Highlights revealed for Manchester International Festival 2025

The MIF25 programme is:

THE HERDS (3 – 5 July)

From April to August 2025, ever-growing herds of life-size puppet animals will stampede into cities across Africa and Europe to flee climate disaster in THE HERDS.  Travelling across 20,000km, it is a public artwork on a scale never before attempted and will vividly dramatize the climate crisis. THE HERDS will unleash a large number of captivating, life-sized animal puppets to storm the streets of Manchester, Rochdale, and Wigan, transforming the city into a breathtaking, untamed spectacle to launch the Festival.

They will be joined by hundreds of participants from across Greater Manchester. Presented by The Walk Productions and led by Artistic Director Amir Nizar Zubai, it follows the international success of The Walk in 2021, which saw a 12-foot tall puppet of a Syrian refugee girl called Little Amal travel from Turkey to the UK.

A Single Man (2 – 6 July)

For the first time the Festival will partner with The Royal Ballet, to present a stage version of Christopher Isherwood’s A Single Man at Aviva Studios. Created by Jonathan Watkins with new music by Jasmin Kent Rodgman and John Grant, who will also perform live, the World Premiere of A Single Man will see former Royal Ballet Principal Ed Watson perform the central role.

Football City, Art United. (4 July – 24 August 2025)

Football City, Art United. is an ambitious group exhibition at Aviva Studios which pairs 11 artists and footballs to create new work. The project is a collaboration between World Cup and Champions’ League winner Juan Mata, renowned curator and Serpentine Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist and writer Josh Willdigg. From interactive play arenas and sound installations to animation and sculpture, Football City, Art United expands the worlds of art and football and the cultural contributions both make to our daily lives.

Rivca Burns Head of Music at Factory International:

“I’m very excited and honoured to share the first wave of music collaborations and shows for this year’s festival! A collection of global and local artists that will bring special and one-off performances to Manchester and really challenge what live music can be. Alongside the return of Festival Square which will see hundreds of performances from musicians and artists of Greater Manchester.

“The music projects as part of this MIF are a celebration of collaboration, of the importance and power of grassroots of not just this City that we call home but the world, and it cements this building, Aviva Studios, as an international playground where truly magical and unexpected live performance can happen that welcome audiences and artists to the unknown.”

A Symphony of Flesh and Bones (10 – 13 July)

Focusing on the experiences of her father Lloyd, a world champion bodybuilder, and her brother, Antony, a former cage fighter, A Symphony of Flesh and Bones is an immersive and dreamlike film and installation by award-winning artist Juliet Ellis. Taking place in the South Warehouse at Aviva Studios, Ellis’s new piece explores how and why we build our bodies as shelters or armour–and how the physical effects of aging impact the different identities we construct.

Venture Arts: Michael Beard (4 – 20 July)

Enjoy a live collaborative performance from Michael Beard, dance Company Chameleon and Manchester Camerata at Venture Arts pop-up open studio – filled with art, movement and music. With local artist Michael Beard in residence, live performances and interactive workshops, The Lab, Aviva Studios will be a welcoming space for creative exploration.

FALE SĀ / SACRED HOUSE (4 July – 10 August)

Critically acclaimed Queer Indigenous collective FAFSWAG take over HOME for the duration of MIF25 – with stunning digital art, live cultural ceremony and a programme of films and talks grounded in Pacific identity and culture. FALE SĀ / SACRED HOUSE responds to the reality that home is a precarious notion for cultures in a constant state of motion and displacement and has been created over the last two years.

And Now I Know What Love Is (9 – 19 July)

Internationally acclaimed artist, choreographer and musician Blackhaine will take over industrial space Diecast for the World Premiere of And Now I Know What Love Is (9 – 19 July). Performed by a company of dancers and taking inspiration from the rich, urban landscapes of North West England where he grew up –  liminal, seemingly-desolate spaces – this immersive performance blends choreography and sound inviting us to question our sense of belonging and love in a world of despair.

