Following completion of the £15m hello future redevelopment, it has set out to become the museum Manchester needs. Key to that is helping the city’s diverse communities to feel welcome within the Museum’s spaces, to find belonging where they did not previously.

Our events programme underpinned by community, collaboration and co-creation is an essential part of the approach. In 2024, this programme is anchored by seven celebrations that aim to foster belonging and support the organisational mission to build understanding between cultures and a more sustainable world.

It has already got off to a flying start, with a highly-successful Lunar New Year Late on the evening of Wednesday 7 February, which saw around 1,000 people head through the Museum’s doors. Like the Mid-Autumn Festival event that will follow later in the year, it was organised in collaboration with Manchester China Institute and Confucius Institute and connected with both Chinese students and the Museum’s wider audience.

Iftar follows on 21 March, where visitors from all faiths and backgrounds will be invited to participate in or witness the Muslim call to prayer before a communal breaking of the fast. Organised with the University’s Islamic Society, this year’s event will also support the Myriad Foundation charity.

The Museum teams up with Manchester Sikh Foundation and Feed My City for Vaisakhi on Sunday 6 April, which includes a Langar, where everyone is served a free, nourishing, vegetarian meal regardless of religion, gender, status or ethnicity.

Africa Day celebrations in May represent a continuation of the Museum’s ongoing work in engaging with the African diaspora and will be co-curated with members of the diaspora. Meanwhile, this year’s Diwali will build on an oversubscribed event in 2023, which connected with the Indian student population.

The programme is rounded off with Stan’s Secret Santa in December. The annual charity gift drive will, this year, be accompanied by a Christmas market and Christmas Late.

• To keep track of all these events, head to Manchester Museum’s what’s on page and be sure to sign up for tickets.