Cotton Pageant

Cotton Pageant

The Belle Vue Aces Speedway team started competing in the stadium across Kirkmanshulm Lane from Belle Vue but in March of 1929 a new purpose built stadium was built inside Belle Vue and it remained the home of the Aces for several decades.  The stadium had other functions.  There was a football pitch on the infield first used by the Manchester Central Amateur Football Club and later by Broughton Rangers.  It was also used for a wide variety of sporting and cultural events. 



At the beginning of the 1930s a 5 year plan was drawn up for a series of Pageants beginning with the Lancashire Cotton Pageant. 




It comprised twelve episodes including: A Cotton Plantation, A Persian Market and The Age of Invention. 

The image below is shown with the permission of Bill Bullock.



However, as spectacular as the event was it did little to boost the flagging textile industry and from Belle Vue's perspective attendances were nearly 50,000 below projections.  The 5 year plan was quietly shelved.


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