Manchester Histories Festival

About

The multi award-winning Manchester Histories Festival is back for its ninth edition! Celebrate our histories at this FREE four-day festival full of events for everyone.

The packed programme includes four new music World Premieres, walk-about performances, family crafts workshops, live music, comedy, and public talks. Over 50 history and heritage stalls and hundreds of local people across Greater Manchester showcase eclectic, historic, quirky, diverse, and fun entertainment.

Thursday 6 June: The University of Manchester and Manchester Histories Festival 2024 unite for a groundbreaking opening night at the Whitworth. Featuring four new compositions to celebrate 200 years of The University of Manchester, performed by five exceptional musicians from the BBC Philharmonic. And an immersive audiovisual experience celebrating the legacies of Manchester computing genius Alan Turing and music pioneer Delia Derbyshire. Created by Manchester-based “sonic enchantress” (BBC Radio 3) electronic musician Caro C and visual artist Elisa Artesero.

Friday 7 and Saturday 8 June: ‘R Histories Open Mic Extravaganza! Celebrates local people sharing fascinating stories about history from the stage in the Performance Space at Manchester Central Library. There is also the launch of It Started with a Seed (IS WAS), the inaugural International Storytelling Festival marking the 200th Anniversary of Manchester Metropolitan University. Witness the debut of five innovative projects crafted by emerging artists, students, and local communities. Plus, Intangible Sounds, Researchers from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Manchester Met present a day of public talks and workshops on music and sound heritages, and evening music and performance event. Exploring how music, sound and sonic experiences constantly interweave with time and place, creating emotions, evoking memories, and bonding us into different kinds of community.

Sunday 9 June: Universally Manchester & Manchester Histories Festival 2024 present Celebration Day – A Free Day Out, a packed FREE festival for all, inside Whitworth Hall and outdoors in two enormous tents on Alan Gilbert Square, Oxford Rd. It is an outstanding programme bursting with live music, comedy, family crafts, walk-about performances, and public talks with acclaimed historians, including Michael Wood, historian, broadcaster, and Professor of Public History at The University of Manchester. With comperes Ruth Cockburn & Keith Carter, known as Black Liver, as heard on BBC Radio 4 and seen on BBC 1 and Sky TV and winners of BBC Audio Drama Awards 2024.

Manchester Histories Festival 2024, in partnership with The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, celebrating 200 years in 2024. The festival will take place in various locations, including The University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and Manchester Central Library.