We Invented the Weekend, the free festival held across MediaCity and the Quays in Salford, will be returning on June 15 and 16 with some big name sponsors who will help deliver the biggest We Invented the Weekend yet.
Hailed for generating ‘incredible social value’ in 2023 by Mayor of Salford Paul Dennett, We Invented the Weekend celebrates how people spend their leisure time, and is situated where the weekend was originally invented in Greater Manchester, 1843. Last year’s festival saw record footfall numbers for MediaCity, with 60,000 visitors over the two days of the event.
Auto Trader, the UK’s largest automotive marketplace, is announced as We Invented the Weekend’s title partner. The Manchester-based business will focus its activities on showcasing environmentally friendlier options for transport, from electric cars to e-bikes all of which are available on the Auto Trader platform.
Auto Trader’s title sponsorship includes giving all festival attendees an extra entry into their monthly Electric Car Giveaway, where people have the chance to win both a brand-new electric car and caravan, ready for the summer days ahead. Tapping into the ethos of the festival, Auto Trader will highlight green activities people can get up to at the weekend, including setting up an e-bike track and promoting the joys of caravanning and electric cars, all of which have been growing in popularity in recent years.
Bupa and the Bupa Foundation are also supporting the ‘We Get Healthy’ strand of the festival. You can expect Bupa clinicians onsite, as well as the chance to ‘Step up for Salford’ by joining in organised runs, dance-a-thons and a family-friendly mini marathon (1.6 miles, rather than 26!).
As event partner for 2024, the University of Salford will also host 2024’s We Think Big talks at the centre of the festival site. The programme will include talks from industry leading panellists including university academics, journalists, environmentalists and thought leaders across topics including music, sport and of course, the weekend.
The University of Salford will also help programme one of the mass participatory moments at the festival, ‘The People’s Catwalk – Sunday Best’, which will be a joyous spectacle of style, featuring individuals, groups and communities from all walks of life strutting their stuff in their finest attire to celebrate Sunday Best.
Wayne Hemingway MBE, co-founder of We Invented the Weekend, said: “We Invented the Weekend is setting the new standard for how free festivals operate in the UK. It is becoming increasingly evident that nationally known businesses and brands are understanding the social value of a free, inclusive festival of this scale and what it offers to society. We are grateful to our partners across the private and public sector who are placing a clear focus on culture and its value to people’s well being The scale of We Invented The Weekend, and the scale of support in only its second year maybe unprecedented for a free festival and will demonstrate once again that MediaCity and Salford Quays provide a wonderful destination for events.”
Stephen Wild, managing director of MediaCity, which hosts and invests in the festival, added: “We Invented the Weekend is the perfect example of partners coming together to make an area accessible for everyone and anyone who might not normally visit MediaCity and Salford Quays. It showcases the area in an imaginative and engaging way while bringing cultural experiences for the whole family to enjoy.”
The 2024 programme will also include activities and workshops hosted by Manchester Lit & Phil, CBeebies Bedtime Stories, RHS Bridgewater, The Lowry, British Cycling, Sounds From The Other City, Manchester United Foundation Street Reds and Charity Super.Mkt.
All events are free and mostly un-ticketed, a small number of events may be bookable. Further information can be found here.
