How much?
Manchester’s Christmas Markets opened on Friday as the wooden huts returned across nine sites in the City.
However, some customers have been left disappointed in the price rise particularly on the food and drink stalls.
Stallholders have defended the increase after Manchester Council increased the cost of rent which has been passed onto the customers.
The Council have blamed the increase in energy prices plus the cost of infrastructure and added security for the rise in rent.
Visitors could be paying as much as £9.50 for the most expensive meat sausages across the market.
The Berlin currywurst at the popular Witch House stall on New Cathedral Street has had an increase of £1.50 up from £8 last year, while you will also pay £9.50 for a jumbo piggy wrap at Porky Pig on Exchange Square, up by £1 on last year.
Meanwhile, German bratwurst, cheese sausage and smoked sausage are all up by 50p on last year and priced at £8 across the markets stalls.
The vegan bratwurst at Piccadilly Gardens have also experienced a price rise of a pound.
Plain bratwurst is now £8, while the most expensive option the chilli cheese bratwurst is now £10, up from £9.50 last year.
The massive 20-inch long bratwurst on St Ann’s Square are also up by a pound this year – now priced at £8, up from £7 last year.
Though many bars have frozen prices year-on-year, the price of pints at some bars in Piccadilly Gardens have risen by a pound.
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Some craft ales are now priced at £7 while draft beer and cider are still priced at £6 across many stalls.
If you’re buying a traditional pint of German beer and bratwurst that means you’ll be shelling out £14 this year, plus the £2 for your glass deposit which you will get back if you return your pint pot to the stall when you’ve finished.
Luxury non-alcoholic hot chocolates have been bumped up by a £1 on many stalls to £4.50 – £5.50, although alcoholic hot chocolates have stayed the same at £6.50.
The stalls can be found at Piccadilly Gardens, Market Street, Exchange Square, the Corn Exchange, Cathedral Gardens, St Ann’s Square, Exchange Street, New Cathedral Street and King Street.
Councillor Pat Karney, the Christmas spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “Our Christmas Markets are a massive tourist attraction for the city and help bring millions of visitors into Manchester which translates into a much wider economic boost across the whole of the city’s retail and leisure sector.
“Like any other business we regularly review the operating costs involved in delivering our Christmas markets. This year’s rental increases have gone towards meeting rising costs across the board including for infrastructure, security and energy.
“Whilst we always try very hard to keep these costs as low as possible, if our running costs go up we have to pass these increases on to make sure we can keep bringing Manchester’s legendary Christmas Markets to the city.”
