The weather may not have played ball, but hundreds of performers brought their own ray of sunshine at the annual Manchester Day celebrations on Sunday. Thousands of people lined the streets to cheer on the day's centrepiece - the big Manchester Day Parade - snaking through the city centre.

And despite the drizzle, 600 performers from 25 different community groups gave their all in a spectacular procession featuring dancers, drummers, giant bees and Spain's own regal "gegants" in a Catalan and book-themed parade for 2026.

Artists from Barcelona joined in the celebrations as part of a unique partnership with the Catalan city following Manchester's role as guest city at last year's La Merce Festival in Barcelona.

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The parade has been several months in the making and was brought to life by local community groups from across the city who worked alongside artists in the run-up to the big day. Led by Manchester's very own giant-sized Queen Bee and Worker Bee and joined by Barcelona's own larger-than-life festival king and queen on their first ever trip outside of Spain, it sparked whoops and cheers from the crowds.

Parade highlights included an amazing Chinese junk boat complete with the Hong Kong skyline above it, an enormous basket filled with the most amazing colourful fungi, a huge bookshelf stuffed with over-sized books, the hungry caterpillar cycling along the parade route, stilt walkers with their heads in the clouds, and a flock of exotic birds on umbrellas, as well as a kingfisher, a beautiful phoenix, and even an eagle on a bike!

Volunteers from Friends of the Earth also brought a troupe of oversized animals from endangered species to highlight the dangers facing some of our most beloved creatures including red squirrel, puffin, and a beautiful butterfly.

With dancers from community groups across the city - many wearing traditional costumes - and live music throughout, the parade wound its way through the city as crowds lined the streets, from St Peter's Square, along Deansgate, Cross Street and Princess Street, before coming to a finish back at St Peter's Square.

Away from the parade, the city's squares were filled with live music, dancing, theatre shows and pop-up performances. It included the likes of duelling Shakespeares, unicycling knights and damsels in distress, to serenading singers in a punt that glided through the city streets, giant polar bears, a brimstone dragon, and even an enormous walk-in sperm whale for youngsters to step inside for story-time sessions with fishy tales.

Catalan highlights during the day included The Ultimate Player's Handbook - with dancers from Manchester's own Company Chameleon join forces with dancers from Catalan company Clementine & Lisard to perform a vibrant dance piece created and first performed at La Merce last year.

Performance artist and Catalan superstar Joan Català also paid a visit to Manchester, performing with Pelat in an eye-popping show on Albert Square that blurred the lines between circus, dance and thrilling theatre.

In a nod to the National Year of Reading, Central Library also opened its doors for the day with a host of book-themed fun and close encounters with storybook characters, as well as the chance to ride the glass elevator with Willie Wonka, and to walk through the wardrobe into Narnia - whilst all the time avoiding Captain Hook and being made to walk the plank.

The day's festivities were drawn to a close on Albert Square, back hosting for the first time since 2018 amid ongoing refurbishment works at Manchester Town Hall. It saw musicians and performers from Manchester and Barcelona join together in a fabulous finale celebrating the two cities.

It became a battle of the bands with Barcelona's Always Drinking Marching Band, as the giant Manchester bees and Barcelona's gegants performed alongside them - ending in a shower of confetti over the crowds and fireworks.

Councillor Pat Karney, Chair of Manchester Day, Manchester City Council, said: "Hola Manchester! And hola Barcelona! What an amazing Manchester Day we've had this year. It's been a fantastic day from start to finish with such a brilliant atmosphere right across the city.

"I want to say an enormous thank you to our friends from Barcelona for bringing the most amazing Catalan vibes to Manchester and joining in our celebrations with such spirit and energy. And thank you also to all the artists and performers from Manchester and from Barcelona for sharing their talents with us and helping make it such a special day for all the thousands of people who came along and got involved."

The city council worked with outdoor arts specialists Walk the Plank, Global Grooves and others on the programme for the day. The involvement of Catalan performers in this year's Manchester Day has also been supported by Barcelona City Council and the Institut Llull in Barcelona, which is the public institution responsible for promoting Catalan language and culture internationally.

Xavier Marcé, Councillor for Culture and Creative Industries of Barcelona City Council, said: "Barcelona has been delighted to participate in Manchester Day and to strengthen the cultural ties that connect our two cities. Through this collaboration, we celebrate creativity, diversity and the capacity of culture to bring people together across borders. We've been proud to share a glimpse of Barcelona's cultural spirit with the people of Manchester and to be part of this vibrant collective celebration."