Factory International at 20

A photo of the venue Aviva Studios lit up with purple lights with crowds enjoying Festival Square by the river
Date
1 Jan - 31 Dec 2027
Venue
Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ

Our 2027 season celebrates 20 years of era-defining new work

2027 marks two decades since the very first Manchester International Festival back in 2007 – the first major arts festival dedicated solely to commissioning and producing ambitious new work of scale.

To celebrate, we have a whole season of new art and performance featuring nine UK and world premieres – from the world’s first Mixed Reality play AN ARK to Florentina Holzinger’s A Year Without Summer. Plus, Manchester International Festival returns in July 2027!

Our 2027 season builds on two decades of ambitious, boundary-pushing new work from the world's leading artists.

Explore the programme below.

Celebrating 20 years ●

What's On

MIF returns ●

Coming soon: MIF27

  • A large crowd of people sitting on deckchairs, smiling and drinking in Festival Square outside Aviva Studios

    Manchester International Festival (MIF) returns to Manchester in 2027 taking over the city from 1 - 18 July, marking two decades of the biennial event.

    The full programme of extraordinary world premieres and special events will be revealed in March.

    Explore past editions
through the years ●
Monkey Journey to the West at Manchester International Festival 2007
1/13

Monkey Journey to the West at Manchester International Festival 2007 Photo by Joel Fildes

2/13

Kraftwerk and Team GB cyclists perform at the Manchester Velodrome as part of Manchester International Festival 2009

Bjork at the Manchester International Festival 2011
3/13

Bjork at Manchester International Festival 2011 Photo by Carsten Windhorst

Macbeth starring Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston at Manchester International Festival 2013
4/13

Macbeth starring Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston at Manchester International Festival 2013 Photo by Johan Perrson

Tree of Codes at Manchester International Festival 2015
5/13

Tree of Codes at Manchester International Festival 2015 Photo by Joel Chester Fildes

What Is the City but the People? at Manchester International Festival 2017
6/13

What Is the City but the People? at Manchester International Festival 2017 Photo by Jon Super

Skeptas-DYSTOPIA987-at-Manchester-International-Festival-2019-image-credit-Jordan-Hughes-0073_JH-1.jpg
7/13

Skepta's DYSTOPIA987 at Manchester International Festival 2019 Photo by Jordan Hughes

The Walk When the Birds Land culmination of Little Amal's journey
8/13

The Walk with Little Amal at Manchester International Festival 2021. Photo: Zozan Yasar Photo by Zozan Yasar

9/13

A Bouquet of Love I Saw in the Universe, 2021 Installation view from Manchester International Festival 2023 exhibition ‘Yayoi Kusama/ You, Me and the Balloons’ at Aviva Studios. Images © David Levene

Dancers performing under a screen showing a person's eyes in Free Your Mind
10/13

Free Your Mind, the official opening production for Aviva Studios, the home of Factory International © Daniel Devlin, October 2023

House of MCR at Aviva Studios
11/13

House of Manchester at Aviva Studios, 2024 Jody Hartley

Performers parade life-sized cardboard animal puppets through a city square, watched by a large crowd on a sunny day.
12/13

The Herds at Manchester International Festival 2025 Photo by David Levene

Daisy Dancer, Owen Gaynor, Yue Ying Ho, Lewys Holt, Tom Halls, Kennady Brim, Neil Jacob and Jack Trotter in Marina Abramović's Balkan Erotic Epic
13/13

Marina Abramović: Balkan Erotic Epic at Aviva Studios, 2025 Photo Marco Anelli © - INSTAGRAM @marco_anelli_studio

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