BBC gets new Home in Festival Square for MIF
The BBC will have a temporary new home in Festival Square (aka Albert Square) from tomorrow for Manchester International Festival (MIF). They will use a specially-built studio to bring all the excitement to audiences around the UK, immersing themselves in activities, meeting guests and mingling with crowds.
Published: 29 June 2017
MIF really creates a buzz and the city crackles with all manner of intriguing artistic endeavours, and of course everyone loves carousing effervescently in Festival Square. We can’t wait!
Some of BBC Radio 6 Music’s biggest names will be headlining the BBC’s presence, as the station’s leading lights take up residence in Festival Square.
Mark Radcliffe, Stuart Maconie, Mary Anne Hobbs, Guy Garvey and Jarvis Cocker will all present their regular shows from their MIF base among the crowds. BBC 5 live, Radio Manchester and North West Tonight on BBC One will also be covering the Festival’s biggest stories and main events. The BBC Philharmonic will be centre stage at the Festival too, when they perform two world premieres at the Bridgewater Hall.
Radcliffe and Maconie’s weekday 6 Music Show will come live from the BBC hub in the heart of the city for the first nine days of the Festival - from 1pm-4pm on Friday 30 July, and Monday 3 to Friday 7 July. They will be welcoming many of MIF’s top guests plus local stars and visitors to share the Festival buzz, including Richard Ashcroft, Billy Bragg, James, KC and the Sunshine Band, Jane Horrocks plus Dave Haslam, Peter Hook, Graeme Park and Rowetta.
Commenting on the BBC’s presence at MIF, 6 Music’s Mark Radcliffe says: “MIF really creates a buzz and the city crackles with all manner of intriguing artistic endeavours, and of course everyone loves carousing effervescently in Festival Square. We can’t wait!”
Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday Service starts as usual at 4pm on 2 July. Across his two hour show, he will chat to Factory Records graphic design legend Peter Saville about the True Faith exhibition, part of MIF 2017, which explores the visual identity of New Order and Joy Division and the wealth of art their music has inspired. For the festival, New Order will be taking over Stage 1 of Manchester's iconic Old Granada Studios to play a series of intimate gigs. Jarvis will also be taking a short walk around the city of Manchester and chatting to the Turner Prize nominated artist Phil Colllins about his new piece, Ceremony.
Guy Garvey will join the fun for his show on 9 July from 2pm-4pm, inviting the poet Tony ‘Longfella’ Walsh - who paid tribute to the victims of the Manchester Arena attack, reading his poem This Is The Place at the Albert Square vigil - and singer-songwriter Josephine Oniyama to chat about their love of the city.
Mary Anne Hobbs is curating her own immersive shows from pioneering Manchester based musicians from Levelz to Paleman and experimental artists including Holly Herndoen and Kojey Radical, and will share her favourite moments with 6 Music listeners from Gorilla and the Ritz.
On Sunday 16 July from 1pm-2pm, Elizabeth Alker of 6 Music will be shining a light on Manchester Street Poem, a music and art installation that invites people with experience of homelessness to take centre stage. Manchester Street Poem is created for MIF by Karl Hyde and Rick Smith of Underworld.
Karl Hyde says: “We came to Manchester with a concept for a performed installation to serve both as a shop window and a receptacle for stories from people with lived experience who are too often reduced to a generic the homeless. Whilst my task is to spend eight days covering the walls of a vacated building with hand painted extracts from these stories, Rick has created a unique piece of music exclusively for 6 Music, interwoven with voices from recorded interviews with people who have first-hand experience of homelessness bringing them to life in a way in which we hope will be both enlightening and thought-provoking.”
Also on Sunday 16 July in Now Playing (6pm-8pm), taking as inspiration Underworld’s exploration of homelessness, presenter Tom Robinson will be asking listeners to send in their music suggestions around that same theme; and later that night (8-10pm), Stuart Maconie is joined by Mary Anne Hobbs to present coverage of her Dark Matter gigs at MIF, with live music from Holly Herndon, Paleman, The Haxan Cloak, Kojey Radical and Colin Stetson.
BBC Arts Correspondent Will Gompertz will bring his regular BBC 5 live arts show Will Gompertz’s Heat Map to Manchester on 2 July (11am-12pm) for a special MIF edition, and 5 live’s Lates team will be broadcasting live from the BBC events studio.
On Thursday 29 June, Front Row for BBC Radio 4 will be covering the opening night of this year's Manchester International Festival with a look What Is The City But The People? They will be alongside teams from BBC North West Tonight and BBC Radio Manchester who will be meeting those selected to be part of this thought-provoking event as well as artist Jeremy Deller who came up with the concept.
BBC Radio Manchester will follow the excitement of MIF as many of its shows decamp to Festival Square, including BBC Introducing, Chelsea Norris and The People with Karen Gabay and Mr V. Eno Eruotor will be out and about during the two weeks of MIF reporting for BBC North West Tonight and posting regular Facebook lives as she peeks behind the scenes of the busy schedule.
The BBC Philharmonic concerts are on Tuesday 4 and Thursday 6 July at The Bridgewater Hall. The World Was All Once Miracle, by composer Raymond Yiu, marks the centenary of Anthony Burgess’s birth by setting his poetry to music. Last and First Men is a live multimedia work by Oscar-nominated Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson which combines atmospheric music, film and narration by Tilda Swinton.
On BBC Two (Saturday 1 July, 8pm-8.30pm), Lemn Sissay takes viewers on a cultural tour as Manchester prepares for the festival, which features over 60 new works from local and international artists and performers. Lemn has unique access to rehearsals by New Order, Shunt Collective and Susan Hefuna. As ever the festival is hosting daring and provocative works at a time when the city is looking to its culture and creativity to raise spirits and give fresh hope following the recent terrorist attack.
Visit www.mif.co.uk/live for all updates and information.
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