CBBC STARS HOST LIVE SUMMER SOCIAL AT SALFORD QUAYS

CBBC HQ stars Hacker, Karim, Lauren, Katie and Rhys will host the main stage and broadcast live on CBBC from the event on the MediaCityUK Piazza.

Barney and Lindsey (Blue Peter), Naomi Wilkinson (Naomi's Nightmares Of Nature), Paddy Wilde and Jorja Douglas (Got What It Takes) will also be entertaining the crowds live on stage.

CBBC Summer Social, which is free to attend, will bring together top stars, the most amazing games and masterclasses with the teams behind some of CBBC’s biggest shows.

Children will have the chance to try exciting hands-on activities in an arts and crafts zone that teaches both material and digital creativity. There will be live science experiments hosted by CBBC’s Ultimate Brain and in BBC Learning’s Terrific Scientific Zone.

Match Of The Day Kickabout will give children the chance to test their footballing skills, with demonstrations from CBBC presenter and football freestyler John Farnworth. Sports fans can also learn more about commentating on a sports match from the BBC 5 live team. Shaun The Sheep’s Championsheeps will bring farmyard games for all the family and the Lawn Tennis Association will bring mini-tennis to the event.

There will also be an Awesome Author’s stage with a packed programme of live readings, author Q&As and talks aimed at inspiring the next generation of writers and storytellers. Dan Freedman (Jamie Johnson), Dani Harmer (Tracy Beaker) and Michael de Souza (Rastamouse) will all be appearing.

CBBC Controller Cheryl Taylor says: “We hope you'll join us for the fabulous CBBC Summer Social 2017. We love meeting our audiences and this is going to be a very special weekend for children and their families to get involved with. If you're into sports, science, storytelling and creativity - we've got something just for you. Save the date and we look forward to seeing you at Media City in July."

For younger children there is a CBeebies zone, with a Go Jetters disco hosted by the coolest DJs in town, Go Jetters’ Ubercorn and Grandmaster Glitch. There’s also the chance to knit your own Clanger, workshops with the Royal Northern Ballet (choreographers of the recent CBeebies Goldilocks ballet) and appearances from many CBeebies characters.

CBBC Summer Social is open from 9am to 5.30pm at the MediaCityUK Piazza on 8 and 9 July. No tickets are required and families can simply turn up on the day. Events are free, though there may be a queuing system in place at busy times.

For more information and updates visit bbc.co.uk/cbbc