Manchester International Festival generates £40.2m for city economy

Manchester International Festival (MIF) generated a record eight-figure boost for the city’s economy this year, according to new data.

A report going before Manchester City Council’s Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee and Executive next week will highlight the growing popularity of the biennial event.

The festival’s latest iteration, held from June 29 to July 16, was found to be worth £40.2m to the local economy, compared with £38.8m in 2015.

This year’s was the sixth since the festival launched in 2007. The biggest to date, Manchester International Festival 2017 saw over 300k visitors attend more than 380 performances.

Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese said: “This year’s Manchester International Festival was a record-breaker in more ways than one.

“The maths alone confirms our belief that cities need culture, as much as culture needs cities like ours that continue to support, nurture, and positively embrace all that the arts have to offer.”

Manchester International Festival 2017 was the first to be held under new artistic director and CEO John McGrath.

John commented: “It’s been fantastic to gather up the evaluations and the responses from the wonderful artists who were part of MIF17.

“Everyone has spoken of how special Manchester felt – the welcome they were given by the MIF team and our partner venues, and also by the people of the city.”

The next festival will take place from July 4 to 21, 2019.

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