Set up in 1977, the North West Film Archive preserves moving images made in or about Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and Cumbria and offers a variety of access services to users in the public, academic and commercial sectors.
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Yuri Gagarin visits Manchester, 12 July 1961
The chance to see the most famous man in the world draws crowds of people on a rainy day.
From the collection of:

Overview
The chance to see the most famous man in the world - the first man in space - draws huge crowds in Manchester for this once in a lifetime event. On his visit to the city, a smiling Gagarin clearly charms everyone he meets, and he touchingly speaks of his own ambitions, and hopes for future space exploration. Sadly, Gagarin was to die in a plane crash in1968 before he could fulfil these dreams.
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