A huge parade of life-sized puppet animals will be making its way through Greater Manchester this summer as part of a whopping 20,000km journey across the world. The migration of animals, which will feature giraffes, elephants, zebras, gazelles and chimps, are making their way from the Congo Basin to the Arctic Circle, with stops along the way - including in Greater Manchester - as part of a tour of public artwork. The Herds will head to the city region between July 3 and 5, visiting the likes of Manchester city centre as well as Heywood in Rochdale and Pennington Flash in Wigan . The tour aims to highlight the scale of climate change and what is needed to fight it. It will be unveiled here as part of the opening event of Manchester International Festival on July 3, which will see the herds of animals scattering through the city centre, interrupting orchestral performances by the Manchester Camerata and taking up residency between Cathedral Gardens and Market Street . Following their city centre expedition, the life-size puppets will then head to the residential streets of Heywood and take up residency in the likes of Mutual Mills and Queen’s Park. Their final stop, at Pennington Flash Country Park, will see 70 puppets appear amidst the trees and wetlands. The tour of The Herds is currently well underway having started off in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on April 9. Between then and its arrival in Manchester, it will also reach the likes of Marrakesh, Madrid, Venice, Paris, and London. Amir Nizar Zuabi, Artistic Director of THE HERDS, said: "THE HERDS is an urgent artistic response to the climate crisis, a living, breathing call to action that stampedes across continents. “Through the beauty and ferocity of these life-size creatures, we aim to spark dialogue, provoke thought, encourage engagement and inspire real change. Meet us wherever you can." People in Manchester are also being invited to take part in the project, with a series of workshops aiming to help people create new puppet animals, including red deer, wildebeest and wolves, that will then join the herd of animals across Greater Manchester. The sessions will take place between May 17 and June 19 and are open to anyone aged 16 and above - tickets here. There will also be an opportunity for Greater Manchester residents, aged 18 and above, to join the herd on its local tour, with expertise and guidance from a team of world-leading puppeteers and designers as part of the tour here running from June 30 to July 5. Young people will also be able to create their own puppet animals with free drop-in sessions during the May half term and on June 28 at Aviva Studios. Low Kee Hong, creative director of Factory International and Manchester International Festival said: “With THE HERDS’s visit to Greater Manchester we’re really proud to once again bring iconic international public art to our streets for everyone to witness and be inspired by. “More so, we’re thrilled to celebrate the creativity of our area by inviting people from Greater Manchester to become a part of THE HERDS, whether contributing to the herd, or performing in the events.” You will be able to see The Herds in Manchester City Centre on Thursday, July 3 from 6pm around Cathedral Gardens, Exchange Square and Market Street. They will also be in Heywood, Rochdale on Friday, July 4 from 7pm at Mutual Mills, and then at Pennington Flash Country Part on Saturday, July 5 from 1pm. More information here.