above stories, book an appointment with Andy Parkinson from Marketing Manchester or contact him by email (andy.parkinson@marketingmanchester) or phone (0161 238 4569)