Michael Ball to play Manchester AO Arena on December 22 and 23
Michael Ball will appear in a new Christmas Musical Spectacular at Manchester's AO Arena on Tuesday December 22 and Wednesday December 23. The two-night run puts a West End name at the center of one of the UK's biggest new festive live productions, with tickets going on sale from Friday, May 15.
AO Arena cast and dates
Michael Ball will lead a line-up that also includes Keala Settle, Loren Allred, Ben Forster, Kerry Ellis, Alice Fearn, Kelly Mathieson and Hugh Maynard. Aled Jones will host the show, while the Manchester Camerata, Manchester Vocal Ensemble and Cardwell Theatre School will accompany the production across both nights.
The booking is designed around scale as much as cast. The production aims to transform the AO Arena into a world of music, light, celebration and Christmas magic, and it is being created by the Greater Manchester team behind the Britfest Festival in Hale.
Tickets from £40
Seated tickets will start from £40, while premium VIP packages will be available from £130. That pricing puts the event across two tiers from the start, with the more expensive packages positioned for fans who want the arena experience packaged as a premium night out.
Every ticket sold will include a £1 charitable contribution to Forever Manchester. Anthony Prophet said, "We wanted to create something that genuinely stops people in their tracks the moment they walk into the arena." He added, "To have Michael Ball leading this cast alongside Keala Settle, Loren Allred, Ben Forster, Kerry Ellis, Aled Jones and an incredible company of West End performers and musicians is something really special for Manchester."
Forever Manchester contribution
Prophet also said, "There's something incredibly powerful about live music at Christmas." He added, "The songs become part of people's lives, memories and families over generations." The final piece is practical as well as emotional: the £1-per-ticket donation means the production is being sold not only as a seasonal show, but as a fundraiser tied directly to each seat sold.
Tickets go on sale from Friday, May 15 through the Christmas Musical Spectacular website and from the AO Arena. For anyone weighing whether to buy early, the obvious pressure point is simple: the cheapest seats start at £40, the charity donation is built into every ticket, and the headline cast is fixed around Ball, Settle, Allred and Jones.
