Remembrance Sunday Parade
Parade from John Dalton Street, service at the Cenotaph — honouring service and sacrifice.
Remembrance Sunday in Manchester begins with a parade from John Dalton Street and a service at the Cenotaph in St Peter’s Square. Proceedings start at half past ten. The two-minute silence is at 11. Wreaths are laid, the parade is the civic part of the morning, and the square, which is usually full of people cutting through to the library or the town hall, goes still for those two minutes.
It is free, and it is quiet on purpose. Stand back from the march, keep the pavement clear for the parade, and put the phone away for the silence. The Cenotaph sits in the middle of the square, in front of the library and the tram stop, so you can arrive by tram and still be in place with time to spare. Give it the hour. The city picks up again afterwards, the markets included, but the service asks for a bit of stillness first. Dress for standing outdoors in November. The silence is short. The waiting around it is not.