We’ve come to expect the announcement of the Manchester International Festival (MIF) programme every year, and with the annual line-up getting only better, it’s something we look forward to. Factory International has today announced the 2025 edition of MIF from Thursday 3 July to Sunday 20 July 2025, the first under new Creative Director Low Kee Hong.
Working with partners across the city and the world to build on the MIF legacy, the wide-ranging, multi-artform programme of groundbreaking world premieres will inspire fresh perspectives, challenge conventional thought and invite audiences to ‘dream differently’ – envision new possibilities, brighter futures and utopian spaces.
Presenting some of the most exciting creative minds of our generation, the programme champions indigenous artists and creators from the Global South, expanding the Festival’s renowned international impact as well as fostering deep connections with local artists and communities in the North West of England.
Just some of the names who will be contributing to this extraordinary edition MIF in 2025 include: Blackhaine, Eric Cantona, Edgar Davids, Richard Russell, Juliet Ellis, FAFSWAG, Andy Field and Becky Darlington, Ryan Gander, John Grant, Shilpa Gupta, Germaine Kruip, Juan Mata, Amir Nizar Nuabi, Ntombizodwa Nyoni, Orchestral Qawwali Project, Paul Pfieffer Keiken, The Royal Ballet, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Rosabel Tan, Ella Toone, Venture Arts, Jonathan Watkins, Edward Watson, Josh Willdigg and Santiago Yahuarcaniare.
This year will be the first edition of the Manchester International Festival hosted within the fully operational Aviva Studios, home of Factory International. The festival will span Aviva Studios, partner venues such as HOME and the Royal Exchange, as well as unique found spaces on the city streets.
MIF 2025 will continue to build and strengthen its relationship with the people of Manchester and the North West with nearly 800 local people and 600 children taking part in this year’s festival. This year’s festival will also see six Factory Fellows working directly alongside creatives and production teams; 15 Factory Sounds artists, as well as 400 incredible Festival volunteers.
The buzzing heart of MIF, Festival Square, returns with a free programme of live music and performances outside Aviva Studios, and this year also flowing indoors to the Social. There will also be a talks programme, to be announced in due course.
Manchester International Festival (MIF) 2025 programme:
THE HERDS – July 3- 5
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.
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 an original score from composer Jasmin Kent Rodgman and original songs from singer-songwriter John Grant, who will also perform live, the World Premiere of A Single Man will see former Royal Ballet Principal Edward 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.
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.
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 Rise Innovate 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 MIF 2025, he brings Orchestral Qawwali Project to Aviva Studios, teaming up with Manchester Camerata, one of the UK’s most adventurous orchestras.
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?
Everything is Recorded (16 July)
Richard Russell brings his ever-evolving collaborative music project, Everything is Recorded, to MIF25 for an unforgettable experience. 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, Surround Sounds injects the heady atmosphere and no-holds barred energy of one of the UK’s independent music festivals, right into the heart of Aviva Studios. 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 MIF 2025 will be: Selma and Sofiane Ouissi; Chiara Bersani; Hung Chien-han and Ray Tseng; Shareef Sarhan.
Tickets for MIF 2025 are on sale to Factory International members from 12.30pm on 11 March, and on general sale from 10am on 19 March, here. A whopping 8,000 tickets will be available for £10 or less alongside free events across the Festival.