What's on in Manchester this September

September is the month Manchester stops pretending it is still summer and gets on with it. The derby lands on the second weekend, the arenas are booked solid either side of it, and there is a Disney musical quietly selling out in Salford all month. Here is what is actually worth planning around, and where to base yourself for it.

The Manchester derby

Manchester United host Manchester City at Old Trafford, Sunday 13 September. It arrives early this season, gameweek four, which means it lands before either side has settled and before anyone has an excuse ready.

Worth being clear about the venue, because it changes where you want to be: this is the Old Trafford fixture, not the Etihad one. City’s home derby is not until spring.

Demand for anything within reach of Old Trafford spikes hard across derby weekend, and it starts on the Friday. If you are coming for it, book now rather than in August. We have written the practical detail up separately in our match day at Old Trafford guide, including which pubs are away-friendly and how to get out afterwards without standing on Chester Road for forty minutes.

On stage

Katseye, Co-op Live, Sunday 6 September. The WILDWORLD tour, and their first Manchester date. It sold out, so if you do not already have a ticket you are into resale territory. Co-op Live sits on the Etihad Campus in east Manchester, which is a different part of the city from the AO Arena and worth checking before you book a stay.

Hilary Duff, AO Arena, Saturday 12 September. The Lucky Me Tour, 7:30pm. Note the date: this is the night before the derby. Saturday gig, Sunday lunchtime kick-off, one very busy weekend for the whole city. If you want a room that weekend, this is the single strongest argument for booking early that we can give you.

Atif Aslam, AO Arena, Friday 11 September, which makes it three consecutive nights of heavy footfall through Victoria and Piccadilly.

Surinderella, Palace Theatre, 4 and 5 September. Bollywood-scale pantomime energy, two nights only, and a genuinely good night out if you have never seen the format.

Theatre

Disney’s High School Musical is at The Lowry until 19 September. This is a residency, not a touring one-nighter, so you can build a trip around it rather than the other way round. It opened in August, the run was extended before it started because of demand, and it is the first UK non-replica production.

The Lowry sits in Salford Quays, which catches people out. It is not the city centre, and the tram is the sensible way in. Our Salford Quays and MediaCity overview covers what else is worth doing while you are out there, because the Quays are worth more than a two-hour visit.

Where to stay

For the derby: St Johns Manor, Old Trafford. Thirty minutes on foot to the ground, five by car, sleeps ten. It is the closest thing we run to Old Trafford and the obvious pick for a group travelling for the football. Rolls Crescent in Hulme is the next best, ten minutes’ drive, sleeps eight, with garden space to sit out in afterwards.

For the AO Arena and the Palace Theatre: our Chinatown apartments. Charlotte House 201, 202, 302, 303, 401 and 402 are all five to ten minutes from Piccadilly and walkable to both venues. For the AO Arena, walking beats the tram from Chinatown every time.

For Katseye at Co-op Live, the honest answer is that we run nothing you can walk to. The Etihad Campus is east of the centre and our closest stay is The Chatsworth in Droylsden, which is a direct tram ride on the Ashton line with no changes. That is a genuinely easy journey and a much better bet than trying to drive in. If you would rather be central and take the tram out, the Chinatown apartments work fine.

The honest bit

Derby weekend and a sold-out arena show in the same seven days means two things: less availability and higher prices, particularly on the platforms. That is just what happens to a city with two Premier League clubs and three major venues.

What we can do is not add to it. Booking direct with us is ten per cent cheaper than the same apartment on Airbnb, and there is no cleaning fee bolted on at checkout. For the weekend of 12 and 13 September especially, book early. We are not being dramatic about that one, it will go.