Manchester International Festival is the worldÕs first festival of original, new work and special events and takes place biennially, in Manchester, UK. The Festival launched in 2007 as an artist-led, commissioning festival presenting new works from across the spectrum of performing arts, visual arts and popular culture. Highlights of the first three festivals include Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett and Chen Shi-Zheng's Chinese opera Monkey: Journey to the West; group art event Il Tempo del Postino featuring work by Matthew Barney, Tacita Dean and Olafur Eliasson; Steve McQueenÕs dignified commemoration of fallen British soldiers, Queen and Country; Zaha Hadid Architects' new space for the music of Bach; Bjšrk's ambitious three week Biophilia residency; director Robert Wilson's startling new piece for the stage, The Life and Death of Marina Abramovi_, starring Abramovi_, Willem Dafoe and Antony; and PunchdrunkÕs Doctor Who adventure The Crash of The Elysium. MIF13 included Kenneth BranaghÕs acclaimed Macbeth, Maxine PeakeÕs impassioned recitation of ShelleyÕs The Masque of Anarchy, thrilling live art from Tino Sehgal, and the iconoclastic film/gig hybrid Massive Attack v Adam Curtis. The xx performed in a secret space under Victoria Station and Indian artist Nikhil Chopra occupied the Whitworth gallery for 65 continuous hours, while the groundbreaking Biospheric Project saw an industrial space in Salford transformed into an experimental space for urban growing and design. The Festival works with co-commissioning partners around the world to present new productions, and MIF13 shows will travel to the Park Avenue Armory, New York, Ruhrtriennale in Germany, Festival dÕAutomne in Paris, Spoleto Festival Italy and more. These partnerships contribute significantly to MIFÕs funding, which also sees generous support from Manchester City Council, Arts Council England and Salford City Council.