Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough and is the principal settlement in

the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, North West England. It is the si

xth largest city in the United Kingdom. It lies within the United Kingdom's seco
nd most populous urban area which has a population of 3 million. Manchester is l
ocated in the south-central part of North West England, fringed by the Cheshire
Plain to the south and the Pennines to the north and east, and an arc of towns w
ith which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority is Manchester C
ity Council, and the city's inhabitants are referred to as Mancunians. . Manches
ter has been a member of the English Core Cities Group since its inception in 19
95.
Manchester's buildings display a variety of architectural styles, ranging from V
ictorian to contemporary architecture. The widespread use of red brick character
ises the city. Much of the architecture in the city harks back to its days as a
global centre for the cotton trade. Just outside the immediate city centre is a
large number of former cotton mills, some of which have been left virtually unto
uched since their closure while many have been redeveloped into apartment buildi
ngs and office space. Manchester Town Hall, in Albert Square, was built in the G
othic revival style and is considered to be one of the most important Victorian
buildings in England.
Bands that have emerged from the Manchester music scene include The Smiths, the
Buzzcocks, The Courteeners, The Fall, Joy Division and its successor group New O
rder, Oasis, elbow, Doves, Ten and The 1975. Manchester was credited as the main
regional driving force behind indie bands of the 1980s including Happy Mondays,
Inspiral Carpets, James, and The Stone Roses. These groups came from what becam
e known as the "Madchester" scene that also centred around The Haienda nightclub
developed by founder of Factory Records Tony Wilson. Although from southern Engl
and, The Chemical Brothers subsequently formed in Manchester. Ex-Smiths Morrisse
y continues a successful solo career. Notable Manchester acts of the 1960s inclu
de The Hollies, Herman's Hermits, and Davy Jones of the Monkees and the earlier
Bee Gees, who grew up in Chorlton.
Manchester has a thriving theatre, opera and dance scene, and is home to a numbe
r of large performance venues, including the Manchester Opera House, which featu
re large-scale touring shows and West End productions; the Palace Theatre; and t
he Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchesters former cotton exchange.
Manchester is well known for being a city of sport. The city has two Premier Lea
gue football clubs - Manchester City and Manchester United.[173] Manchester City
's ground is the City of Manchester Stadium (also known as the Etihad Stadium fo
r sponsorship purposes); its former ground, Maine Road was demolished in 2003. T
he City of Manchester Stadium was initially built as the main athletics stadium
for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and was subsequently reconfigured into a footbal
l stadium before Manchester City's arrival. Manchester United are situated at Ol
d Trafford in the neighbouring Greater Manchester borough of Trafford, the large
st club football ground in the United Kingdom.[174] Manchester has hosted every
domestic, continental and international football competition at either Fallowfie
ld Stadium, Maine Road, Old Trafford and the City of Manchester Stadium. Competi
tions hosted in city include the FIFA World Cup (1966), UEFA European Football C
hampionship (1996), Olympic Football (2012), UEFA Champions League Final (2003),
UEFA Cup Final (2008), five FA Cup Finals (1893, 1911, 1915, 1970) and three Le
ague Cup Finals (1977, 1978, 1984).
Old Trafford, nicknamed the Theatre of Dreams by Bobby Charlton,[3] has been Uni
ted's home ground since 1910, although from 1941 to 1949, as a result of bomb da
mage during the Second World War, the club shared Maine Road with local rivals M
anchester City. Old Trafford underwent several expansions in the 1990s and 2000s
, including the addition of extra tiers to the North, West and East Stands, whic
h served to return the ground almost to its original capacity of 80,000. Future
expansion is likely to involve the addition of a second tier to the South Stand,
which would raise the capacity to over 90,000. The stadium's record attendance
was recorded in 1939, when 76,962 spectators watched the FA Cup semi-final betwe
en Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town.