200 years of the University of Manchester, four days of celebration

The University of Manchester is inviting residents of Manchester and beyond to their FREE Universally Manchester Festival, taking place from Thursday 6 - Sunday 9 June 2024.

For four days, The University of Manchester will throw open its doors to welcome tens of thousands of people of all ages onto its iconic Oxford Road Campus for a 200th-year birthday celebration like no other.

Visitors to the festival can curate their own programme from more than 150 innovative, imaginative and inspirational events on offer.

A once-in-a-lifetime festival, Universally Manchester will welcome up to 60,000 people to experience everything from poetry to physics, music to medicine, computing to creative writing and more.

Acknowledging the University’s global impact; the world firsts, the life-changing discoveries, the music, art, science and creativity, all sparked in Manchester.

At the Festival you will be able to enter virtual reality worlds to explore what goes on inside the human body, simulate the detection of landmines, or even take part in Squid Game-esque challenges.

Try your hand atdriving a LEGO Mars Rover, under the conditions experienced on Mars, and uncover the secrets of the asteroid Bennu and NASA’s special OSIRIS-REx mission.

Or you can discover how the power of creativity can drive change in places of conflict from international charity In Place of War and its ambassador Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien.

Hundreds of free tickets are available for high-demand events, with speakers and performers including Professor Brian Cox, Professor David Olusoga, CBeebies presenter George Webster, supergroup GRRRL directed by Laima Leyton (Mixhell / Soulwax), poet Lemn Sissay, immunologist Professor Sheena Cruickshank, director of