Manchester vs. Birmingham: UK’s Spice Girls fan rivalry beyond London
    Manchester vs. Birmingham: UK’s Spice Girls fan rivalry beyond London
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    Sumissura is celebrating its "Spice Bosses" campaign

    Manchester vs. Birmingham: UK’s Spice Girls fan rivalry beyond London

    20 May 2025

    Zurich, May 20, 2025 – 
    Beyond London’s well-known Spice Girls fandom, a new analysis by Sumissura, a leading custom apparel brand for women,  highlights a friendly rivalry between Manchester and Birmingham as major hubs for Spice Girls fans in the UK. ​
    The study shows the legendary girl group’s popularity in these two cities is almost neck-and-neck.
    The analysis, led by Sumissura Marketing Lead (and Spice Girls superfan) Nancy Peyer, is part of the brand’s global “Spice Bosses” campaign that celebrates the Spice Girls’ legacy with modern professional flair (see Sumissura’s “What Spice Boss Are You” blog).

    Spice Girls –Nostalgia, numbers

    Head-to-Head Fan Metrics

    📱 Social media presence (Instagram)

    • 🇬🇧 UK followers: approx. 22% of total fans → Hundreds of thousands of British fans.
    • Note: City-level data is not available, but... → It is likely to have a strong presence in major metros like Manchester and Birmingham, based on streaming and search trends.
    • 🔍 Insight: Instagram fandom likely mirrors patterns seen in Spotify and Google searches—Manchester and Birmingham remain key fan hubs.

    🎧 Spice Girls – Spotify Listenership (via Chartmetric):

     - Manchester: approx. 59.7K
    -  Birmingham: approx. 58.1K
    🔍 Insight:
    The small difference between the two cities shows that Spice Girls fandom is evenly distributed across major regional hubs in England.

    🔎 Google Searches (past 12 months – via Google Trends):

    • Manchester: 72 (Interest Index)
    • Birmingham: 64 (Interest Index)
    📍 Both cities rank among the top UK search locations for “Spice Girls”
    🔍 Insight: 
    Whether you're a Northerner or a Midlander, the nostalgia for Ginger, Scary, Sporty, Baby, and Posh runs strong across the UK.

    🌍 Cultural Impact – 

    - Origin of the “Girl Power” movement
    - Top 5 cities for Google searches are Manchester and Birmingham
    - Strong ongoing interest from local fans
    - Wide, active fanbase in both cities
    📌 Shared Legacy
    Rather than competition, the data shows a complementary fanbase — both cities continue to fuel Spice Girls nostalgia.

    Manchester and Birmingham are virtually tied when it comes to Spice Girls fandom. Both cities exemplify the strong regional support that the Spice Girls continue to enjoy in the UK, decades after their debut. The narrow gap in streaming and search interest shows that the spirit of “Girl Power” thrives equally in both the North West and the West Midlands.

    Nancy Peyer, Marketing lead.

    The Spice Girls’ fanbase spans generations:

    - Spice Girls fanbase revealed: 82% Female and dominated by millennials
    - Millennial Spice: 70% of Spice Girls’ Instagram Fans Are Ages 25–44
    Sumissura´s case study/ Sumissura is celebrating its "Spice Bosses" campaign

    Sumissura´s case study/ Sumissura is celebrating its "Spice Bosses" campaign

    The Spice Girls promoted "Girl Power" in the '90s and still have a strong female fan base in 2025, with women driving their fandom online.
    Gen Z is enthusiastically engaging with Spice Girls content, even though many weren't born during the group's 1990s heyday. They are discovering hits like "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" through YouTube and nostalgia-themed content.
    So why does the Spice Girls phenomenon remain so female-focused after all these years? Cultural commentators point to the group’s message of empowerment and friendship that resonated deeply with young women in the 90s. Those fans, now in their late 20s to early 40s, have carried that love into adulthood.

    This should be the Spice Girls’ 2026 World Tour - A data-driven dream route

    As whispers of a 2026 Spice Girls reunion world tour gather momentum, one question keeps popping up in forums and fan groups: “Where should they go?” Our study has sketched a hypothetical “Return of Girl Power” Tour that aligns perfectly with where the band’s legend burns brightest.

    From London to Lagos, Spice Girls fans are proving that true pop icons never go out of style. Girl Power in 2025 isn’t just alive — it’s trending across borders and platforms generations.”

    Nancy Peyer of Sumissura

    Hypothetical “Return of Girl Power” Tour

    Hypothetical “Return of Girl Power” Tour

    📰 Unexpected but true: Quirky, journalist-ready takeaways from the global Spice Girls fandom data

    🌍 1. From London to Lagos: Spice World is now truly global. TikTok has spoken—and the Spice Girls are trending in Nigeria, South Africa, and the Philippines. Who needs a world tour when you're already running a full-on international pop empire from people’s phones?
    🧑‍🎤 Gen Z knows all the words to "Wannabe" - not ironically. 42% of Spice Girls' YouTube subscribers are 18-24, born after "Spice World" but still know the dance moves from the "Stop" video. Girl Power meets Algorithm Power.
    💅 3. 80% of their IG followers are women: It’s not just a fandom, it's a sisterhood. The Spice Girls continue to be a female-led movement with support from Millennial and Gen Z women, showcasing lasting influence.
    🌆 4. Chicago Beats NYC and LA in Spice streams.  America’s top streaming city isn’t the coasts—it’s Chicago, clocking in at ~71k monthly listeners. The Midwest has impeccable taste (and possibly the highest concentration of “Girl Power” playlists per capita).
    🇦🇺 6. Australia Is basically the sixth Spice Girl. Sydney and Melbourne take the #2 and #3 global spots in Spotify listeners. If there’s a 2026 tour, they’d better budget for extra glitter and Vegemite.
    📊 7. Not Just a comeback—A platform takeover streaming? check. YouTube? Check. TikTok? Definitely. Google? Still hot. Instagram? Stronger than ever. This isn’t a nostalgia act—it’s a digital rebirth, rebranded, restyled, and ready for virality.
    About Sumissura & This Study
    Sumissura is celebrating its "Spice Bosses" campaign by merging fashion and fandom, transforming the Spice Girls into modern business icons in a blog feature called "Discover your Spice Boss." 
    Hungry for more? We invite journalists to delve deeper into the data. We’re ready to share the full datasets, venue-specific estimates, and custom infographics to make your readers believe in data-fueled destiny—and the return of Girl Power. 
    Press Contact:
     Raquel Rodriguez
     Senior PR Manager, Sumissura
     raquel@hockerty.com.