Snoop Dogg, Bjork to star at Manchester Festival

US rapper Snoop Dogg and Icelandic singer Bjork will be among the stars at this year's Manchester International Festival opening on June 30.

Snoop Dogg will play a one-off show at the O2 Apollo, Manchester on July 15, when he will perform his debut album Doggystyle in its entirety.

Released in 1993, Doggystyle went straight to number one in the US album charts and was the then fastest-selling debut of all time.

Festival organisers said the event would include live appearances from original featured guests including Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, RBX and The Lady of Rage.

Bjork will perform six shows for her first British dates in more than three years.

The offbeat pop star will present Biophilia, a multimedia project encompassing music, apps, internet, installations and live shows.

It will feature a specially designed pipe organ that accepts digital information and a 30-foot pendulum designed to harness the earth's gravitational pull to create "musical patterns."

Singer Damon Albarn of Gorillaz and Blur fame will feature with his new composition Doctor Dee.

The work, directed by Rufus Norris, centres on Doctor John Dee, a 16th century astrologer, alchemist, mathematician and spy who was a consultant to Queen Elizabeth I.

"The inspiration for both Marlowe's Faust and Shakespeare's Prospero, Dee studied the heavens, he spoke with archangels, and he paid a bitter personal price," the festival said.

Manchester International Festival is held every two years and showcases original works and special events. It will run from June 30-July 17.