Manchester Flower Festival 2024 – 1

It’s that time of year again, the late May bank holiday weekend and the four-day Manchester Flower Festival. According to the weather forecast Saturday would be the best day so armed with a list and taking advantage of the sunshine while it lasted I spent almost three hours trekking round the city centre to find the various displays and installations.

The theme for this year is ‘Icons’ and in the atrium of the Corn Exchange, just a few minutes walk from Victoria Station, I found ‘Boddingtons Blooms’, a tribute to the popular beer once brewed in Manchester. The ‘ice cream cone’ is a nod to the late 1990s advertising campaign featuring Manchester-born model and tv presenter Melanie Sykes though I have no idea what the Mexican garden signifies. Across in the Arndale Centre was ‘The Second Summer of Love’, a very colourful psychedelic display paying tribute to the free spirit, music and artwork of the city’s rave culture during the late 1980s and early 90s although I would have said it’s more reminiscent of the late 1960s hippie era, while Exchange Square had gone predominantly yellow with a giant gnome in the middle of a flower bed.

The floral marquee in New Cathedral Street started with ‘Manchester Rain’ where visitors could use the umbrellas to pose for photos in front of the display. The Bridgewater Hall logo was created from a mix of dried and preserved flowers from local growers while ‘Cottonopolis’ represented Victorian Manchester and the textile trade which was once a huge part of the city. Manchester comedian Caroline Aherne as ‘Mrs Merton’ was instantly recognizable while ‘The Dame’ paid tribute to iconic fashion designer Vivienne Westwood who grew up and was laid to rest in a small Derbyshire village close to the Greater Manchester boundary.

A tribute to Manchester band Oasis featured a mirror with a line from the song ‘Wonderwall’ written across the top of it though it was impossible to photograph the whole display without getting someone else’s reflection in the shot. The display which I liked most in this section though was ‘Frida in Bloom’, a tribute to iconic artist Frida Kahlo; inspired by her love of nature and bold vibrant colours each headdress was created from hand crafted intricate wool blend felt flowers.

In the Royal Exchange Arcade I found ‘Queen Bee Rowetta’, a floral representation of the singer from Manchester rock band Happy Mondays with her outfit being inspired by the Manchester bee. In St. Ann’s Square the cotton bud fountain had been given a floral tutu with a nearby display celebrating Girls Aloud and their 2024 shows at Manchester’s AO Arena while also paying tribute to late band member Sarah Harding who spent the last months of her life living with her mother in Manchester.

Round in St. Ann’s Place I found the twisted willow horse sculpture which has appeared before but while in the previous two years it has represented a significant event this time, with no corresponding floral display or information, it didn’t seem to have any purpose. Set in a corner just outside St. Ann’s Church was a display of not-exactly-cheap animal sculptures crafted in metal with a nearby stall selling smaller and much more affordable versions along with a selection of hand crafted metal flowers and various insects.

It would be impossible to put all my photos in one post so I’m saving the rest for another post which will include some of the fringe displays plus those in King Street, with several quirky features and much more colour to come.