19 December 2014

The cultural countdown to Christmas continues, with the opening of the nineteenth window in our advent calendar. Today: Football, Father Christmas and Quays Culture.

Two good things at the National Football Museum. It’s the opening of the museum’s new centenary-related exhibition The Greater Game: exploring the role of football in the First World War, this will be a way of showcasing the impact the sport had both at home and on the front during the conflict. With diary extracts and personal stories – such as the FA Cup Winner killed in the last days of war, and the injured soldier who went on to become England captain – The Greater Game offers a new, intimate angle on the First World War. If you have kids with you, then it’s worth popping into the NFM’s Father Christmas Grotto, too. Father Christmas Grotto, National Football Museum, 11am-4pm. Tickets £5.

Do more. When we first heard about Aeolian Light at the Quays, it sounded properly exciting. Now this incredible, light-based artwork, which responds to wind and movement, is live next to The Lowry from 10am-10.30pm daily. The result of six years of research and development by artist collective Squidsoup, commissioned by Quays Culture and the University of Salford, Aeolian Light will reflect the weather around it. Go at dusk to see it at its most striking. The Plaza, between The Lowry and the Outlet Mall, 10am-10.30pm daily. Free.