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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Manchester Museum’s iconic T-Rex Stan is moving for the first time over 20 years
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum’s iconic T-Rex Stan is moving locations for the first time over 20 years.
Stan, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex at the heart of Manchester Museum’s Fossils Gallery, is on the move from one historic building to another, as he leaves his home in the Museum next spring for a spectacular residency in a Grade II-listed Edwardian swimming pool.
That’s right – the famous dinosaur is heading on holiday to Victoria Baths, where he’ll be on display in the Gala Pool, marking the first time he has left Manchester Museum since arriving there in 2004.
The process of moving Stan to Victoria Baths is already being tipped as a ‘gargantuan task’.
Manchester Museum’s iconic T-Rex Stan is moving for the first time over 20 years / Credit: The Manc Group
It’s expected that the move will take a team of specialists a full week, as at 12-metres long and 3.7-metres tall, big boy Stan is roughly the size of a double decker bus and his bones must be dismantled and reassembled in a strict order to ensure counterbalance and stop him from toppling over.
During the residency at Victoria Baths, Stan will be on display to the public but will also act as the centrepiece for a full programme of events – with more details set to be announced soon.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for people to experience this incredible Tyrannosaurus rex in an entirely different context,” explained Georgina Young, who is the Acting Director at Manchester Museum.
“Not only is Victoria Baths breathtakingly beautiful, but their team will bring renewed creativity to encounters with Stan.”
Anthony Baker, CEO of the Victoria Baths Trust, added: “Victoria Baths would like to state for the record that we did not invite a T-Rex skeleton into our Grade II-listed swimming pool. Stan has made his own arrangements and we are simply going along with it.
“He is insisting that we open our doors for free so that as many people can visit him as possible and it is very difficult to say no to a giant dinosaur, especially when he asked so nicely.”
Stan the T-Rex will be at Victoria Baths from 22 March to 19 April 2027, and he’ll be free to pop in and say hello to.
Featured Image – Stephen Gidley (via Flickr)
What's On
Full list of road closures for Manchester Village Pride 2026
Emily Sergeant
The full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Village Pride this weekend have been released.
Manchester Village Pride is a beloved celebration of LGBTQ+ life in Manchester, known for bringing thousands of people into city centre every August bank holiday weekend for four fun-filled, glitter-covered, disco-driven days… and although 2026 may look a little different to usual, you can always count on the city to welcome everyone in.
Every year, the lineup offers a wide range of activities for the LGBTQ+ community and allies to join together and celebrate, as well as provide opportunities to advocate for equality, engage families and young people, and celebrate queer arts and culture.
This year’s event is set to kick off this Friday 28 August and round out on bank holiday Monday (31 August).
🏳️🌈 On Saturday [29 August], it's the #PrideParade so you'll see plenty of rainbows in the city centre.
To allow the parade to take place: – There will be road closures in place – Some buses may operate on diversion – Trams in the city centre may experience minor delays
And of course, for the celebrations to all take place as safely and seamlessly as possible, a number of road closures and restrictions will need to be put in place, and Manchester City Council has now published a list of everything you need to know.
It’s advised that anyone making their way into and around the city centre this weekend use other modes of transport – such as buses, trams, and trains.
But for those who need to drive, you’ll want to pay attention to this list before setting out on any journeys.
The full list of road closures for Manchester Village Pride 2026 has been released / Credit: The Manc Group | Supplied
Saturday 29 August
All roads in this list will be closed from 6am to 7pm:
Liverpool Road (Water Street to Deansgate)
Wollam Place (30m south of Liverpool Road to Liverpool Road)
Potato Wharf (Castlefield Hotel entrance to Liverpool Road)
Old Medlock Street
Lower Byrom Street (40m north of Liverpool Road to Liverpool Road)
Duke Street (Rice Street to Liverpool Road)
Stone Street (Liverpool Road to Bridgewater Street)
Barton Street (Bridgewater Street to Tonman Street)
Southern Street (Bridgewater Street to Liverpool Road)
Bridgewater Street (Collier Street to Deansgate)
Tonman Street (Liverpool Road to Longworth Street)
Saturday 29 August
All roads in this list will be closed from 9am to 7pm:
Deansgate (Trafford Street to Peter Street)
Quay Street (Little Quay Street to Deansgate)
Peter Street (Deansgate to Oxford Street)
Camp Street (Deansgate to Longworth Street)
St James Street (Deansgate to Longworth Street)
Jerusalem Place (Jacksons Row to Deansgate)
Marron Place (Jacksons Row to Deansgate)
Watson Street (Windmill Street to Peter Street)
Museum Street (Windmill Street to Peter Street)
Mount Street (Windmill Street to Bootle Street)
Southmill Street (Windmill Street to Bootle Street)
Lower Mosley Street (Windmill Street to Oxford Street)
Oxford Street (Peter Street to Whitworth Street)
Chepstow Street (Great Bridgewater Street to Oxford Street)
Portland Street (Oxford Street to Abingdon Street)
Princess Street (Faulkner Street to Whitworth Street)
Whitworth Street (Beaver Street to Fairfield Street)
Samuel Ogden Street (Bombay Street to Whitworth Street)
Sackville Street (Bombay Street to Whitworth Street)
Fairfield Street (Whitworth Street to London Road)
Minshull Street (Fairfield Street to Aytoun Street)
Back Acton Street (Fairfield Street to Ebden Street)
Minshull Street (Fairfield Street to Ebden Street)
Bus lanes will also be suspended on Bridge Street from Gartside to New Bailey Street, Whitworth Street West from Deansgate to Albion Street, and Portland Street from Princess Street to Newton Street, on the Saturday (29 August) too – running from 6am to 7pm.
Georgina Pellant -
29th June 2021 
