The very best places to watch the 2024 Euros in Manchester

Ardwick’s open-air party venue Progress Centre is hosting a unique street party style fanzone. While they’re normally known for their huge raves, made possible by a Funktion-One sound system, this summer they’re screening England’s knock-out matches. On a site that can hold up to 4,500 revellers, fans can get caught up in the action with anti-glare screens, bar and food traders, DJs, competitions and of course that world class sound system. Each match will welcome a different football legend to Progress Centre too. You can get your tickets now.

We’ve always known Albert Hall is one of the most decadent places to catch a gig in Manchester, and now it’s one of the most decadent places to watch the football too. They’re showing England’s semi-final against the Netherlands on Wednesday 10 July, complete with big screens and the full venue sound system. It’s free if you arrive before 6pm, and £5 after that. Plus the first 200 people to arrive get a free can of beer on arrival. Keep an eye out for more announcements if England progress through the tournament.

The AO Arena is the new home of Road to Victory. All matches from the quarter finals onwards will be shown inside the venue, which is more familiar with hosting rockstars than football matches. The fully-immersive experience includes beer pong, penalty shoot outs and table football areas, all to be enjoyed with discounted pints. Want to enjoy the action from a distance? Luxury restaurant and bar The Mezz will be turned into a family zone, with activities like face painting and sign making too.

We know and love Almost Famous for their raucous atmosphere and outrageous burger creations which inspired hundreds of imitators. At both their Manchester restaurants (one in the Great Northern warehouse, the other in Withington) you can catch all the matches throughout the tournament. To sweeten the deal there are some hard-to-say-no-to drinks offers including £3.50 pints, £12.50 pitchers and 2 for £10 cocktails during each game. And for the final, Famous Bottomless is available all day Sunday (14 July).

Northern Quarter stalwart The Bay Horse Tavern is going all-out on Euros offers, helped out along the way by Camden Brewery. They’re showing all 51 games, however far England get, and their happy hour game is strong. Before every weekday game there’s a happy hour where pints are £3.50, Guinness is £4, cocktails are two for £12 and doubles are £6. If you stick around for the whole match there’s a free pint of Camden in it for you afterwards. Nice.

You can combine the best beers and the very best spicy gear during the Euros at Bundobust. You book in to watch all the England games for a fiver, which includes a Bundobust beer, glass or wine or soft drink. Then you can get stuck into the new Euros menu, including their collab vindaloo pie with Great North Pie Co, the Pie Pav aka the Fat Les, which comes served in a soft bap with a mushy pea dip. Also on the menu are gobi wings, the Hotbun Dog and Mogo Panenka chips – crispy cassava fries tossed in maple-chilli desi ketchup. Then at half time (or anytime really) try a Half Time Orange, a mix of made with tequila, triple sec and Aperol. It’s cumin home indeed…

Cane & Grain, the Northern Quarter haunt known for bourbon, beer and barbecue-inspired eats is playing host to the official Budweiser taproom throughout the Euros. Expect giant screens and merchandise giveaways like t-shirts and skateboards (we didn’t say it had to make sense). Anyone who correctly guesses the first scorer will get a free beer, and they’ll be buy one get one free after the match, which means its worth sticking around whatever the outcome.

There are fan parks, and then there’s Diecast’s fan park, Football Ex Machina. The vast industrial space with a sun-trap beer garden plays host to a unique combo of gigantic screens, immersive lighting and music and well as pre and post match entertainment. They say it promises to be electric, and we can’t say we disagree. Different tickets and packages are available, depending on whether you want a table, or you want to get right into the action with a standing ticket.

Swap footballs for bowling balls and book out a lane at Dog Bowl to watch the footie. The folk over at the lanes on Whitworth Street West will be showing all of the games throughout the championships, with burgers and booze a plenty. For England matches, you can book your own screen and two hours of unlimited bowling too. All other games you’re free to walk in.

