Manchester International Festival runs for 18 days beginning 29 Jun 2017. Directed by John McGrath the festival presents new works from across the spectrum of performing arts, popular culture and visual art, with events taking place in established venues and unusual spaces across the city.

Dinner Party at the End of the World
Inspired by the immersive show Party Skills for the End of the World, renowned Mancunian chef Mary-Ellen McTague hosts a special last supper. Each evening 20 guests are invited to enjoy food that explores themes of survival, extinction, scarcity and opulence. Taste what we choose to eat, and what we may have to eat, come the end of the world.
Dinner Party at the End of the World, Secret venue, Tue 4–Sat 15 Jul, £50.

What if Women Ruled the World?
A new art experiment placing women in charge of a world in desperate need of a new vision. Yael Bartana's performance project, created with a team including director Vicky Featherstone and writer Abi Morgan, focuses on a group of 11 women in a war room, confronted by some of the urgent crises of our time. Each night a professional cast is joined on stage by a different group of female experts and together they try to solve the global emergency as the clock ticks.
What if Women Ruled the World?, Mayfield, Wed 5–Sat 8 Jul, £25.

Music for a Busy City
Six leading composers leave the concert hall behind and make music for the spaces that Manchester residents pass every day. This project features six new pieces of music by Mohammed Fairouz, Matthew Herbert, Huang Ruo, Anna Meredith, Olga Neuwirth and Philip Venables. These recorded pieces, of up to ten minutes, play in rotation every hour at the spaces that inspired them.
Music for a Busy City, various venues, Fri 30 Jun–Sun 16 Jul, free.

Sampha
In the wake of 2017 debut Process and a major world tour, Sampha Sisay comes to MIF17 for a one-off headline set at the Albert Hall.
Sampha, Albert Hall, Wed 5 Jul, £25.

Fatherland
A show exploring the complexities of contemporary fatherhood and presented as a collage of words, music and movement. It was created by playwright Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), Frantic Assembly's Scott Graham and Karl Hyde from Underworld. Set in modern-day England, Fatherland is inspired by conversations with fathers and sons from the trio's home towns in the heart of the country.
Fatherland, Royal Exchange Square, Sat 1–Sat 15 Jul, £12–£39.

The Welcoming Party
A world premiere from Theatre-Rites exploring what it means to feel different. Family audiences are led on a journey through a historic hidden warehouse at the Museum of Science & Industry, walking alongside people who have travelled to Manchester looking for a safe place to live.
The Welcoming Party, Museum of Science and Industry, Tue 4–Sun 16 Jul, £15 (children £10).

One of Two Stories of Both
Samson Young, who represented Hong Kong at the Venice Biennale presents a world premiere exploring how journeys are remembered and retold. Inspired by mythic tales of 17th-century Chinese travellers walking to Europe the work begins with a five-part radio series. Broadcast live, it can be heard throughout Manchester on FM and online. Following the radio series a multichannel sound and visual installation premieres at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art.
Radio drama: Low Four, Old Granada Studios, Fri 30–Tue 4 Jul, £5.
Exhibtion: Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Fri 7–Sun 16 Jul, free.

No End to Enderby
Director Graham Eatough and artist Stephen Sutcliffe pay tribute to Manchester's Anthony Burgess. No End to Enderby is centred on two new films inspired by Burgess's 'Enderby' series, Inside Mr Enderby and The Muse, and is presented here with some of the original sets for the films, both of which were shot this year in Manchester.
The Whitworth, Fri 30 Jun–Sun 16 Jul, free.

Cotton Panic!
An industrial music drama examining the effects of America's cotton famine on the north of England. Created by Jane Horrocks, Nick Vivian and Wrangler the show uses a mix of live music, drama, words and film to evoke an era lost to history.
Cotton Panic!, Upper Campfield Market Hall, Sat 8–Sun 15 Jul, £20.

BambinOWritten by Scottish Opera's Composer in Residence Lliam Paterson and directed by Phelim McDermott, BambinO celebrates the possibilities of music and the power of the infant imagination in an opera performance for babies. BambinO
aims to reinvent operatic language and traditions for children at an age when their minds are open to new sounds, images and experiences. Babies are free to crawl around during the performance, interacting with singers, musicians and each other.
Pavilion Theatre, Tue 4–Sat 6 Jul, £5.

Manchester International Festival, 29 Jun–16 Jul, tickets on sale 1pm, Fri 10 Mar.