A Possibility (17 – 20 July)

The Royal Northern College of Music will play host to a new artwork by Germaine Kruip. Part sculptural installation, part soundscape, part immersive experience, A Possibility features music by Emily Howard and Hahn Rowe performed by percussionists using Kruip’s specially made brass sculptures. The piece  invites audiences to transcend the immediate and explore a world of infinite possibilities.

Liberation (27 June – 26 July)

Inspired by true events in Black British History, people, politics and power collide in the World Premiere of Liberation, a powerful new play by writer Ntombizodwa Nyoni, directed by Monique Touko. Commissioned and staged by the Royal Exchange Theatre 80 years after the Fifth Pan African Congress took place in Manchester in 1945, Liberation explores the private lives of activists who fought to liberate Africa, exploring why their story remains relevant in 2025.

Councillor Garry Bridges, Deputy Leader, Manchester City Council:

“Manchester’s worldwide reputation as a city of culture and the arts is in no small part thanks to Manchester International Festival and the groundbreaking new works it has presented every two years across the city since the very first festival back in 2007.

“This year’s programme sounds just as brilliant with some amazing artists and creatives set to take over the city this July. As well as producing creative work that is consistently innovative, often spectacular, and always thought-provoking – much of which goes on to tour the world – the fantastic opportunities the festival also provides for local people of all ages to get involved, learn new skills, and play a part in its success, either as participants, staff, or as one of the festival’s huge army of volunteers, make a real difference in the city and literally do help change lives for the good.”

Santiago Yahuarcani: The Beginning of Knowledge (4 July 2025 – 4 January 2026)

The Beginning of Knowledge, the first international solo exhibition of works by Santiago Yahuarcani – artist, Indigenous activist and leader of the Aimeni (White Heron) clan of the Uitoto people will be presented by the Whitworth as part of MIF25. Working from a remote Amazonia town in northern Peru, Santiago Yahuarcani creates large-scale, narrative rich paintings exploring the relationship between the Uitoto people and the natural world.

Using natural pigments and materials, Yahuarcani’s work exists outside of Western art history – instead harnessing the memories, history and wisdom of his ancestors, the sacred knowledge of medicinal plants, the sounds of the jungle, and Uitoto myths that explain the multiple configurations of the universe.

An Inheritance (4 July – 2 November)

Showing at Manchester Art Gallery in 2025 and again in 2125, An Inheritance brings together a sprawling collection of knowledge, advice, jokes, memories and objects curated by over 500 primary school children from across every borough of Greater Manchester. Working with artists Andy Field, Beckie Darlington and Rosabel Tan, these young people have been thinking about Manchester 100 years from now and what they can leave behind for its children – from a jar of honey (in case there are no bees in 2125) to advice on how to make friends, and everything in between.

To make sure the inheritance is passed down, key representatives from the city will attend a special ceremony where they will sign an oath written by the children promising to safeguard the collection for the next 100 years.

Balmy Army x Balmy UKraine  (8 – 10 July)

Manchester’s youth-led art, activism and mutual care project Balmy Army returns to join forces with young people from Ukraine for a three-day takeover of art and activism at Contact where young people are heard, and adults have to listen.

Shilpa Gupta  (4 – 20 July)

Mumbai-based artist Shilpa Gupta connects and collects stories with different communities to create a thought-provoking sound installation at RKIX in Rochdale.

Festival Square (4 – 20 July)

Returning to the banks of the River Irwell at Aviva Studios, and flowing indoors to the Social, Festival Square showcases the best talent from the city and beyond with a free programme of live music and performances. From late night DJ sets and family fun, to spoken word and bands; and with new acts to experience and great food, this summer hangout is buzzing with all that makes Manchester special.

Ruhaniyat (رُوحانیت) – An Orchestral Sufi Experience (10 July)

A World Premiere by Rushil Ranjan (the Orchestral Qawwali Project) with Manchester Camerata and a very special guest.

