Milton Keynes International Festival boosts footfall at centre:mk

From 18th to 27th July, centre:mk part-hosted the biennial IF: Milton Keynes International Festival. Comprising art installations, interactive performances, creative workshop activities and circus acts, centre:mk’s Middleton Hall experienced a 22.7 percent uplift in footfall across the launch weekend compared to the same period in 2024.

At the heart of the city, centre:mk has been the event’s headline sponsor since 2016, co-commissioning thought-provoking and inspiring work by internationally renowned artists. This year, Middleton Hall, centre:mk showcased Les Colombes (The White Doves), an installation formed of more than 2,000 white origami doves, with visitors invited to make their own doves as a contribution to the installation and for displays throughout centre:mk and the city. The artwork by German Artist Michael Pendry, which focuses on the importance of peace and the involvement of the community, has travelled the world, from Jerusalem to New York, Mumbai, and Hawaii, prior to its arrival in Milton Keynes.

centre:mk and IF: Milton Keynes International Festival co-comissioned a performance by local poet and two times national slam champion, Maureen Onwunali. A spoken word performance in collaboration with young people from the community, Utopia in Verse explores the hopes and visions for a better world.

2,223 people from diverse communities across Milton Keynes took part in workshops and activities in the lead up to and during the Festival, helping Pendry and Onwunali to create Les Colombes and Utopia in Verse.

Kevin Duffy, centre:mk’s Centre Director, commented: “IF: Milton Keynes International Festival successfully brings together friends and family to enjoy world class installations, performances, and activations in what is an unforgettable experience. Our ongoing partnership with the Festival and our full calendar of events, paired with centre:mk’s brilliant line-up of brands, creates compelling variety for consumers, which is evidenced in the boost to footfall during the Festival.”

The Festival extended beyond centre:mk to other locations across the city including the nearby Campbell Park, which featured Architects of Air’s Terceradix, a globally exhibited immersive, walk-in sculpture. The ten-day event provided a unique range of installations, interactive experiences and a programme of music, theatre, comedy, cabaret and dance that attracted visitors from across the country to the city.

Monica Ferguson, Founding Director of IF: Milton Keynes International Festival, added: “We have had another strong response to the Festival this year, made possible by centre:mk as our headline sponsor, and our stakeholders across the city. The collaboration creates a fantastic opportunity for artists to create and present work in a unique setting and the performances and installations were very well received by both the local community and those who travelled from the wider UK catchment and from overseas to visit the Festival this year.”

The Festival featured two world premieres and four UK premieres, including Milton Keynes based Pagrav Dance Company’s One Sky – their largest outdoor event to date – which blended neo-classical Indian dance with modern aesthetics. The spectacular closing event DNA – A Vertical Odyssey by Compagnie Transe Express from France, left audiences spellbound with gravity-defying circus, dance and live music performed on a giant 40m high structure suspended in the night sky.