CityLife

Why Festival should make us all proud

BIT OF A BLUR: De La Soul

WELL, another Manchester International Festival is over and for 18 days it really did put our fair city on the world map.

Events such as like Rufus Wainwright’s debut opera Prima Donna, the spooky ghost house It Felt Like A Kiss and four-hour performance art by Marina Abramovic caught the attention of a global audience.

But, perhaps more importantly, this year’s festival also seemed to catch the imagination of the Greater Manchester public.

With more free events than ever (30 per cent of the festival programme this time around) and the festival pavilion relocated to slap-bang in the middle of town on Albert Square, there was a feeling that this was our festival and we were all going to enjoy it.

Indeed the pavilion became a social focal point of festivities – with the public able to rub shoulders with the stars of the event line-up – the likes of Rufus Wainwright, Elbow’s Guy Garvey and Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller could all to be found enjoying a tipple or two on the cobbles of the square.

In fact, it’s been so popular the council has just announced the pavilion bar will stay in place on the square until August 2.

The last festival in 2007 had to counter claims of being a bit too ‘arty-farty’, but for me this year’s line-up managed to seamlessly blend high art with mass appeal.

Nowhere was this more true than in the surprise hit of the festival It Felt Like a Kiss.

I didn’t know what to expect when I headed over there to view Adam Curtis’ political film at the centre of what was billed as a ghost house experience by renowned theatre renegades Punchdrunk.

Horror movie

But what I got was the closest I’m ever (hopefully!) likely to get to being in my own horror movie.

Festival director Alex Poots had tipped the production to be “this year’s Monkey” in reference to the 2007 event’s big Chinese Opera success, and how right he proved to be.

There was a waiting list of 200 every day to see the spooky show, which made it even more special for those of us lucky enough to catch it.

Elsewhere it was the little surprises that added to what was already an impressive programme of events.

And as if the collaboration of Elbow with the Halle orchestra were not special enough, festival organisers announced that for those not able to get a ticket there would be a free outdoor screening down at Castlefield Arena.

Then, for those 5,000 who crammed in to see the show, frontman Guy Garvey decided on the spur of the moment to head down in the interval of the Bridgewater Hall show to surprise them with a live tune too.

Meanwhile, down at De La Soul at the Ritz, who should spring up in the encore but Blur frontman Damon Albarn for a quick romp through their Gorillaz hit Feel Good Inc.

For the final day, 2,000 packed into the pavilion for the free Festival Feast, tucking into five dishes representing the melting pot of cultures here in Manchester.

And though the food was lovely, do you know what made it great?

All around people of different ages, cultures and backgrounds who had never met before were chatting away like old friends as they tucked in.

And that’s thanks to this very special festival, a festival of which the whole city can be proud.