Cultural Calendar 2025

Creative Tourist

From anniversary festivals to world premiere performances, there’s a lot for the culturally curious to look forward to in 2025. To help you fill those new calendars, we’ve asked our editors to select their highlights from the events announced so far.

There’s a bit of everything here, from blockbuster theatre shows to family-friendly picks, world-class exhibitions, performances from internationally-acclaimed musicians, live literature showcases and cinematic treasures to delight the most discerning film buff.

Want more? You can keep up-to-the-minute with what’s happening across Manchester and the North with our specialist Cinema, Exhibitions, Theatre, Literature, Music, Family and Tours & Activities guides. You can also follow us on all the usual socials (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) and subscribe to our mailing list to get this kind of thing in your inbox every Friday lunchtime.

Our top picks

Helen Chadwick: Life Pleasures at the Hepworth Wakefield

Helen Chadwick: Life Pleasures at The Hepworth Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Until 27 October 2025, From £0.00 - Book now

The Hepworth Wakefield’s retrospective of artist Helen Chadwick’s work showcases a range of her sculptures, installations and photographs, charting her career and enduring contribution to contemporary art.

Helen Chadwick posing with a sculpture called Piss Flowers taken during the exhibition Helen Chadwick: Effluvia, held at the Serpentine Gallery, London, in 1994
Helen Chadwick with Piss Flowers from the exhibition Helen Chadwick: Effluvia, Serpentine Gallery, 1994 Photo: Kippa Matthews © Kippa Matthews

Liverpool Biennial 2025 – BEDROCK

Liverpool Biennial 2025, Until 14 September 2025, Free entry - Visit now

Liverpool Biennial in 2025 is back for its 13th edition with 30 artists and collectives presenting work around the leading theme of ‘bedrock’.

Katarzyna Perlak, Broken Hearts Hotel, 2021. Photography by Hicham Gardaf
Hicham Gardaf

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House 10 Year Anniversary

Elizabeth Gaskell's House 10 Year Anniversary at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, Manchester and online, Until 4 October 2025, From £0.00 - Book now

Throughout 2025, Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is celebrating its tenth anniversary, having first opened to the public a decade ago. From a close brush with dereliction to being awarded official accredited museum status in August 2024, it’s been an important decade in the almost 200-year history of the building, once home to North and South author Elizabeth Gaskell.

Drawing Room with 10 year anniversary branding
Elizabeth Gaskell's House

Marina Abramović: Balkan Erotic Epic at Aviva Studios

Marina Abramovic: Balkan Erotic Epic at Aviva Studios, Manchester, 9–19 October 2025, From £10.00 - Book now

Marina Abramović brings her most ambitious work yet – a raw, ritualistic epic exploring desire, mortality and sacred eroticism.

Marina Abramovic: Balkan Erotic Epic at Aviva Studios
Women Massaging Breasts from the series Balkan Erotic Epic C-Print 2005, Serbia, Marina Abramović. Courtesy of the Marina Abramović Archives.

Grimmfest 2025 at Odeon Great Northern

Grimmfest at Odeon Great Northern, Manchester, 9–12 October 2025, From £15.99 - Book now

Manchester’s foremost genre film festival continues to champion the best new horror cinema from around the world. Early ticket packages are on sale now but won’t last long.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at The Lowry

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Lowry, Manchester, 3 December 2025–11 January 2026, From £19 - Book now

Looking towards the end of 2025, we can’t wait to step through the magic wardrobe and into the snowy, wintry world of Narnia, where an incredible adventure awaits! 

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at The Lowry
Photo courtesy of Brinkhoff Moegenburg
Image by Jonathan Schofield.
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