Beer Festival visitors all a-buzz about world premiere in Stalybridge

Punters at this year’s Tameside Beer Festival got more than a pint and a pie – they witnessed a world premiere.

Real ale fans outside Stalybridge Civic Hall were left wide-eyed as two enormous Manchester bees appeared in the street, closely followed by a carnival of dancers and musicians in dazzling costumes.

The spectacle marked the very first performance of a brand-new production by local carnival arts organisation Global Grooves, set to represent Greater Manchester on the international stage later this month at La Mercè, Barcelona’s world-famous street festival.

The piece featured more than 30 performers and built towards a spectacular finale. As the towering Queen Bee puppet’s skirt unfurled, eight dancers grasped painted silk ribbons and circled her in a traditional maypole dance with a distinctly northern twist.

The bees themselves – a Worker Bee and Queen Bee – are giant walkabout puppets created in a collaboration between Manchester artists Emily Wood (Cabasa CIC), Mel Roberts, Lizzie Rigby and Dave Young, working alongside Catalan puppet masters Dolors Sans, Pau Reig and Joaquin Luna.

They will soon join two of Barcelona’s traditional parades at La Mercè, an event which attracts up to two million people each year.

On Saturday in Stalybridge, the bees were accompanied by 20 dancers from Saddleworth Women’s Morris & Clog and the Indian Association Oldham’s Dancing Diyas, ranging in age from their 20s to 60s.

The groups have been rehearsing together for two months under the guidance of Brazilian choreographer Adriana Rosso, weaving their traditions into a unique cross-cultural dance.

Their performance was accompanied by live music from a brass and percussion ensemble, debuting a brand-new composition by Jack Tinker and Emma Marsh, blending Indian and British folk sounds with global influences.

The project was masterminded by Global Grooves, supported by Manchester City Council, Arts Council England and XTRAX, and funded by GMCA, GM Arts, Oldham Council and Tameside MBC.

Global Grooves producer, Johnny Clifford said: “Bringing this project to life has been an incredible journey, made possible by so many dedicated partners both here and in Catalonia. Sharing it first with a home crowd in Tameside was a real honour.

“Being invited to take part in La Mercè shows how Greater Manchester’s creativity resonates internationally. It’s a chance to celebrate our own heritage while sharing in Barcelona’s spirit of openness.”

Barcelona’s La Mercè festival runs every September, filling the city with street parades, concerts and cultural celebrations. After its international debut, a reworked version of Global Grooves’ bee spectacular will return closer to home – appearing at Oldham’s Illuminate Light Night in February and at Manchester Day in 2026.