Manchester England - Industry’s Birthplace Gets Sporting Chance

Thanks to hosting the Commonwealth Games, once dreary Manchester now boasts eye-catching buildings, thriving arts and culture and spectacular sports venues

Stunning ultra-modern glass-and-steel buildings boldly burst onto the cityscape, standing majestically beside scrubbed-up Victorian buildings. Bubbling fountains, inviting squares and public art provide a warm welcome to the once notorious city of Manchester.

Its reputation as a grimy, smelly and utterly depressed place in northwest England is about to be shattered as the global spotlight is cast on the host city of the 17th Commonwealth Games.

The world’s first industrial city has struggled with a bad image since 1844, when one of its famous residents, Friedrich Engels, described it as “Hell on Earth”.

Back then Manchester was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and, although the cotton trade made it a prosperous city, it was an abysmal place to live.

And matters got worse. At its lowest point, two decades ago, this manufacturing-dependent city was crippled by economic decline in the 1980s. Warehouses and factories were abandoned, buildings fell derelict and 60 per cent of the working population fled.

All this makes Manchester’s transformation all that much more remarkable.

It was the Commonwealth Games - and a well-placed terrorist bomb - that spurred on much of this transformation.

On 15 June 1996, the Irish Republican Army exploded a bomb in the shopping district, devastating the city. It proved a blessing in disguise: nobody was killed and the bombing gave Manchester the chance to rebuild.

“It allowed us to build it better,” says Jonathan Schofield, a Manchester guide and local writer. “The joke today is that the bomb wasn’t left by the IRA, but the RIBA - the Royal Institute of British Architects.”

At the heart of the city’s $2.8-billion reconstruction lies Exchange Square, flanked by a striking glass flagship store for Marks and Spencer, the Triangle Shopping Centre and two medieval pubs, shifted brick-by-brick to accommodate the new development.

Nearby stands Manchester’s newest cultural addition, housed in a giant glass wedge that rises from this shopping district. It’s called Urbis, a museum on city life, which opened in July.

Other additions include the Printworks Centre, which boasts an IMAX cinema, restaurants and shops, in a revitalized building, and the improved Arndale Centre, whose ‘60s eyesore façade has been revived with a glazed facelift.

Manchester’s traditional centre around Piccadilly Gardens has also received a $825-million refurbishment, and now boasts shopping arcades, a five-star hotel, posh apartments and upscale offices in this once notorious area.

The Manchester Art Gallery has also re-opened with an $80-million addition - again using glass and steel as materials of choice to revamp the traditional building.

Regeneration hasn’t buried the history of this city, which lays claim to the first passenger rail line and the place where scientist Ernest Rutherford first split the atom.

A myriad of history is scattered throughout the city: The John Rylands Library, the oak-panelled Chetham’s library (opened in 1651, it’s the oldest ‘public’ library), and even the majestic Town Hall, whose Victorian Gothic interior often doubles as a film set for London’s Houses of Parliament.

The old Cotton Exchange, where traders used to sell their goods, has even retained its history in its conversion into the Royal Exchange. A ‘theatre-in-the-round’ lies beneath the glass-domed roof of the building’s cavernous trading room, where a trading board still hangs above as a reminder of this room’s original function.

While Manchester may be unfamiliar to the million spectators attending the Games, even those who visited a mere decade ago will find it unrecognizable.

Weathered buildings have been given a brush-up. Decrepit warehouses have been converted into trendy apartments, industrial-era buildings have become museums, theatres and conference halls. The abandoned warehouse district alongside Rochdale Canal, which once whisked boats to other towns, is now home to the kitsch Gay Village, characterized by canalside cafes, bars and businesses.

The outskirts have witnessed a similar renaissance. A tram ride from the city is Salford Quays, an urban regeneration project that converted run-down quays into a waterfront residential and leisure complex.

Leading the charge is the radical-looking Imperial War Museum North, which opened in July. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind to resemble Earth shattered by war, everything inside is a bit off: the floor slopes, walls are skewed, display cases are off-kilter and exhibits are tilted. It’s intentional, says director Jim Forrester.

“The whole building is designed to gently disturb you without upsetting you too much - because war is very disturbing,” he says.

The building is best admired from across the canal at the Lowry Centre, which itself boasts a theatre, restaurants and shopping outlets nearby.

On the horizon stands another landmark - Old Trafford stadium, home turf for Manchester United football club, one of the most successful teams in the world. “Man-United” may have put Manchester on the international sporting map, but it’ll be the Commonwealth Games that firmly links sports to this city in the 21st century.

Manchester originally set its sights on the 2000 Olympics, but when Sydney won the bid it forced Manchester to lower its goals - and ultimately capture the Commonwealth Games.

Aided by substantial funding from government, private investors and even a $1.7-billion grant from the European Union, Manchester is ready to shine during these Games, from 25 July to 4 August.

East Manchester has been the biggest winner. The deprived area once dominated by gas works, factories and mining is now dubbed “Sportcity” - home to England’s best sports venues, including a 38,000-seat stadium, velodrome and squash centre.

Manchester citizens hope the Games will prove to the world that times have changed.

“Manchester and the north-west is not about those dark, satanic mills, it’s not about clogs and shawls and that sort of thing,” summed up businesswoman Marilyn Steane. “There’s a lot happening in Manchester, come and see it.”

Author: Doug Alexander