Since it was founded back in 2007, Manchester’s pre-eminent cultural festival has become known for its unique programming, which combines niche corners of the art world with huge scale productions.
We’re talking about things like a Kenneth Branagh-fronted performance of Macbeth in a car park, the magnificent Punch Drunk scaring the bejesus out of people in an old office building, a ballet soundtracked by Jamie XX with set design by Icelandic sculptor Olafur Eliasson, and a mass bell-ringing in Cathedral Gardens led by none other than Yoko Ono.
Since the opening of their venue – the vast, cubist Aviva Studios – in 2023, the festival has had an purpose-built home in the city. An aircraft hangar-sized one at that. But you can find festival happenings all over the place, from the free-to-all Festival Square, to Shilpa Gupta’s sound installation at RISE Inavate Centre in Rochdale.
Don’t know where to start? Read our guide to what you have to catch at MIF25…
A Single Man at The Hall, Aviva Studios
Anyone who saw Tom Ford’s sad and stylish 2010 film of the same name will know that this new adaptation is a must-see. For MIF25, director and choreographer Jonathan Watkins has gone back to Christopher Isherwood’s source material, creating a ballet that tells the story of George, a gay professor in 1960s California. A collaboration between cultural powerhouses, George’s inner monologue is performed by the inimitable musician and singer John Grant, and the score is brought to life by homegrown classical ensemble Manchester Collective. It’s set to be both impressive and intimate.
2 – 6 July
Blackhaine: And Now I Know What Love Is at Diecast
Over at Ducie Street mega-warehouse Diecast, experimental rapper and choreographer Blackhaine (Tom Heyes to his friends) is debuting a new piece. A ‘collage of music, text and choreography’, And Now I Know What Love Is is performed by a company of dancers, while audience members move freely around the space, experiencing a mix of psychedelic noise and post-industrial gloom. Expect something immersive, moody and – because it’s Blackhaine – searingly original.
9 – 19 July
Festival Square at Aviva Studios
Whether or not you’ve got tickets to one of the performances, you can soak up all the MIF action at Festival Square – Aviva Studios waterside outdoor space, which is scattered with indie food and drink traders. Every day there’s a carefully curated programme of talks, live music, performance and club nights. Loads of it too. We’d recommend giving the whole programme a look, but highlights include takeovers from Reform Radio and Crop Radio, a Carlton Club all-dayer, musical comedy from Holly Redford Jones, a talk about neurodiversity in art with Venture Arts, and a must-try collaboration between foodie favourites Honest Crust and Winsome, in aid of Eat Well MCR.
4 – 20 July
Football City, Art United at North Warehouse, Aviva Studios
Not known as worlds that pay too much attention to one another, this ambitious exhibition brings together household names from the world of art and football to create collaborative artworks. Conceived by superstar midfielder Juan Mata, uber-prolific curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, and filmmaker Josh Willdigg – and featuring star players like Eric Cantona, Edgar Davids and Ella Toone – it promises to be unexpected and playful, plus an ideal visit for those often split along the culture/sport lines. Kids go for free, too.
4 July – 24 August
The Herds Opening Ceremony at Cathedral Gardens
Opening the festival is not a single performer, but a herd of life-size puppet animals. Representing the threat wildlife is under from climate change, this 70-string cohort will take to Market Street on 3 July, then later Heywood (4 July) and Pennington Flash Country Park (5 July). It’s part of a larger, 20,000km migration the puppets are on – from the Congo basin to the Arctic Circle. As part of Thursday’s opening ceremony, the mass of animals will interrupt a performance by Manchester Camerata.
3 – 5 July
Shilpa Gupta: You are the place at RISE Inavate Centre, Rochdale
Over at the RISE Inavate Centre in Rochdale, artist Shilpa Gupta has created an open-to-all sound installation which has been a year in the making. Normally based in Mumbai, India, she’s interviewed members of the local community from all different cultural backgrounds about place and identity – including recent refugees and asylum seekers. Gupta has then worked with songwriters to craft their answers into songs, presented in a space which is free to roam around.
4 – 20 July
Surround Sounds at South Warehouse, Aviva Studios
Sounds from the Other City – Salford’s collaborative, May Bank Holiday knees up – comes over the river (just about) to take over Aviva Studios’ South Warehouse. Performing live is rapper and singer Lex Amor as well as the recently reinvigorated, mysterious avant pop act WU LYF. There will be a DJ set from Manchester’s adopted daughter AFRODEUTSCHE, followed by further sets from Manchester and Salford’s brightest and best.
18 July
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