All the excitement of MIF will be heading out to the boroughs this year, as the full 2025 lineup has been announced.
Factory International has been working with partners across the city and the world to ‘build on the MIF legacy’, and has now unveiled an expansive multi-artform programme of events and groundbreaking world premieres to inspire fresh perspectives, challenge conventional thoughts, and invite audiences to ‘dream differently’.
Organisers say the 2025 lineup of the ever-popular Manchester International Festival (MIF) presents some of the most exciting creative minds of our generation.
MIF is all about showcasing Manchester as a global hub of creative innovation.
With works being presented throughout the city and even in the surrounding areas this year, MIF25 is set to be a celebration of homegrown artists returning to the region, with many of the names on the lineup originally coming from, or having important ties to, Greater Manchester and the North West.
ADVERTISEMENT
Eric Cantona, Juan Mata, The Royal Ballet, Blackhaine, Shilpa Gupta, Richard Russell, Edgar Davids, and Ella Toone are just a handful of the well-known names contributing to this extraordinary bi-annual celebration of creativity this summer.
As well as taking over lots of venues across Manchester, including Aviva Studios, HOME, and the Royal Exchage, as mentioned, the festival is ‘venturing further out than ever before’ this year – with new work being presented in Rochdale and Wigan.
ADVERTISEMENT
MIF has announced its long-awaited lineup for 2025 / Credit: Ant Strack | Juliet EllisThe festival is venturing further out than ever before this year / Credit: Rick Guest
On the opening weekend of the festival from 3-5 July, hundreds of participants will join puppeteers for a large-scale public artwork called THE HERDS, and will be parading ‘stampeding’ animals made in Manchester through the city streets and beyond.
Nearly 500 schoolchildren from across all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs will work alongside artists to create The Inheritance – a collection of knowledge, advice, jokes, memories, and objects.
For the first time ever, the festival will be partnering with The Royal Ballet this year to present a stage version of Christopher Isherwood’s acclaimed novel A Single Man at Aviva Studios, with former Royal Ballet Principal Edward Watson performing the central role.
ADVERTISEMENT
There’s also three weekends of free community activations and events lined up / Credit: Venture Arts
One of the other most-notable events on the lineup is Football City, Art United created by an ambitious group of artists and footballers, led by former Manchester United star Juan Mata, which aims to expand the worlds of art and football, and the cultural contributions they both make, through sculptures, sound installations, and animations.
There will also be three weekends of community activations, such as cabaret, performance, and comedy, curated and hosted by MIF’s Neighbourhood Organisers to look forward to.
And of course, Festival Square returns with a free programme of live music and performances outside Aviva Studios this year.
You can also expect a talks programme to be announced in due course.
MIF25 kicks off on Thursday 3 July and will run its packed programme of events right through until Sunday 20 July 2025, and you can see the full lineup here.
Featured Image – MIF (via Supplied)
What's On
Local artist Michael Browne unveils striking new piece after controversial Donald Trump portrait
Danny Jones
Local artist Michael Browne recently debuted another striking new work in central Manchester following his much-talked-about Donald Trump painting.
And if you’ve seen that one, you’ll know that’s quite the statement.
The 62-year-old Moss Side-born artist has enjoyed an increased level of popularity since and his statement piece and de-facto political cartoon following the result of 2025 US presidential election popped up centre-stage in a window on the corner of Deansgate earlier this year.
Now, just a couple of months on from his piece’s debut, Browne is back with another painting loaded with historical and social material that serves as a commentary on contemporary UK culture.
Taking a rather stark look not only at the British Empire and global politics – subjects he’s already flirted with plenty in the past – this towering new painting is entitled Sovereign Servant.
Designed to be a thought-provoking reflection on the legacy on the Empire and its impact on modern UK society as we know it today, it takes stylistic inspiration from Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres’ The Apotheosis of Homer, as seen at the Louvre.
Reimagining Britain’s colonial history, controversial impact across the globe; economic exploitation and ever-evolving national identity in a vibrant and truly eye-catching multi-character portrait.
Several faces can picked out from the crowd, including two very obvious royals smack back in the middle of the picture, but other standout aspects include Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster as the backdrop, as well the high contrast colour palette.
All set on the deck of a ship in the most obvious nod towards the nation’s naval fleet and centuries colonialism, not to mention a swirling stormy sky, there is a real sense of the movement to the image even with so many figures standing straight towards the the viewer.
Credit: Supplied
Unveiled to the public in a special event featuring a live Q&A at the museum, as well as series of drop-in sessions with Browne himself last week, his latest neo-classical creation certainly left an impression.
Speaking on its reveal, Browne said: “As a mixed heritage man from the North, I have often compared London’s royal heritage and standing as the centre of the British Empire with Manchester’s working- class heritage born out of industrial hard labour.
“I couldn’t resist juxtaposing these themes within one visual arena, contrasting the British desire for one overarching identity and the reality of a thriving multicultural society. I wanted to revisit those triumphant depictions of Empire to present a vision of how it appears to me today.”
Now on public display, it’s certainly something worth seeing up close for yourselves.
WWE is returning to Manchester for a blockbuster live show
Danny Jones
Just a few months on from making its debut at Co-op Live, WWE has announced it will be returning to Manchester for another turn around the ring and a blockbuster clash of stars later this year.
However, this time they’re heading back to their roots here in Manchester with the AO Arena set to welcome them once again for a very special show.
As part of the build-up to the first-ever WWE Premium Live Event taking place in the French capital this August simply entitled, Clash in Paris, a number of shows will be taking place here in the UK first.
Teaming up not only with the AO but beloved local dive bar, Junior Jackson’s, for a special giveaway, wrestling fans have all the more reason to get excited by the ‘Road to Clash in Paris‘ programme.
With the venue also set to host a special screening of the 1995 Royal Rumble – the same year that the AO Arena first opened its doors – there are prizes to be won.
Not only are there 100 free drinks to be won at Junior’s, with the home venue Bunny Jackson’s and the country-style karaoke spin-off regularly showing the WWE action, but if you happen to be first and second in the queue you’re in for a real treat…
Yes, if you’re an eager enough beaver, the first two people through the door at JJ’s on Wednesday, 19 March will receive two free tickets to the live WWE show in Manchester on Tuesday, 26 August.
They’ll be letting people in for the ticket giveaway from 5pm and the free pints will be poured until approximately 7:20pm when the Royal Rumble rewatch is due to end.
See in the queue, I guess – and be prepared for us to wrestle you to be first in line.
Anything under the Jackson’s banner is considered the unofficial home of WWE in Manchester, as far as we’re concerned.
As for the AO Arena date, fans in attendance will see their favourite WWE Superstars in action, including Undisputed WWE Champion, a.k.a. ‘The American Nightmare’, Cody Rhodes; World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER, Jey Uso, WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton; Seth Rollins, Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Charlotte Flair, Sami Zayn, and many more.
The final lineup is still yet to be fully confirmed but you’ll be treated to some seriously big names and, of course, they always have a few surprises up their sleeve.
Emily Sergeant -
12th March 2025 
