A brief on Manchester

Manchester is a part of the English Core Cities Group, and often described as the "Capital of the North".

Manchester is a centre of the arts, media, higher education and commerce. In a recent poll of British business leaders, Manchester was regarded as the best place to locate business in the UK. A report commissioned by Manchester Partnership, published in 2007, showed Manchester to be the "fastest-growing city" economically.

It is the third most visited city in the United Kingdom by foreign visitors and is now often considered to be the second city of the UK. Manchester is also well known for its sporting connections, with two Premier League football teams, Manchester United and Manchester City, and hosted the XVII Commonwealth Games in 2002.

It is claimed that Manchester was the world's first industrialised city and is notable for the central role it played during the Industrial Revolution. It was the dominant international centre of textile manufacture and cotton spinning. During the 19th century it was nicknamed Cottonopolis, denoting that the area was a metropolis of cotton mills. Manchester City Centre is now on a "tentative list" of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, mainly due to the network of canals and mills that facilitated its development during the 19th century.