Festivals

Creative Tourist

Ah festivals. We do them well up north. From giant, inhibition-loosening weekends in farmers’ fields to inner-city parties that showcase the best of local, underground scenes, festival lovers are spoilt for choice.

Here we pick our highlights for spring/summer 2024, taking in everything from hedonistic escapes to brain-tickling festivals of ideas, via family-friendly fun. What’s more, a number of our picks below are free, and accessible to anyone!

Our top picks

manchester jazz festival 2025

Manchester Jazz Festival 2024, 16–25 May 2025, 0-£30 - Book now

Manchester’s longest running music festival, Manchester Jazz Festival, returns with 10 days of the best northern, national and international contemporary jazz – featuring big-name bands, emerging artists and new works.

Rina Srabonian.
Rina Srabonian.

Manchester International Festival

Manchester International Festival 2025 at Aviva Studios, Manchester, 3–20 July 2025 - Book now

This summer, Manchester International Festival invites the world’s best creative minds to reach across art forms, smash boundaries, and speak to urgent contemporary issues.

Summer Factory at Aviva Studios
Image courtesy of Matthew Curtis.
Spotlight on

Things to do in Blackpool

Fancy a day trip? Explore our guide to Blackpool and build yourself an itinerary featuring attractions, galleries, restaurants and more.

Take me there

Culture Guides

NEXT: A Primer on Urban Painting production still
Cinema in the North

Street art, LGBTQ+ History Month, and the first film festivals of the year are amongst our cinema highlights this month.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Feminist farce, a magical circus show and Oldham Coliseum return with a brand-new off-site show. All in our latest theatre guide.

FKA TWIGS
Music in the North

Masters of minimalism, leftfield electronica and cutting edge pop. We bring you the lot in our latest live music round up.

The Super Duper Family Festival
Family things to do in the North

We might be past the holiday season, but Manchester and the North's arts and cultural calendar is still packed with brilliant events and activities for families

A painting of a young child being bathed in a sink of a 197s style kitchen. Around the sink are a rubber duck, a bottle of  washing up liquid, a jug, a kettle and a mug.
Exhibitions in the North

Galleries are racing to announce new exhibitions so check out our top picks, from art films and nostalgic paintings to Hockney's collages.