Manchester is having a moment, with cool new hotels, art spaces, and restaurants popping up quicker than umbrellas in an English summer. But that’s news to most Brits, who, if asked to name three things about this city of some 2.8 million, would probably reply with three standard answers: football, music, and Coronation Street.
The first is understandable, given that Manchester City and Manchester United dominate the sport at a global, not just national, level. The second, too: after all, Manchester gave the world The Smiths and Oasis, and this is where the Bee Gees honed their talents before migrating down under.
The third answer refers to the world’s longestrunning TV soap opera: a cultural institution in the UK based on a gritty, fictitious Manchester street that first hit…
