The lead line-up for next year’s Manchester International Festival has been confirmed, featuring Skepta, Idris Elba and Yoko Ono.
The festival, which takes place every two years, will kick off in Manchester’s Cathedral Gardens where 8,000 members of the public form a bell-ringing orchestra for Yoko Ono’s ‘Bells for Peace’ feature.
Speaking on the welcoming event, Ono said: “The beauty of this piece will break the sky and more, more than ever, we must come together to heal each other, and the world. Peace is power!”
The two-week long event will also see Skepta MC an immersive dystopian-themed rave.
The Mercury-award winning rapper described Dystopia987 as “real-life magic”.
Idris Elba collaborates with the artistic director of London’s Young Vic theatre, Kwam Kwei-Armah, to create a musical theatre production exploring contemporary South Africa.
Elba’s 2014 release, Mi Mandela, will soundtrack the piece.
The Manchester International Festival will run from 4th-21st July 2019, with tickets going on sale 1st November 2018.
Photo by Carsten Windhorst / MIF.
