With their eagerly-anticipated homecoming gigs now only weeks away, Manchester music legends Oasis have announced they are donating a guitar to the city to celebrate their return and the big summer of music in their home city.
The guitar, an Epiphone Riviera, signed by Liam and Noel Gallagher, will go on display in Selfridges on Exchange Square ahead of the band's live return to their home city this July, and will remain there throughout the summer.
It will then be auctioned off in September to help raise money for grassroots music projects and venues across Manchester.
The guitar will form the centrepiece of a specially curated auction of new and 'pre-loved' guitars from famous faces, including other Manchester musicians – with each of the donated guitars also on display in shop windows and other venues across the city in July and August.
The news comes as Manchester prepares to welcome a massive 1.3 million music tourists over the summer, with the Oasis concerts front and centre of what is being billed as 'Manchester Live 25' – an unmissable three months of music in the city.
A spokesperson for Oasis said: "We're delighted to donate this guitar signed by Liam and Noel to help support Manchester's grassroots music projects and kickstart the series of celebrations."
The auction of guitars in support of the city's grassroots live music venues and up and coming young musicians, is part of 'Music for the Senses' – a not-to-be-missed guitar led takeover of the city centre.
Commissioned by the city council from global art producer Wild in Art in association with charity Forever Manchester, it will see guitar-themed artworks, exhibitions and other installations appear throughout the city's streets and squares in July and August.
Pop-up shops, impromptu performances, music-themed markets and a festival bar are also on the setlist for a sensational summer of sound and music across Manchester as music fans from around the world descend on the city.
Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council and local councillor for Burnage ward where the Gallagher brothers grew up, said: "This promises to be the summer of all summers in Manchester as we get set to welcome music fans from every part of the globe for a massive three months of nonstop live music. To have the legends that are Oasis back in town for a supersonic string of homecoming gigs front and centre of Manchester this summer is going to be epic.
"A huge thank you also to Liam and Noel for getting behind our end-of-summer guitar auction to help up and coming young artists and raise money for our fantastic grassroots music projects and venues across the city. Music for the Senses will be one of Manchester's iconic attractions this summer. It's an incredible donation from them to kickstart the auction and is certain to attract plenty of bidders on the night."
The long-awaited Oasis homecoming gigs at Heaton Park anchor a summer stuffed full of major live music events in Manchester's parks, public spaces and other venues – from June through to the end of August.
Headline outdoor appearances from Charlie XCX, 50 Cent, Elbow, Fontaines DC, Sam Fender, and Hacienda Classical, at Parklife, Sounds of the City and Live in Wythenshawe Park, will sit alongside other live events including the vibrant community sound systems of the annual Caribbean Carnival at Alexandra Park.
Manchester's indoor arena venues are also gearing up for some big-name gigs this summer with artists including Olivia Rodrigo, Robbie Williams and Billie Eilish all heading to Manchester, alongside a jam-packed programme at the city's renowned independent and grassroots venues.
The music-filled summer is expected to bring a significant boost to the wider city economy – with Manchester's smaller music venues, clubs, hotels, bars, restaurants, shops, and other cultural attractions all expected to benefit from the increased number of visitors to the city.
Councillor Bev Craig added: "Manchester has the biggest music economy in the UK outside of London and is known the world over for the music it makes – not just for the headliners and big acts, but for our vibrant and thriving new music scene supporting the headliners of the future.
"What's also significant about this is the impact that music and culture have on other businesses in the city. Last year alone music and culture had a multiplier effect on other businesses in Manchester that generated an economic impact of more than £342m for the city and supported more than 4,800 jobs.
"With 1.3m music fans set to hit the city's streets this summer businesses in the city look set to see a lot of added benefit from this beyond the obvious music impact."
A callout is now underway for Mancunians and others to contribute guitars to become part of the Music for the Senses art trail and auction.
New, old, broken or revered instruments in any condition are welcomed. All donors will be named and credited as part of the trail and will be able to seek out their own contributions and discover the works of art they have become.
The art trail will see up to 50 donated guitars that are no longer playable painted or otherwise adorned by professional artists, turning them into exquisite individual artworks for display in shop windows and other venues across the city, alongside the donated guitar from Liam and Noel and those from other musicians.
A further 100+ broken guitars will also be used for Guitar Street – an interactive installation on a soon-to-be-revealed city centre street by Manchester artist Liam Hopkins aka Lazarian, whose artwork will lovingly repurpose the donated guitars.
Any guitars donated for the art trail that are in very good, still-playable condition will be assessed by partners Rigby Music MCR and donated to a music charity, giving them a second life in the hands of aspiring musicians and the next generation of artists.
At the end of the summer each of the guitar artworks will be auctioned off alongside the guitar donated by Oasis and those donated by other famous face musicians.
More information on how to donate guitars at musicforthesenses.co.uk
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.