Foodie Friday's success story's helping boost town's image

ON the last Friday of every month, thousands of people flock to a Victorian market square to taste some of the best street food in the region and enjoy a host of live music and entertainment.

- BY JENNA CAMPBELL

The event is of course, Foodie Friday which takes place on Stockport's historic Market Place. Since 2015, it has been a driving force behind the south Manchester town’s cultural and economic renaissance, helping to attract visitors to the town centre and strengthen the nighttime economy.

While its heralded as paving the way for food and drink concepts across the region, now ten years on its getting international recognition too.

Foodie Friday has been shortlisted for the ‘Best Placemaking Initiative at the prestigious City Nation Place Awards 2025, recognising excellence in placemaking from around the world.

The City Nation Place Awards celebrate outstanding examples of how places - from towns and cities to entire nations - are developing more effective strategies for place identity and marketing management.

The nomination celebrates the Stockport event as a community catalyst for refreshing the experience and identity of Stockport town centre, standing proudly alongside global initiatives from Cleveland in the USA, Stockholm in Sweden, and Toronto, Canada.