Between Monday 9th March and Monday 23th March 2026, Greater Manchester will be hosting the first ever Live Well Spring Festival.
Rather than one system-wide event, the festival will pop-up locally with many things happening at once across neighbourhoods, in spaces, community centres, high streets and online places.
The four festival 'stages'
The festival will be built around four (metaphorical) stages. Unlike traditional festivals, these are not physical stages. Instead, they act as shared foundations that support local pop-ups to grow, while ensuring a strong, consistent thread runs throughout the festival.
Each pop-up can connect with one or more stages, reflecting the many different ways Live Well is visible across Greater Manchester.
- Spaces of hope and connection: Celebrating the trusted, community-rooted places that bring people together - where belonging grows, relationships deepen, and support flows.
- Great everyday support: Showcasing inspiring examples of relational and inclusive support in communities that helps people Live Well.
- Building bridges and weaving trust: Bringing people, places, and experiences together - strengthening trust, connection and belonging between communities, and with public services.
- Participation and community power: Celebrating the ways communities shape the places they live and the decisions that affect their lives - shifting power, driving change, and growing collective action.
We would love for you to use this opportunity to showcase the excellent work that you are doing as VCSE organisations. We know that the work you are doing already links strongly with the four festival ‘stages’, and therefore this platform is a great opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise and connect with others.
If you have an idea for a festival pop-up, you can share it with the Live Well team before Friday 30th January 2026.
Ways to share:
- Online form (email gmlivewell@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk if you need support completing it)
- Short video
- Book a 15-minute chat to talk through your idea
The GM Live Well team will walk alongside pop-up curators, enabling ideas to take shape and come to life. A Live Well Spring Festival Fund is also available to resource involvement, participation, and the costs of running events or activities. Any support needed can be shared through the options above.
You can read more information about the Live Well Spring Festival in the December 2025 Live Well bulletin December 2025 - GM Live Well bulletin.