One of our favourite foodie spots in all of Manchester will screen all the England games at the Euros this summer. Street food haven Hello Oriental at Circle Square will get in full party mode for the fixtures, showing every kick of the England games on three massive screens. The Collective, made up of DJs G2, Marcel Stevens, DJ Win, Yemi, Six7, and DJ Rohxn, will also be getting everyone in the spirit of the game with pre and post-match tunes – think hip hop, R&B, dancehall, and, of course, some football classics too. Guests can fuel the celebrations with 2-4-1 cocktails and deals on prosecco and lager pitchers. Not to menu the sprawling menu from its various pan-Asian kitchens.

Watching the football. Going to the chippy. Two British institutions brought together in harmony at Hip Hop Chip Shop. The Ancoats venue isn’t unfamiliar with pairing the unexpected – their whole thing is fish and chips and experimental music – that’s why we know their Euros screening will be fun. All England matches will be screened inside via an 8ft projector and state of the art sound system normally reserved for pioneering DJs. There’ll be drinks offers too, and better chips and gravy than you usually get at the footy.

If you want to go all out, we can think of no better place to do so in your own private dining room in Hawksmoor. With a guaranteed great view, a decadent dining experience to share and your own dedicated serving team, this is one way to seriously elevate watching the footy. There are various packages available, depending on just how much you want to push the boat out.

The Festival of Football is going big for England’s Euro 2024 semi final against the Netherlands, with a full-venue takeover spanning the Platform, Sports Bar, and Outdoor Courtyard. Standing tickets are £10, but you can also reserve tables for groups of 6 or 8 from £35, which promise a smugness-inducing unrestricted view of the big screens. Fancy your football viewing experience a little less rowdy? There’s a family zone in the Plant Room too.

The Lawn Club brings the Euros to Spinningfields on their (literally) unmissable 13ft screen. Teaming up with Lucozade, the venue will be serving up pints and pitchers of cocktails in their ultimate Euro fanzone, showing every single game in the tournament. Tickets are available from £20, going up to £35 for the very best seats in the house. It’s the perfect spot if you fancy your footy with a relaxed party vibe.

NQ64’s outdoor space is a neon-bright hub of retro cocktails and very occasionally, gorgeous sunshine. For the Euros they’ll be installing big screens on the terrace, which is equipped with heaters and a retractable roof if the weather doesn’t play ball. You’ll need to book a ticket to watch England play, but you can just walk in for the non-England ones.

When you think of having a drink outside in Spinningfields, you think The Oast House. No wonder then that they’re putting on a huge do for all the England games, complete with live music before kick off. They’re showing the final, and it’s a walk-ins only policy. Get down early and grab your spot.

If you fancy your football viewing experience a little more intimate, and at the more independent end of the scale, you can probably do no better than Sureshot Brewing Taproom. Located in an archway behind Piccadilly and amongst a cluster of brewery taprooms which includes Track and Cloudwater, Sureshot really are the craft brewers’ craft brewer. They’re showing all the England games, and some of the others too. Always inventive with their names, why not try  the soon-to-be-released Football Friend lager too. You don’t have to book, just show up.

The Victoria Tap, the pub which has transformed travelling from Victoria into an opportunity to have a great pint, is playing host to The Bitburger Fan Zone. The micropub, which has a cute little outdoor space too (they’ve even turfed it!), will have an open air screen and bars, as well as competitions and prizes. For those who like to watch the trains as much as they like to watch the footy.

Elevated boozer The Wayfarer occupies an enviable position on the corner of Swan Street and Oldham Street on the edge of the Northern Quarter. We have it on good authority that the team will be installing brand new TV screens especially for the tournament, and it’d be hard to think of a location more in the heart of the action.

The Northern Quarter’s Wilson’s Social describe themselves as “a restaurant, bar, club and social space”, and they’re screening every single Euros match alongside some geographically creative food specials too. Private hire available and booking is advised.