Is soggy old Manchester having a cultural buzz or trading on past glories?

Big things are happening with Chanel and Factory International, but we hear Blue Monday a few too many times

It has been a big few months for Manchester. First came the opening of Factory International, the 242m arts centre on the River Irwell, billed as the most significant UK cultural venue since Tate Modern. Then came the announcement that the wider city region had been chosen as the new home for English National Opera, reluctantly forced out of London as part of the government's levelling up agenda.

Finally, on Thursday, Chanel strutted into town, taking the bold/lunatic decision to stage an alfresco catwalk show in the city's Northern Quarter. So is the soggy Cottonopolis - the French fashionistas at least had the sense to bring their own roof -having something of a moment?