Jean Michel Jarre, Underworld, and Caribou, for bluedot from Jodrell Bank

Bluedot 2016

Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th July 2016
Jodrell Bank Visitor Centre and Arboretum, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK119DL, England MAP
£129 for the weekend

Daily capacity: 5,000

Jean Michel Jarre, Underworld, and Caribou lead the first acts confirmed for a new festival, bluedot from Jodrell Bank which will also host a live recording of Radio 4's The Infinite Monkey Cage (with Brian Cox & Robin Ince).

The date at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire precedes a nationwide arena tour scheduled for October and they will be Jarre’s only UK and Ireland dates for the year.

Acts also featuring on the first wave of the line-up are Everything Everything, Public Service Broadcasting, Mercury Rev, Steve Mason, 65daysofstatic, and British Sea Power, Moon Duo. The late-night electronic line-up's initial bill includes Erol Alkan and Richard Norris’ electro-house alter egos Beyond The Wizards Sleeve, Ben UFO, and DJ Yoda with many more still to be announced.

Other acts on the bill include Gwenno, Lonelady, Stealing Sheep, Dutch Uncles, Galaxians, Aziz & Dal, The Lucid Dream, Sundara Karma, Plastic Mermaids, Let.s Eat Grandma, Nai Harvest, The Vryll Society, Post War Glamour Girls, Cowtown, Mi Mye, Hot Vestry, Rhain, The Watchmakers, Sympathiser, and Body Clocks.

Created by From the Fields – the team behind Kendal Calling, Forgotten Fields and Live from Jodrell Bank – and the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, bluedot promises to be something new and very different.

A full science and culture programme will be announced in the coming weeks but attendees can expect an incredible array of talent from across the scientific, literary and arts communities with five distinct arenas featuring space orchestras, talks, screenings, lectures, comedy and debates and a vast spectrum of hands-on activities including the Luminarium, art installations, robot workshops, a planetarium, the Galaxy Garden, pulsar hunting, graphene making classes and much more.

Radio 4's The Infinite Monkey Cage with Prof. Brian Cox and Robin Ince will be recording an episode at the festival with a frequently hilarious insight into some of science’s biggest questions is guaranteed to entertain and elucidate and will undoubtedly be a highlight of the festival.

Festival director Ben Robinson said, "bluedot is a brand new festival with a mandate to deliver a festival like nothing else on earth with a stellar programme of music, science, art, film and technology. Securing an amazing line-up like this in our first year is a massive coup – but bluedot isn’t just about the music, having The Infinite Monkey Cage at the festival with Brian and Robin is going to be a real highlight. We have a lot more still to announce including our full science and culture programme and some more big name acts that we feel will really fit the ethos of what we are trying to achieve with bluedot – a forum where music, science and the arts can really come together."

Professor Tim O'Brien, Associate Director of Jodrell Bank and together with Professor Teresa Anderson, one of the festival’s science directors added, "bluedot is going to be special. We want to blow people’s minds with some amazing music and some incredible ideas – from the Big Bang to black holes, AI to climate change, and loads more. A nod to Carl Sagan’s pale blue dot, the festival will celebrate our planet in the vast cosmos, showcasing humanity’s creative achievements in arts, science, technology and the exploration of space."

bluedot is supported by the UK Space Agency and the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF), Europe’s largest interdisciplinary science meeting taking place for the first time in Manchester 23-27 July 2016.

For those wishing to enjoy the three-day festival, a diverse mix of culinary options will be on offer along with standard and luxury camping options.

Weekend camping and day tickets go on sale on Wednesday 16 March at 9am. Weekend tickets start at £119 and day tickets start from £35. The full schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

Full access to the magnificent Discovery centre is included with each ticket,and offers a chance to find out more about the mind-blowing research happening at Jodrell Bank. Explore the wonders of the universe and find out for yourself why stargazing has enjoyed a massive resurgence in the past few years.

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