The Fête of Britain at Aviva Studios

Opening a discourse around some of the biggest challenges of our time, The Fête of Britain is an interactive four-day festival of free activity exploring the pressing issues affecting people in the UK today.

Welcoming and inspiring, with community, collaboration and culture at its heart, The Fête of Britain invites people of all ages, living in Manchester, to come together to explore some of the challenges of our time. From the cost-of-living crisis to climate collapse and everything in between, the festival asks how we can draw on our history of resistance, assembly and art to exert our collective power.

Bringing together audiences, artists and community groups, the dynamic programme features an inspiring blend of workshops, people’s assemblies, talks and performances. Most importantly, no subject is off the table – this is your time to take a seat and get your voice heard.

Highlights across the four days will be a series of films exploring democracy, climate change and life in the UK, from artists such as Cornelia Parker, Jeremy Deller and Human Atlas; performances of Brian Eno’s new collaborative sound installation and a new ‘Common Anthem’ for Britain written by Fête visitors with Commoners Choir (25 February). There will also be pop-up performances, workshops and family-friendly fun from Empathy Museum and ‘Community Conversations’ facilitated by local organisations running throughout too.

You can also expect to hear from journalist and presenter Jon Ronson when he hosts a provocative and alternative night of comedy, alongside some of Britain’s best comedy talent (23 February). And music takes the form of a festival-style programme with Commoners Choir, hip hop star Louis VI and a night curated by LOWD Sound System (24 February). Tickets for the Jon Ronson event and the LOWD Sound System are now on sale to the general public. All the other events in the programme are completely free, but may require tickets.

The Fête of Britain is the brainchild of Hard Art, a collective of artists, creatives and cultural movers and shakers, who include Brian Eno, Es Devlin and Jeremy Deller. This new movement aims to forge a new culture of participation and positive change, and aptly officially launches with this four-day takeover of Factory International’s Aviva Studios. Get involved.