There was much excitement in Manchester on Saturday night, and it wasn’t just because of the boxing – there was also the latest Umbro Industries final, which saw £10,000 being awarded to two fantastic creative ideas.

Congratulations have been heaped upon poet Mike Garry and creative collective Bangers And Fash, who are the two winners of the Autumn round of the Umbro Industries programme. Mike has been awarded £7,000 to help fund his idea, which is to encourage young people to read through a series of poety workshops based around football. The resulting works will then be compiled in special volume and published here in Manchester.

Bangers And Fash have been awarded £3,000 to help them stage a special event here in Manchester, where music, design, fashion and illustration will combine under one roof. The collective have already hosted events in Nottingham and Bournemouth, but are looking to make it bigger and better here in Manchester.

Mike Garry and Bangers And Fash were chosen from a total of four finalists who pitched to our panel of experts on Saturday. The other finalists, Salford City Radio and design team The Waiting Room, were encouraged to reapply to Umbro Industries by the panel, who liked both of their ideas but felt that Mike and Bangers And Fash were more deserving of the funding.

This is the fifth Umbro Industries final, with over £50,000 now provided to Manchester’s creative community to fund a variety of projects. If you think you’ve got an idea that you want to get off the ground, and you live or work in Greater Manchester, then you can already apply for the next round of Umbro Industries. Just head to our new website at www.umbroindustries.com to find out more about the scheme and upload your idea.

We’ll have an interview with both winners of the latest Umbro Industries here on the blog tomorrow.