Bluedot: A Weekend in Outer Space

Johnny James, Managing Editor

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Bluedot: A Weekend in Outer Space

24-26 July 2020

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Bluedot
A Weekend in Outer Space
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Bluedot 2020, with its line-up of Björk, Metronomy and Groove Armada, has of course been postponed until next year, but the festival team aren’t leaving 2020 high and dry.

Whetting our appetites for next year’s festival, A Weekend In Outer Space will bring the Bluedot experience online with live music, science talks, culture and family shows, to be broadcast live from 24th – 26th July.

The three-day extravaganza will feature live performances from Orbital, Daniel Avery, Roni Size, BCUC, and Anna Matronic’s Deep Space Disco. There will also be two appearances from Bluedot favourites Henge, who are bookending the weekend with immersive ‘journey to outer space’ and ‘return to Earth’ shows.

Other musical offerings include a stream of Elbow’s 2012 headline set, and an afternoon of album listen-alongs with Tim Burgess, who’ll be joined live by the likes of New Order, Metronomy, and Ibibio Sound Machine.

There will also be live science talks, including Ann Druyan in conversation with Brian Cox and Robin Ince, Jim al-Khalili and Jill Tarter, and for the kids, a wealth of family-friendly shows including Clangers and Nordoff Robins.

The event is free, but there will be an option to donate to Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, the award-winning science centre at The Jodrell Bank Observatory. It generates over 85% of its income from admissions, educational visits, group bookings, and sales in the café and gift shop, all of which rely on doors being open – something which has not been possible in recent months.

Head to A Weekend in Outer Space’s dedicated website this weekend to tune in live.

Where to go near Bluedot: A Weekend in Outer Space

Proloco
Manchester
Restaurant
Proloco

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City Centre
Restaurant
GiGi Gusto Griglia

GiGi is a lavish Italian restaurant just off Deansgate, with 1950s décor and a menu that sticks to the classics.

Blackburn
Restaurant
Northcote

Northcote’s Michelin-starred restaurant is the jewel in the crown of the Ribble Valley. We get a first look at the new autumnal menu.

Cumbria
Restaurant
Pentonbridge Inn

Pentonbridge Inn is a Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms in north Cumbria. Eight courses of bunkum-free fine dining from head chef Chris Archer.

Manchester
Restaurant
Dahlia Stereo

Dahlia Stereo is a Latin American-inspired open-fire kitchen and bar off the Northern Quarter’s Stevenson Square, with a pitch perfect soundsystem.

Balance Taproom
Manchester
Restaurant
Balance Taproom

Manchester has a glut of taprooms, and Balance Brewing’s is far and away the best. Drinks, decor, service – all a cut above.

Richard Hards ‘Strangeways’
Manchester
Gallery
Moon Grove

A Georgian front room in Rusholme houses Moon Grove, an independent gallery with an unusually ambitious international programme.

In Focus: Chinese Contemporary Art.
Manchester
Gallery
New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery

New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery opened in 2016, providing a permanent space to showcase the University of Salford Art Collection within the New Adelphi School of Arts and Media.

Cumbria
Restaurant
1863 Restaurant

1863 offers a seven-course Lake District tasting menu that overdelivers at every turn. Cumbrian ingredients, clever ideas and classical cooking techniques.

City Centre
Bar or Pub
Schofield’s Bar

Schofield’s could be Manchester’s most grown-up bar. Very precise drinks in an upmarket city centre venue. It’s not cheap, hey, but true class costs.

Manchester
Restaurant
Sampa

Sampa’s underground space is the perfect place to learn about both her new mind-expanding dishes and vintage sherries, reimagined for the late 2020s.

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