Reach for the stars
What : Bluedot Festival Where : Jodrell Bank Observatory When : 21-24 July 2022 Image : Lucas Sinclair
Since its launch in 2016 , the Bluedot festival has grown to become a landmark event in the festival calendar . This year , the event ’ s promoter From The Fields is working to make it more visually spectacular than ever .
Mixing science , music and art , the 21,000-capacity festival ’ s production is handled by Manchester-based Engine No 4 . Located at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Jodrell Bank Observatory near Macclesfield , the festival ’ s name was inspired by the famous photograph of Earth taken by the Voyager 1 space probe in 1990 when it was nearly four billion miles away .
Bluedot festival director and co-founder Ben Robinson says that despite the event ’ s production costs being 25 % higher than in 2019 , the last time the festival was staged , this year ’ s event will see the introduction of new family-focused area Space Camp . And , more than ever , the giant Lovell Telescope will play an integral part in the event . Throughout the weekend , artwork will be projected onto the grade 1 listed landmark .
Says Robinson , “ The telescope had been undergoing maintenance during the previous two festivals but is now operational , so we are putting together a programme of art installations that will be projected onto its surface . The surface of the telescope is 76m wide . We have got both Mogwai and Björk curating artwork that will be projected as part of their shows onto the telescope .
“ We are under some hefty budget constraints this year , but we are focused on recreating the event that people have loved in previous years . The main development is the use of the telescope – it will be something people will never forget as long as they live and it will affect everyone on site .”
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