The chairman of the Manchester Day Parade has invited every Manchester across the world to come to the city for next year’s parade after support from their American and Canadian namesakes.
Councillor Pat Karney said he was very keen for the 36 Manchesters around the world to share links and get to know each other in an ‘international Manchester Day’.
This comes after the American Manchesters in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and from Calgary, Canada, voiced their support for the event after the parade on June 2.
“I’ve always known that our Manchester is deserving of worldwide note,” he said.
“But now, we can extend the hand of friendship to every Manchester in the world, for a global celebration of all things Manchester.
“I’m issuing an open invite for visitors from other Manchesters to come and see our great city.
“And, if they want to visit for next year’s parade we could make it an international Manchester Day.”
While the Manchester we all know has its fair share of history, the Manchesters across the world aren’t without their own prestige.
Manchester in New Hampshire is the largest city in its state, and was recently voted 13th in a list of the 100 best places to live and launch a business by CNNMoney.com.
There is some political history etched within the town of Manchester in Vermont, Canada, which was once home to the granddaughter of arguably America’s greatest ever President, Abraham Lincoln.
Of the 36 Manchesters worldwide, 31 are in the United States of America, one is in Canada, and Bolivia, Surinam and Jamaica all have a Manchester.
Whereas the population of our Manchester stands at around half a million, in Manchester, Minnesota, the officially recorded population is 57.
It stands to reason why Manchester such a popular international place name, particularly in America.
It has been suggested that the support Manchester workers gave to Abraham Lincoln and the Northern States in their fight to abolish slavery has a lot to do with their prominence across the Atlantic.
During the American Civil War in 1861, 98% of all the finished cotton produced world-wide came from Manchester.
President Lincoln even acknowledged the city in a letter in 1863, calling the people of Manchester: “an instance of sublime Christian heroism which has not been surpassed in any age or in any country.”
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