What is Manchester known for?
Manchester is a major city in northwest England known for football, music, the Industrial Revolution and its vibrant culture. It is home to Manchester United and Manchester City, two of the world's most famous football clubs.
Manchester became the world's first industrial city in the late 1700s and 1800s, with cotton mills earning it the nickname Cottonopolis. Its canals and railways were built to transport goods.
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway, opened in 1830, was the world's first inter-city passenger railway. The Science and Industry Museum is located on the site of its Manchester terminus.
Music and culture
Manchester has produced famous bands such as Oasis, the Smiths, Joy Division, New Order and the Stone Roses. The Hacienda nightclub was central to the city's music scene in the 1980s and 1990s.
The city is home to the University of Manchester, where the atom was first split in 1917 by Ernest Rutherford and one of the first stored-program computers was built in 1948.
Manchester is known for its rain, red brick warehouses and the bee symbol, which represents the city's hard work. It hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games.