Over 4 million people worldwide attended The Met on New Years Eve as United We Stream took the Haçienda Twenty-Four Hour House Party to a global audience, broadcast live from Bury.

The Met worked with FAC51 The Hacienda and United We Stream GM to rock the globe with the biggest ever New Year’s Eve house party in the world. The incredible twenty-four hour live streamed event saw millions tuning in from all corners of the planet, to celebrate, and bring to an end to what has been an incredibly challenging year. 

Haçienda Twenty-Four Hour House Party NYE amassed a global audience of over four million people, who enjoyed The Haçienda’s stunning line up of DJ’s, performers and even a full orchestra with the globally renowned Hacienda Classical. 

Viewers raved into 2021 enjoying all genres of house music, tuning in from far and wide across the world including: The Balkans, New Zealand, Romania, Poland, Australia, Canada, France, Netherlands, Japan, Hungary, Germany, Singapore, Portugal, Thailand, Norway, USA, Brazil, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the U.K. 

Naturally, the lion’s share of the audience hailed from The Hacienda and United We Stream GM’s home city: Greater Manchester. 

 

The show trended no.2 in the UK on social media platform Twitter for hours leading up to midnight, with hundreds of thousands of excited people posting pictures and videos of their household celebrations, and countless comments filled with gratitude and nostalgia as they partied their way into 2021. 

The show was free to watch, but donations from viewers raised an impressive £115,000 to be split between The Mayor of Greater Manchester’s new campaign, oneGM, Save The Children UK, Peace Meal in Hulme and The Frankie Knuckles Foundation. Donations can still be made using this link: http://bit.ly/HaciendaNYEDONATE 

The Haçienda 24 Hour House Party NYE and previous Haçienda streams were all curated and co-produced by Haçienda manager, Paul Fletcher and produced live from The Met here in Bury. 

 

The Haçienda resident DJ Graeme Park has been a regular at The Met during 2020 as part of United We Stream’s incredible year, even playing a 24 hour set all by himself during the summer. He played 90’s house anthem classic ‘Better Days’ as Big Ben chimed at midnight, and said: “I’m extremely proud to have been part of a project that was watched by millions and raised so much money for people affected by this horrible pandemic. 

“It was an absolute joy to be able to perform another exclusive Hacienda Classical set and a privilege to see in 2021 whilst DJing at the coveted midnight slot. It’s been an honour to be a part of the amazing work that FAC51 The Hacienda and United We Stream GM has carried out throughout 2020 which has quite rightly received incredible feedback.”

Another regular at The Met for United We Stream has been DJ Paulette, who concluded: “What an honour, a thrill and an absolute joy to be a part of the FAC51 The Haçienda show. I’ve never played to so many people in an empty room and it is crazy thinking about how many lives, homes, eyes, ears and hearts my messages of love, positivity, support, recognition and music have touched – including mine. 

“So much work went into this production before anyone played a record, so big ups to everyone on the team behind the scenes and in front of the camera for creating such a beautiful 24-hours viewing. 

“Happy New Year to all – to better and brighter days ahead!”

CEO of The Met, Victoria Robinson, reflected on the impact of such a huge event for the town at the end of a difficult year: “We’re so proud of what we’ve been able to achieve as part of United We Stream in 2020.

“This event shows all the best parts of the collaboration that has endured this year; the partnership with United We Stream and The Hacienda, the wonderful artists who contributed their time and skills, and The Met staff behind the scenes working alongside the UWS broadcast team from Badger & Combes have once again delivered something incredible.

“The reach and impact of this event is huge. We hope everyone in Bury takes the same pride we do in knowing their local venue has helped bring enjoyment to an audience around the world at this time.”

Main image – Graeme Park DJs at The Met on New Year’s Eve – credit Katie Hall