Manchester International Festival Launches Today

Manchester International Festival today launches the full programme for the 2011 Festival, with an event at Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry. From Thursday 30 June to Sunday 17 July, MIF will present more than 20 commissions, premieres and special events created by leading artists from around the world, some of which have been three years or more in the making. They are:

Björk - Biophilia
Three week Manchester residency; the world premiere of her Biophilia live show

Alina Ibragimova / The Quay Brothers - Bach, Berio, Biber and Bartók, Béla
Promenade staging of chamber music in the last medieval quarter of Manchester

Rufus Norris, Damon Albarn - Doctor Dee
New work inspired by Renaissance alchemist, scientist and spy, Doctor John Dee

The Life & Death of Marina Abramoviæ
Robert Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Antony & Abramoviæ in a startling new piece for the stage

Punchdrunk - The Crash of the Elysium
Immersive theatre company's first show for children

Victoria Wood - That Day We Sang
Britain's best-loved comedic voice creates a Manchester love story - with singing

11 Rooms @ MAG FREE
Group show featuring stellar international cast of artists making durational work

Snoop Dog - Doggystyle
Hip hop pioneer presents the first UK performance of his genre-defining debut

1395 Days without Red + Projections FREE
New film by Anri Sala & Sejla Kameric, plus Artangel retrospective

Amadou & Mariam - Eclipse
Blind Malian superstars stage first concert entirely in the dark

Sacred Sites FREE
Faith groups across Manchester invite leading singers to perform in local sites of worship

Music Boxes FREE
A melodic adventure for children aged 6 months - 7 years

Sinead O'Connor
Three intimate shows premiering new material and revisiting old favourites

John Gerrard - Infinite Freedom Exercise (near Abadan, Iran) FREE
An evolving virtual world, running 24 hours a day on an LED wall on Lincoln Square
WU LYF Manchester's own WU LYF play their only UK Festival date this summer

Lavinia Greenlaw - Audio Obscura FREE
Located on Piccadilly Station, a framed and heightened reflection of the passing world

Festival Director, Alex Poots, says ‘MIF is a home for major artists to realise their most ambitious projects and we are grateful to them for entrusting their work to us. We hope audiences will enjoy this year's programme, featuring a greater number of large-scale productions created incollaboration with leading presenters from around the world.'Councillor Mike Amesbury, Executive Member for Culture and Leisure at Manchester City Council, says: ‘Manchester International Festival makes a massive contribution to the cultural offering of our great city and has helped establish us on the world stage as a leading artistic powerhouse. The Festival also ensures that tens of millions of pounds are poured into the Manchester economy. We're looking forward to the Festival's return. The quality of what will be on display is fantastic and I'm confident we're heading for the best Manchester International Festival ever.'

Following the success of projects such as Jeremy Deller's Procession in 2009, MIF Creative, the Festival's creative learning programme, has been expanded for 2011. MIF Creative offers opportunities to inspire, excite and support local people to get involved in the Festival; projects include Victoria Wood's That Day We Sang, Sacred Sites, Music Boxes, Björk and Vertical Farm.
MIF is committed to developing a sustainable festival, one which benefits the local economy, is engaging for local communities and which tries to minimize its environmental impact. We work hard to secure a mixture of income, combining public, commercial and private income with ticket sales and co-commissioning money to help ensure that we are here for the long term. For more information on sustainability at MIF, please visit www.mif.co.uk/about-us.

Look out for Festival Square, the hub of the Festival, outside Manchester Town Hall on Albert Square. The iconic Festival Pavilion, now a familiar local landmark, is a bar and occasional impromptu performance space. With a café, a box office, DJs, new bar space The Glasshouse and an expanded Pavilion Theatre programme, Festival Square is the place to be in July.

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