Manchester International Festival (MIF) kicks off in the city this Thursday with a huge two-week program showcasing the best new art, theatre, music and film across a number of venues in Manchester.
Running from 1-18 July, the festival is able to safely continue with social distancing, despite England not reaching stage 4 in the unlocking roadmap. Organisers have also included some online events for those unable to come down in person this year.
The first major event to return to Manchester since the pandemic hit, MIF 2021 brings a series of important artworks into open public spaces as part of a big new focus on outdoor events.
From the premiere of a new film starring Cillian Murphy to a theatrical performance of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s essay about grief, there are some real stand-out works forming part of the city’s annual international festival.
Our City Our Festival day takes place on Saturday 3rd July / Image: ameliahall_art
What’s on at MIF 2021?
Things will kick off with a huge flash mob-style dance performance on Deansgate this Thursday, featuring hundreds of dancers and over 150 local people from Manchester.
The creation of French choreographer Boris Charmatz, the huge outdoor dance performance will fill the central street with a throng of professional and non-professional dancers.
Elsewhere, an anti-consumerist grocery store, EART, will open as a fully-functioning Manchester shop selling generic, locally-sourced and unbranded produce as part of a project from leading Pakistani artist Rashid Rana.
And artwork from Christine Sun Kim will cover the city centre, ‘captioning the world that surrounds us’ with descriptions scrawled onto buildings and a plane flying a banner through the sky above.
The free music stage at Festival Square, this year on Cathedral Gardens / Image: thrimage
Over in Piccadilly Gardens, a thought-provoking sculpture of Big Ben is currently being erected (on its side) according to the specifications of artist Marta Minujín. At 42 metres long, the iconic London landmark is being re-built from 20,000 copies of books that have shaped British politics over the years.
And at Manchester Central Library, a book of love letters told by over a hundred Greater Manchester residents is set to appear upstairs in the historic building’s grand Reading Room – rewritten in the words of a team of writers and poets.
Hanging in Manchester Arndale will be 100 portraits of Black British people, created by photographer and “56 Black Men” campaigner Cephas Williams to highlight the contribution of Black people living in the UK and challenge negative stereotypes.
In what will be the inaugural event for The Factory, MIF’s new dedicated arts centre, a field of starry, luminous tents will house a murmuring soundscape of poetry inspired by the natural world as part of Arcadia: a unique new light and sound installation created by opera and theatre director Deborah Warner.
For one weekend only (10-11 July), they will whisper the immortal words of nature poets ranging from WB Yeats and William Blake to Sappho, read by a cast including the likes of Brian Cox, Jane Horrocks and David Thewlis.
An immersive exhibition using fragmented moving image, reflection & performance to dismantle Western notions of knowing in relation to feminine spirituality in North Africa / Image: p21_gallery
Further out of town at the Whitworth, exhibit Cloud Studies explores how state power reshapes the very air we breathe: shining a light on the environmental racism in Louisiana’s so-called ‘Cancer Alley’ – an area along the Mississippi River where majority-Black communities are exposed to the most toxic air in the US.
Curated by Forensic Architecture, a research agency of architects, artists, filmmakers, journalists, lawyers, scientists and software developers, it will examine how even air can be weaponised; from the air pollution that targets the marginalised to chemical weapons that eviscerate entire neighbourhoods.
Whilst in Cheetham Hill, a new commission by Turner Prize winner Laure Prouvost will open the newly refurbished Manchester Jewish Museum. It will include a new film inspired by the museum’s history as a former Spanish and Portuguese synagogue, that has been shot inside the museum and the surrounding Cheetham Hill area.
On top of all this, there’s a huge free music program going on at Festival Square – to be found this year at a new home on Cathedral Gardens, and online channel MIF LIVE will stream a mix of performance, live music, exclusive interviews, and a range of commentary and talks for those unable to attend in person.
How do I get tickets?
So far, three events have sold out – music performances from Arlo Parks and Damon Albarn, as well as outdoor Deansgate dance performance Sea Change – at the time of writing but the majority are still open and ready to book.
For the full list of events and tickets to all the exhibits, theatre performances, poetry, music shows and more, head to the MIF website.
ENHYPEN at AO Arena, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
It’s time to ‘Scream’ as K-pop boyband ENHYPEN are about to land in the UK as they embark on their European leg of the ‘Walk The Line’ tour.
Global superstars ENHYPEN are visiting Manchester for the first time ever, trading ‘Highway 1009’ for the Mancunian Way as they play out in the highly acclaimed 21,000 seater, AO Arena, this bank holiday.
