Success Story:

Freight Island

Freight Island Logo - White Capital Letters with Black Drop Shadow

Background

Just a two-minute walk from Manchester Picadilly station, Freight Island is a vibrant, multi-vendor food, drink, and cultural venue offering entertainment like sports watch parties, DJs and live music.

With a huge indoor and outdoor seating area, ‘the biggest screens in Europe’ and a dedicated sports and fan zone, Freight Island is the perfect place to listen to your favourite tracks and soak up the atmosphere while cheering on your favourite team.

This year, Freight Island along with another venue in the area hosted their ‘We Are Football Festival 2026’ to create the largest FanPark in Europe for fans to watch the World Cup live. We chatted with Freight Island’s Senior General Manager, Mikele Corzato about how showing the games has boosted the customer experience and how the business has benefited from the football buzz.

Music is life’s soundtrack, and it plays a vital role in creating the atmosphere across every space.”

– Mikele Corzato, Senior General Manager at Freight Island

Photograph of a large crowd gathered indoors, facing a screen displaying a sports event, likely a football match. The scene features vibrant lighting with red and blue hues, and many people are raising their hands or capturing the moment with phones, indicating excitement and engagement.

What sort of atmosphere does showing sporting events create at Freight Island? 

Showing sporting events at Freight Island has become a tradition in Manchester. Over the last 6 years we have curated a loyal community of fans that help create an incredible atmosphere across all the venue’s spaces. There is something for everyone, from the family zone where the atmosphere is more relaxed, to the full on indoor and outdoor stages where you need a waterproof jacket to work in case England scores and the beers start flying.

Photograph of a large outdoor crowd gathered at night, watching a brightly lit screen with many people raising their hands in excitement. The scene features vibrant lighting, confetti in the air, and a densely packed audience, suggesting a lively event or celebration.

What sporting events do you typically show throughout the year? What can people expect to see at Freight Island? 

At Freight Island we show all major sporting events, from Premier League and Champions League to Wimbledon and Formula 1. Every year in February and March we show the 6 Nations Rugby Championship, which is always a lot of fun. 

Do you organise any other entertainment to complement the matches like DJs or live music? 

Incorporating music and entertainment into our events has become second nature, and the same approach extends to the World Cup and every other major sporting event we host.”

– Mikele Corzato, Senior General Manager at Freight Island

We work with a diverse range of talent, from DJs and live musicians to sporting personalities, creating an experience that goes far beyond simply watching a game. For this particular World Cup, with its later kick-off times, we transformed every match into a party. Judging by the atmosphere and the feedback, our guests thoroughly embraced it.

Outdoor night-time photograph of a large crowd gathered in an urban venue with string lights and a large screen displaying content. Modern buildings with illuminated windows and artistic facades form the backdrop, creating a lively atmosphere with people engaged and watching the event.

Have you noticed an increased footfall or increased spend during the World Cup season? 

I am probably going to sound big-headed answering this question, so apologies in advance. We are in a very privileged position, as Freight Island seems to be very popular throughout the year and the World Cup games regularly sell out days in advance. Despite that, we are never complacent and always try to find new ways to elevate the shows and provide a better experience for the guests that come to the venue.

As you know, having TheMusicLicence allows you to play licensed music and show sports at Freight Island, can you tell us how that benefits the customer experience, and the business as a whole? 

Music is life’s soundtrack, and it plays a vital role in creating the atmosphere across every space. Having the opportunity to showcase both established and emerging artists keeps the guest experience fresh, engaging, and exciting. We simply wouldn’t be able to create the experiences we strive for without music. From a business perspective, it’s also important to ensure that every artist is fairly remunerated for their work. We know it’s about much more than the performance on stage, there’s an enormous amount of work that happens behind the scenes, from writing and producing tracks to curating the right music for different events and rehearsing to deliver a great performance.

Outdoor night-time photograph of a large crowd gathered in an urban venue with string lights and a large screen displaying content. Modern buildings with illuminated windows and artistic facades form the backdrop, creating a lively atmosphere with people engaged and watching the event.

Want to get involved?

If you have a unique story about how you use music or have a passion for supporting the artists behind the songs we love then we’d love to hear about it! Drop us an email at press@pplprs.co.uk to find out more. 

All images supplied by Freight Island

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