When will Manchester Christmas Markets return to Albert Square - council issue update after backlash over delays

It will be another year without Manchester's Christmas Markets on the city centre's Albert Square after severe delays to the ongoing improvements to Manchester Town Hall. But when exactly will the markets be able to return to their traditional hub on the civic square?

It has been a fierce topic of debate over the weekend after businesses angry at the delays have called on Manchester Council to do "everything in their power" to get Albert Square clear of building works to bring a return of the Christmas Markets for 2025.

The Christmas Markets have not been held on Albert Square since 2019 due to the ongoing works - with the main hub moved to Piccadilly Gardens instead. The building works are said to be the biggest heritage project in the UK.

READ MORE: Manchester Christmas Markets Map and guide to 2024 locations

Manchester council bosses announced earlier this month that the ongoing Our Town Hall works, due to have initially been complete in December 2023, are delayed again - and will now take another TWO years to finish taking it to 2026. An extra £76m of public funding is also needed, pushing the project to a staggering £430million.

Albert Square had been due to resume hosting the main hub of the Manchester Christmas Markets in what had been planned as the "big return" for 2024. But as the MEN reported in the summer, that plan had to be scrapped for this year.

The main hub will instead return to Piccadilly Gardens for the 2024 festive events. The Christmas Markets will return from Friday, November 8 and run through to Sunday, December 22 this year.

Now, the council has issued a new update on when they are hoping that a "festive offer" will be able to return to Albert Square. It came in response to the frustrations