Rushil Ranjan is a self-taught, critically-acclaimed, award-winning composer, arranger and producer, known for his work in bridging classical art forms from around the world. For MIF25, he brings  Orchestral Qawwali Project to Aviva Studios, teaming up with Manchester Camerata, one of the UK’s most adventurous orchestras. Established in 2020 by Ranjan and his partner Abi Sampa, the Orchestral Qawwali Project has soared to prominence with its unique blend of Sufi poetry, Indian Classical dance and orchestral arrangements.

Rebecca Ball Area Director, North, Arts Council England:

“Manchester International Festival has a well-deserved reputation for programming pioneering work from across the creative spectrum and the 2025 programme is no exception. A fantastic array of national and international artists and organisations will bring their creativity to Manchester for the first festival to be hosted within the fully-completed Aviva Studios, as well as collaborations with other city centre venues.

“It’s also great to see that some events will take place in Rochdale and Wigan so local communities can experience the activities on their doorstep. Manchester International Festival brings audiences from far and wide to the city, while involving communities across Greater Manchester and bringing significant economic benefit. We’re proud to support the festival and I look forward to experiencing some of the events over the summer.”

Mary Anne Hobbs & Anna Phoebe (15 July)

Mary Anne Hobbs and Anna Phoebe offer a unique hybrid performance, bringing together live DJing, sound design and voice, with violins, viola and live electronics. In the age of attention-obliteration, Hobbs + Phoebe will explore the question: WHAT DO YOU WANT?

The performance will feature elements drawn from raw Manchester sources and bespoke music written for the space. This 45 minute piece will only ever be performed once, in the form it takes at MIF25.

Everything is Recorded (16 July)

Richard Russell brings his ever-evolving collaborative music project, Everything is Recorded, to MIF25 for an unforgettable experience. As the multi-talented producer and founder of XL Recordings, Richard Russell invites you into his musical world for a night of innovation and collaboration.

This performance marks a significant milestone, as Russell will be joined on stage by an expanded lineup of collaborators and special guests, performing live for the first time. Expect intimate shows in-the-round, where live vocals, a diverse array of instruments, and a few surprises will transform Everything is Recorded into a dynamic, one-of-a-kind performance.

Surround Sounds (19 July)

Celebrating 20 years of Sounds from the Other City. A full immersion into the SFTOC experience, Surround Sounds injects the heady atmosphere and no-holds barred energy of one of the UK’s most venerated independent music festivals,right into the heart of Aviva Studios.

The secret to 20 years of success for Sounds from the Other City lies in the festival’s hunger for raw and exciting ideas and a genuine openness to collaborative creativity, every year transforming the ‘in between’ spaces of its Salford home into a May Day Bank Holiday bonanza. For MIF 2025, the South Warehouse will become an in-the-round stage; a non-stop carousel of sounds, unexpected performances, experiencing an array of artists that exemplify the kaleidoscope of styles, energies and characters that have graced SFTOC stages over the past two decades.

Sounds of the East (6 July)

MIF and Hallé present Sounds of the East – an evening of music woven together by Eastern tradition and inspiration at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall under the baton of the Hallé’s new Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor, Kahchun Wong. The concert opens with a European premiere; Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung‘s Grand Spiral (Desert Flowers Bloom).

Factory Settings (3 July – 25 August)

A new project by award-winning design studio Superflux Marking the beginning of a long-term partnership, which will explore the ecological future of Aviva Studios’ post-industrial site, the collaboration will launch with an augmented reality experience on the Factory Settings app. Factory Settings is a free AR app where you choose a particular lens and inhabit experiences crafted by artists.

International Artists Residency artists for 2025 will be: Selma and Sofiane Ouissi; Chiara Bersani; Hung Chien-han and Ray Tseng; Shareef Sarhan.