Festival dedicated to 'life and work' of The Smith's bassist Andy Rourke to take place in Manchester this weekend

Growing up in a deprived area of north Manchester, Ste McGrath was no stranger to hard work and resilience.

Temperatures are expected to reach 19C on Saturday as the sun shines on Greater Manchester. Met Office forecasters say there will be a mix of cloud and sun across the region. No rain is expected.

A dance troupe featuring incredible talent from the North West are performing live on Britain's Got Talent tonight (Thursday May 30). Phoenix Boys, a dance company which runs across Manchester, Birmingham and London, wowed judges during their audition in front of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Columbia Pictures’ action-comedy movie “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” is set to play in cinemas in mainland China from June 22, it was announced on Thursday. Starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, the film is the fourth in the nearly 30-year-old Bad Boys franchise. It sees the titular Miami cops investigate corruption in the police force after their late boss is accused of colluding with a foreign mafia.

It’s time for the third Britain’s Got Talent semi final on Wednesday 29 May, and one of the acts taking to the stage in the hopes of going through to the final on Sunday 2 June is Leightonjay Halliday from Douglas in Scotland.The 23 year old impressed judges Bruno Tonioli, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Simon Cowell with his water-soaked, emotional dance to Kodi Lee’s Changes with his original performance in the final round of auditions. In an interview with OK! a few hours before he was due back on stage for the live semi-final, Leightonjay revealed that when he was growing up he kept his dancing talents a secret from everyone to avoid being teased “I loved Grease when I was young because the dancing in that is respected and cool, whereas growing up in Scotland it was the complete opposite – as a dancer I wasn’t really respected or cool at all,” he explains.

English Teacher celebrated their time in Manchester by breaking out covers of The Smiths and LCD Soundsystem – find footage of the show below.The rising indie rockers and former NME Cover stars broke into the two covers while on stage in Manchester last week – one of the recent shows they have been playing as part of their ongoing UK tour.The dates come in celebration of their recently-shared debut album ‘This Could Be Texas’, which arrived in April and already has become one tipped to be featured in some of the best albums of 2024.Now, while playing numerous tracks from the breakthrough LP while on stage at the Gorilla venue, Lily Fontaine and co. used the opportunity to make a nod to Manchester music royalty, The Smiths.Towards the end of their 15-song set, the band delivered a surprise rendition of classic track by the indie pioneers ‘Big Mouth Strikes Again’.

With the General Election fast approaching, eagle-eyed observers may have noticed that Scotland has dropped from 59 constituencies to 57 after changes were made following a boundary review.

May half term is here - and although it’s great news for the kids, it can be tricky to keep little ones entertained. Luckily, there are lots of things to do right on our doorstep.

Nearly 1,500 banks in the UK have either shut their doors or announced their intention to close since February 2022. That's nearly two a DAY across the country.

The clock is ticking towards a bumper bank holiday weekend in Greater Manchester and attentions are turning to what weather could be in store. Either the red or blue half of the city will be celebrating FA Cup success tomorrow evening (May 25).

A memorial service commemorating the worst rail disaster in Scottish and British history will be held in Edinburgh this weekend.

EXCLUSIVE: Goodfellas and Utopia have announced a slew of sales for Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl following its launch at the Cannes market.

Dates: May 23-26Location: Busan, South KoreaFind tickets and more info hereIt’s The Ship takes to the high seas once again. Its 2024 Korea edition charts a course for Busan-Nagasaki-Busan in May. This cruise festival will feature at least two stages and over 50 DJs.

The Met Office has issued an update on the Northern Lights being visible in Scotland this weekend, after forecasters predicted more dazzling light displays.

People are being advised to plan their journeys as thousands of football fans and music lovers are set to flock to neighbouring events in Greater Manchester this weekend. Travel advice has been issued ahead of a 'really busy' Sunday in the city.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Alex Garland’s critically-acclaimed “Civil War” has confirmed a theatrical release in mainland China. Marking the first A24 production to be released in China, it will arrive in cinemas from June 7. Huahua Media took rights to the film for China. Tech and entertainment giant Alibaba will also be partnering with Huahua throughout the release. Depicting a dystopian future America, the film’s story follows a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach Washington DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House.

Touching tributes have been paid to a talented footballer and former local election candidate who died suddenly at his home aged just 47.

A new Islamic school, regeneration around a train station and a new Lidl are some of the significant developments put before Greater Manchester this week.

K.J. Yossman Switzerland has won the Eurovision Song Contest. Swiss entry Nemo stormed the contest with the song “The Code,” walking away with 591 points — a combination of a jury vote and public vote.

It feels like we’ve waited a lifetime for it but warm, sunny weather is finally upon is in Manchester. The mercury is expected to hit highs of around 22C over the weekend with plenty of sunshine on the forecast, although thunderstorms are potentially on the cards at the end of the weekend.