Go Green for Manchester Day
Sustainability is at the heart of this year's event
As Manchester Day gets ready to celebrate its tenth anniversary organisers are making sure the environmant and climate are at the heart of the parade.
The huge celebration of the city, for the people, by its people, has grown to be one of the biggest events in the region’s calendar, this year celebrating the theme: 10 out of 10. It sees community groups come together with hundreds of volunteers who build everything at the Wow Workshop.
Sustainability has always been at the heart of the creative process and green issues have been a common theme running through the artworks through the years. The event always aims to limit the negative impact on the environment and raise awareness of key green issues, while using local suppliers as much as possible to maximise the positive impact on the local economy.
Almost all the floats in previous years have been push, walked, wheeled or cycled without a combustion engine in sight. Many of the structures are also reused and repurposed through the years, and artists are asked to think carefully about how the floats are created to ensure they can be deconstructed and recycled as much as possible.
This often involves finding creative ways to use otherwise redundant materials like the roll ends from a cardboard factory that will find new life as a flock of birds on the big day
The lead image in 2018 parade was a stranded polar bear reflecting the consequences of climate change.
Each area of the event is reviewed each year to increase the green credentials from beginning to end, which includes water bottle recycling at the beginning and end of the parade, and waste throughout the production - in particular in the Manchester Day WoW Workshop, run by Walk the Plank - is minimised as much as possible, and the food and drink stalls are gearing up to reduce their plastic waste this year.
Cllr Pat Karney, Chair of Manchester Day, said: “We take pride in the fact that Manchester Day impacts the environment very little, despite being one of the biggest and most ambitious events in the North West. We’ll continue to strive for sustainability excellence to maximise the social and economic impact of the event, without leaving a mark on our planet.
“The sheer creativity that goes into creating the movement and energy in the huge artworks is a feat of engineering and a wonder to behold - and not a combustion engine in sight.
“I would also urge as many people as possible to take advantage of our public transport systems on Sunday 18 June and help us limit the carbon footprint of Manchester Day as much as possible.”