Leigh Sports Village Wins Leading Live Event Award at This Is Manchester Awards

Leigh Sports Village Wins Leading Live Event Award at This Is Manchester Awards

Leigh Sports Village is delighted to have won the Leading Live Event Award at the prestigious This Is Manchester Awards, in recognition of the highly successful 2026 Summer Concert Series. The annual awards celebrate the very best organisations from across Greater Manchester, making this a significant achievement for Leigh Sports Village and everyone involved in delivering the concerts.

The Leading Live Event Award category recognises events that demonstrate excellence in concept, planning, delivery, audience experience and cultural impact. Judging also took into consideration how the event benefited the wider area, including contribution to the local economy, focus on inclusion and how the event provided real social value.

A Standout Summer Concert Series

The award follows the successful delivery of Leigh Sports Village’s first concert series in eight years, delivered in partnership with The Event Company and Live Nation. After months of planning and preparation, more than 24,000 people attended across the weekend to enjoy performances from internationally renowned artists including Billy Ocean, supported by Marti Pellow, alongside hometown favourites The Lottery Winners. The concerts provided a memorable weekend for visitors and the wider community, while showcasing Leigh’s ability to host major live entertainment.

A History of World Class Event Delivery

The concert series builds on a strong track record of hosting high profile events, including the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, the Rugby League World Cup in 2013 & 2022 and the Women’s Tour of Britain in 2024. These events have generated significant economic benefits for local businesses while helping to raise Leigh’s profile as a destination capable of delivering events of national and international significance.

Behind the Scenes

Delivering two large scale outdoor concerts required extensive collaboration across every department at Leigh Sports Village. As a venue primarily designed for elite sport, the stadium was transformed to accommodate major concert productions, including stage construction, specialist sound and lighting systems, production compounds, artist facilities, enhanced catering operations and event control measures. What made the project particularly unique was that the wider campus remained fully operational throughout the build up, with services continuing alongside concert preparations.

Local Talent On A Major Stage

The cultural impact was particularly evident through Leigh’s own, Lottery Winners. Their headline appearance represented a celebration of local talent on a major stage and reinforced the venue’s role in supporting creative success stories from the borough. Lead singer of the Lottery Winners Tom Rylance reflected on the experience of being able to perform at LSV, “Our home, our people, nobody does it better.”

This award comes just days after The Lottery Winners received their honorary Believe Star from Wigan Council, celebrating their achievements and links to Leigh.

The event also provided a valuable platform for emerging talent, with Wigan band, ‘The Lilacs’ performing ahead of their debut headline tour. By supporting both established and up and coming local artists, the Summer Concert Series created opportunities for regional talent to perform alongside nationally recognised acts, helping to nurture the North West’s growing music scene.

Accessibility At The Heart

The Summer Concert Series also improved access to live entertainment by bringing major artists directly to Leigh. For many residents, families, young people and older audiences, attending concerts locally removed some of the barriers associated with travelling to larger city centre venues. This helped create a more inclusive cultural offer and ensured high quality live entertainment could be enjoyed closer to home.

A Proud Achievement

By combining world class entertainment with local talent rooted in the community, the 2026 Summer Concert Series strengthened Leigh’s cultural identity and demonstrated that major live events can thrive outside traditional city centre locations.

Leigh Sports Village is incredibly proud to receive the Leading Live Event Award and would like to thank everyone involved in making the concerts such a success. We also congratulate all winners recognised at this year’s This Is Manchester Awards, especially Ella Toone (MBE), who received an award for her Outstanding Contribution to Sport.