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Rochdale’s Year in the Spotlight: Greater Manchester Town of Culture 2025

Alright, we’ll admit it, we’re a bit late to the party with this one.


Rochdale’s already been cracking on with its year as Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture 2025, and we’re just now pulling our socks up to write about it. But in our defence… there’s a lot going on. The kind of year that deserves more than a few fireworks and a ribbon cutting.


Because this isn’t just a title. It’s Rochdale stepping up and showing Greater Manchester, and the rest of the country, what local culture really looks like when it’s built from the ground up.




What Is the Greater Manchester Town of Culture?


The GM Town of Culture award was launched by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in 2019, a way to celebrate the unique culture, heritage and creativity of towns across the region. It’s awarded every year, except 2021 when COVID hit pause, and it brings not just a fancy badge, but funding, support, and a platform for locals to shape a year-long programme of events.



Past Winners:


  • 2020: Bury

  • 2022: Stalybridge

  • 2023: Stockport

  • 2024: Bolton

  • 2025: Rochdale


What’s Happening in Rochdale?

Three women sit on a red bench below a large medieval painting in a wood-paneled room. Mural depicts historical figures in rich colors.


The year kicked off with Andy Burnham visiting the newly restored Rochdale Town Hall, and fair play, it is stunning. He also swung by Voltalab Studios, where international artist Shilpa Gupta was rehearsing with a Ukrainian community choir for her upcoming sound installation as part of Manchester International Festival. It’s called “You Are The Place” and it premieres this July.


From there, the plans just keep coming, and they’re far from generic. Here’s what’s already confirmed.



Public Art and Outdoor Galleries


  • Drake Street now has a new Town of Culture Outdoor Gallery, with 24 pieces of public art bringing colour and character back to one of Rochdale’s key streets

  • ‘Common Walls’ Urban Arts Festival, coming this September, will bring some of the UK’s most exciting mural artists for a week-long takeover curated by The Butterfly Effected CIC



Poetry and Spoken Word

Three people stand before a colorful background. Sammy Weaver in the center performs into a microphone, holding papers. Text reads "Alende Amisi Young Poet."


  • Rochdale now has a Poet Laureate, Sammy Weaver, who debuted with a poem inspired by the peregrine falcons nesting at the town hall

  • She’ll be joined by two Poets in Residence, Alende Amisi and Sasha Mostafa, who’ll spend the year capturing Rochdale’s story in words



Climate and Culture Collide


On 4 July 2025, ‘The Herds’, a major new piece by the team behind Little Amal, will arrive in Heywood, featuring 70 life-sized animal puppets and 139 puppeteers exploring themes of climate and connection



Community Festivals and Parades


  • Feel Good Family Picnics in July and August

  • Street Eat food and drink festival in June

  • Merhaba Halal Food Festival in August, celebrating Islamic culture through food, music and crafts

  • Rochdale Comedy Festival in September

  • Side by Side, a cultural pop-up in Town Hall Square this August

  • Rochdale Pride Parade, full details to come but confirmed as part of the programme



New Works and Theatre


  • Ignite Fire Festival

  • M6 Theatre’s ‘Little Gift’ will be performed in October at both their studio and the town hall



Music and Performance


Aymen Arts play tablas in a grand hall with stone arches and windows. They appear focused and immersed in the performance.


  • The launch event alone featured tabla from Aymen Arts, a set by guitarist Becky Langan, and a finale from Rochdale indie-rockers PoolEra

  • Expect more gigs, open mics and local showcases throughout the year



Young Creators and Future Artists


  • Youth Arts Festival coming spring 2026

  • Young Producers Scheme, supported by Heywood Town Board, training young people to organise and deliver public events like Darnhill Festival



Stories From the Borough


Breaking Barriers are creating a new interactive sound and projection installation that brings Rochdale residents’ stories to life, launching February 2026



Why It Matters


This isn’t about bringing “culture” to Rochdale. It’s about amplifying what’s already here. The artists, the food, the youth clubs, the theatres, the festivals, the stories, the spaces.


It’s Rochdale being seen properly, and inviting the rest of Greater Manchester to take a closer look.


As Andy Burnham put it,

Rochdale will surprise you. It’s got so much to offer and it’s going to be a wonderful year in the spotlight.

He’s right. It already is.



Keep Up


You can follow updates and event listings via:



And we’ll be keeping tabs right here on GR8R too.


Rochdale’s Town of Culture year is shaping up to be bold, thoughtful and properly Rochdalian. If you’re not paying attention yet… now’s the time.


Better late than never, right?

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