Highlights So Far

04/07/07

“Just say I'm from the Koffee Pot,” says Nick, 39, from behind the counter of the legendary Manchester greasy spoon in Stevenson Square. “People call me the manager and I say I'm the proprietor but I still serve the tea, don't I? No matter what I call myself.”

Nick has been to a lot of events at the festival: “I saw Lou Reed, The Fall and Monkey. But the highlight was Monkey. Watching it for the first time with a load of other people watching it for the first time was a great way to see it. And it's an attempt to bring a new kind of entertainment to an enormous group of people. They were flying by the seat of their pants, really."

“Someone plays the whole of Sgt Pepper, and you know there's a market for that. But a Chinese opera, done by a bloke known for Britpop? And another bloke for cartoons. There was no guarantee that would be successful. And it could've been an absolute lemon. It showed some bravery, I think.”

What do you make of the idea that the festival is of Manchester but not about Manchester. Do you think it gives visitors an accurate idea of what the city is about?

“It's not Oasis and the Stone Roses playing in Manchester every night. On any given night, it's Pete Postlethwaite at the Royal Exchange, Paul Simon at the MEN arena. And that's what Manchester entertainment is about. It's just a big, difficult mixture of all kinds of different things in all kinds of different places.”