Tim Peake heads stellar line-up for bluedot festival

Now in its fifth year, the popular music, science and culture festival will return to the Lovell Telescope site at Jodrell Bank this July.

The 49-year-old joins musical headliners Björk, Groove Armada and Mogwai for this year's festival.

The offering for families will also include appearances by Clangers, Brainiac Live, and The Space Shed.

What's on at bluedot 2022? 

• Described as 'the science museum meets Top Gear', Brainiac Live is a science show based on the TV series, full of live experiments, daredevil stunts, exploding dustbins and combusting microwaves
• An old favourite from the 1960s, characters from CBeebies series Clangers will join the festival for 2022 – the imaginary creatures who live on a blue planet in space returned in 2015, narrated by Michael Palin, to delight a new generation of children
• The astronomical and awe-inspiring Space Shed also returns to bluedot for 2022, amazing its audience with stories, interviews and DJ sets
• The Actual Reality Arcade is a life-sized interactive game zone suitable for children of all ages and will bring classic arcade games of the past to life
• A Pop Up Puppet Cinema will bring much-loved adaptations of classic Hollywood films to bluedot, mocking the originals with plenty of warmth and admiration through hilarious puppetry
• There will be dance workshops, discos and parades throughout the weekend
• The Twisted Time Machine will take audiences on an interactive journey through time and space landing in the best music decades from the 1920s through to modern day and beyond
• Also joining the family programmme is the award-winning babywearing dance class, Dance Like a Mother – the family edition
• bluedot favourite the Luminarium – an immersive light tunnel maze experience for exploration and play – returns this year while the fire garden is reinvented as the Origins experience

The Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank (Scot Salt)

Festival director Ben Robinson said: "After a two-year hiatus, our fifth instalment of bluedot looks set to be one of our best yet.

"Welcoming Tim Peake to Jodrell Bank to excite and inspire families under the Lovell Telescope is going to be really special.

"Tim has lived the dreams of so many of our visitors, young and old, and we're delighted that he'll be here.

"We have a packed line-up of activities and experiences for festival-goers. While our musical acts are a massive draw and promise spectacular performances, bluedot offers so much more.

"Jodrell Bank is a jaw-dropping location and the perfect place to be inspired as a family by the wonders of science and culture, with hands on workshops, electrifying experiences and hilariously engaging shows.

"We can't wait to be back in action."

Björk is one of the music headliners

On offer in bluedot's family science programme

bluedot has also announced an impressive family science offering programmed by Jodrell Bank.

With more than 30 hands-on science stalls and workshops, there’s something to engage all budding scientists.

Highlights include:

• Live Science Shows from guests including Chester Zoo, Ancient Antarctic Ice Cores with British Antarctic Survey
• Meet and Learn sessions from scientists including Sarah Crowther and The Volcanologists
• Families will also be able to walk beneath the iconic Lovell Telescope, take in late-night Stargazing sessions and explore the wider areas including Woodland Glade Nature Trials, the Whispering Dishes and The Jodrell Bank Arboretum

Other confirmed acts at bluedot 2022

These include:

• Film screeings with Aardman Animations alongside a specially-curated bill of Morning Family Films,
• Hengercise
• Big Fish Little Fish presenting their Cosmic Disco
• Twilight Parades with Global Grooves
• Shlomo’s Beatbox Adventure for Kids
• Bhangracise

bluedot 2022 will take place between July 21 and July 24.