The sign is very close to the River Mersey. Historically Manchester was in the county of Lancashire and the River Mersey formed the boundary between Lancashire and Yorkshire.
Above the main text of the sign is the Coat Of Arms of Manchester. The Manchester coat of arms were granted in 1842, before Manchester became a city and partly based on the arms of the Lord of Manchester who ruled Manchester prior to 1301. The ship in full sail that was been added to the arms represents trade and enterprise.
The crest is a globe with bees upon it representing the fact that Manchester is an industrial city that trades with the rest of the world.
"Manchester is a city in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 514,417 as of 2013.[5] In the United Kingdom's second most populous urban area, which has a population of 2.55 million,[6] Manchester is in the south-central part of North West England, fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority is Manchester City Council.
The recorded history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium, a variant of which name is preserved by the city's demonym: residents are still referred to as Mancunians.[7] The Roman fort was established in about 79 AD on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. It was historically a part of Lancashire, although areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated during the 20th century. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township but began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchester's unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution,[9] and resulted in it becoming the world's first industrialised city.[10]"
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The XVII Commonwealth Games
"The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVII Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coincide with the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth, and Manchester was selected for the 2002 Games ahead of London.[3] The XVII Commonwealth Games was, prior to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing the London 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.[4][5] In terms of sports and events, the 2002 games were the largest Commonwealth Games in history featuring 281 events across 17 sports.
The Games were considered a success for the host city, providing an event to showcase the transformation of Manchester following the 1996 bombing.[6] The Games formed the catalyst for the widespread regeneration and heavy development of Manchester, and bolstered its reputation as a European and global city internationally. Rapid economic development and continued urban regeneration of the now post-industrial Manchester continued after the Games which helped cement its place as one of the principal cultural cities in the United Kingdom.[7]
The opening and closing ceremonies, the athletic and the rugby sevens events were held at the City of Manchester Stadium, which was purpose built for the Games. Unusually for a large multi-sport event – the second largest competition by number of countries and athletes participating – the shooting events were held in the National Shooting Centre in Bisley, Surrey, some 200 miles (322 km) from the main focus of the Games in Manchester. Seventy-two nations competed in 14 individual sports and 3 team sports events.
Sporting legacy includes the British Cycling team who inherited the Manchester Velodrome and went on to win eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics and another eight gold medals at the 2012 Olympics, partly attributed to the availability of the velodrome. Manchester City F.C. inherited the City of Manchester Stadium, and as a result, have since found themselves in a desirable investment opportunity in age of foreign football investment. The club was taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group led by Sheikh Mansour in 2008, without the stadium, a takeover would have been far less certain. The Games were a formative moment for Manchester and Britain with then-IOC president Jacques Rogge viewing the games as an important litmus test as to whether Britain could host the Summer Olympics.[10][11] The success of the Games quickly encouraged and inspired the future London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics with London going on to win the bid on 6 July 2005 and the games were successfully staged seven years later.[12]"
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