ENHYPEN consists of seven members, including Sunghoon, Heeseung, Jungwon, Sunoo, Jake and Ni-ki – all of whom have stayed loyal to the group since they formed back in 2020.
This very ‘Walk The Line’ tour kicked off almost one year ago with two sold-out stadium shows in Korea before making its way across America, and now the boys are sinking their ‘Teeth’ into the UK and Europe.
Expect this Manchester live music venue to feel like a living runway as these K-pop idols are known for their stylish looks and designer brand partnerships, such as Italian fashion house Prada.
Anyone after some ‘Sweet Venom’, also known as precious tickets to ENHYPEN’s upcoming Manchester show, will be pleased to know that they aren’t in ‘Fatal Trouble’; there are still a few options left if you act fast enough.
You’ll have to act fast, as we’re sure you’re aware these K-pop nobles have given everyone a serious case of boyband ‘Fever’, and there is absolutely ‘No Doubt’ you’ll have a fabulous night when you grab your tickets HERE.
ENHYPEN setlist
Brought the Heat Back
Fever
ParadoXXX Invasion
Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)
Given-Taken
Lucifer
Teeth
Blessed-Cursed
Fatal Trouble
Bite Me
Your Eyes Only
Loose
Scream
Tamed-Dashed
Sweet Venom
Go Big or Go Home
Moonstruck
XO (Only If You Say Yes)
No Doubt
Bad Desire
Helium
Paranormal
Drunk-Dazed
Go Big or Go Home
We’d like to hear and, more importantly, see this one.
What are the stage times for ENHYPEN in Manchester?
AO Arena has a curfew of 11pm, meaning you can ‘Go Big or Go Home’ and still make sure you get your beauty sleep.
There is no confirmed support act as of yet, however, it looks like this will remain as they have fronted this tour independently across the globe.
Doors for this event are opening from 6pm, and this huge K-pop concert is expected to kick off at 7:30pm when this group reminds you that they ‘Brought the Heat Back’.
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily, it’s connected to Manchester Victoria Station, and it has an integrated Metrolink stop to make your life even easier.
Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Train
Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena, wherever they are.
Bus
A variety of buses cover AO Arena andVictoria Station on their route, such as the 2 bus, which stops just a one-minute walk away from the venue.
A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.
Getting there by car and parking
The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces, including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.
Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.
Walk/cycle
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
Featured Images – Publicity Pictures (supplied)/The Manc Group
What's On
A night of bare knuckle boxing is coming to Manchester’s AO Arena
Danny Jones
More fighting action is heading Manchester’s way as a night of bare-knuckle boxingis coming to the AO Arena.
The city’s iconic arena has seen plenty of entertainment and combat sports over the decades, including plenty of famous boxing bouts in those years, and now the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is bringing its latest event to its doors.
It’s not the first time the BKFC has landed at the AO Arena, but with a extra tasty fight card booked for the upcoming night in Manchester, it’s tipped to be one of the best yet.
Wrists wrapped, guards up and fists at the ready, this is sure to be one of the feistiest nights on the Manc sporting calendar, hands-down.
Set to be headlined by two-time world boxing champion James DeGale vs Matt Floyd in a light heavyweight showdown, not to mention a co-main event crossover clash between Aaron Chalmers and former Love Island star turned fighter Jack Fincham, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
There’s also a UK Lightweight Title is on the line, with Jonny Graham facing off against Navid Mansouri, as well as fan favourite and Bolton‘s very own Jack Cullen returning to take on the experienced Moldovan mauler, Stanislav Grosu.
It’s fair to say even prior the closers, this is a stacked undercard of British and international contenders, so its no wonder there’s already plenty of eyes on this particular edition of BKFC.
Speaking ahead of the fight night, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship President, David Feldman, said: “BKFC 81 is a statement night for our UK expansion, Manchester is a fight city and this is one of our most explosive UK cards yet.
“James DeGale is a proven champion and a massive attraction. Pairing him with a live threat like Matt Floyd at the AO Arena is everything fans love about BKFC, elite talent, high stakes, and action from first bell to last, this is an unmissable event.”
Turning to the two headliners themselves, DeGale says “fans can expect skill, spite, and a KO”, while Floyd added that while he respects what his opponent has achieved in his career thus far, “[he’s] coming to shock the world in Manchester.”
As you can see, the promotion has a number of dates to play out before BKFC 81 gets underway at the AO Arena next month, but you won’t get many with the same kind of energy Northern crowds guarantee.
Kicking off on Saturday, 27 September, the venues pre-sale window is already open and general admission tickets go live at 10am this Sunday (24 Aug).