Manchester's World Cup big screen event to go ahead

Plans to show England's next World Cup match on Manchester's big screen have been unaffected by the violence which broke out during Saturday's fixture.

Four arrests were made after fighting among a handful of fans at Castlefield Arena on Saturday evening.

The city council discussed the incident with police on Monday, but there was never a question of England fixtures being axed, a spokesman said.

However, some changes are planned to help the event run more smoothly.

Some of the 12,000 supporters attending the screening experienced huge queues picking up their tickets, securing their entrance to the arena and buying drinks from the bars.

On Friday, more effort will go into directing people to an alternative entrances which were underused on Saturday night.

More box offices will also be set up at the Roman Gardens to allow more people to pick up tickets in advance.

Tokens for the arena's bars are also being abolished, allowing customers to pay with cash.

And drinks will no longer be served in plastic bottles after a number were hurled among the crowd on Saturday.

Bars and an artificial beach had been laid on for the ticket-only screening of England's World Cup debut.

But trouble flared towards the end of the match among one group. Four men, aged between 19 and 37, were arrested on suspicion of affray.

Councillor Mike Amesbury, Manchester City Council's executive member for culture and leisure, said: "The vast majority of people had a great time at the fan zone on Saturday and the atmosphere was good across the park with thousands of people enjoying themselves.

"We have always said that troublemakers would not be tolerated and the quick and effective response by security and police to the isolated incident, involving a tiny number of idiots, demonstrates that clearly."

Anyone wishing to view England's crunch World Cup fixture against Algeria on the big screen must apply for tickets.