Nothing screams summer is here more than the start of the season’s great sporting events, with Wimbledon and the Euros now in the nation’s memory bank, MediaCity is now all set to embrace the Olympics.
As the UK home of BBC Sport, Breakfast News and FIVE LIVE – the BBC buildings will be abuzz delivering live coverage, great commentary and breaking news from this iconic sporting event in Paris.
Just a few metres from where broadcast magic is taking place, for the first time, MediaCity will be showing the Olympics on its new waterside screen. The waterfront is what makes MediaCity unique. Sitting on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal you can look across an expanse of water as big as Green Park in London and run, walk or cycle for almost four miles along the canal itself and the waterways which branch off it. It’s a true gift.
This year, investment into the steps leading from MediaCity’s Piazza to the waterfront has activated an area with stunning views overlooking The Lowry, Imperial War Museum and across to Old Trafford.
Take a wander down there now and there are beds, plenty of comfy seating with attractive planters interspersing the space and the new ‘Screen on the Docks’ which will be showing the Olympics as well as a schedule of family movie favourites throughout the school holidays.
Visitors, workers and residents alike can rock up and if there’s a seat free – it’s there for the taking. On a dry, even the odd sunny, Salford day, the area has been enlivened giving it a seaside vibe with the ice cream and fish and chip pop-ups adding to the offer. There’s even a boules pitch.
Caroline Aikman said: “As a place MediaCity has always been generous with its space and summer is the time when it really comes alive. We’ve always recognised what an asset the waterfront is and the investment into the steps has enhanced an area which was already a natural draw for people. By creating more comfortable seating it’s become a haven for workers taking a break at lunch, residents who just want to enjoy the fresh air and families who pop down to take in a movie in a unique setting which is entirely free for people to enjoy.”
The Olympics will be shown on the waterfront steps daily. A full schedule of movies which are FREE to watch can be found here Screen-on-the-docks-schedule.pdf (mediacityuk.co.uk).
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