Little Amal will visit Wigan town centre as she nears the end of her 8,000km journey from the Turkish-Syrian border to Manchester.

Manchester International Festival is working with Wigan Council to welcome 10-year-old Little Amal – a 3.5m tall puppet created by Good Chance Theatre and Handspring Puppet Company – to the town centre as part of ‘The Walk’, an artistic depiction of a refugee child in search of her mother.

Little Amal will begin her visit at Trencherfield Mill at 3pm on 31 October ahead of visiting Rochdale on 2 November and Manchester city centre on 3 November.

A road closure along Southgate will be in place while Little Amal travels towards The Edge Conference Centre.

During the 45-minute show, visitors can enjoy a series of cultural moments, including a dance performance by WigLe Dance and music from Wigan’s Youth Brass Band.

Visitors to The Walk are then invited to watch an installation produced by Manchester Street Poem, an art collective of people with lived experience of homelessness, at 4pm in The Edge where they will read stories to Little Amal.

Councillor Chris Ready, cabinet member for communities and culture said: “It’s a privilege to be included in ‘The Walk’. We’re excited to be working with our cultural partners to also hold a number of activities for visitors while Little Amal tours the Pier quarter.

“Little Amal is an astounding piece of art with a really significant message. Her journey is representative of the tens of thousands of children who have been displaced by war or persecution.

“We’re a compassionate borough and are so proud to have been included in Little Amal’s journey.”

Little Amal has travelled from the Syrian border across Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium in search of her mother. In 65 villages, towns and cities she has been welcomed by artists of every kind – dancers, singers, film makers, painters – as well as civil society and faith leaders at the highest level.

Her journey represents those taken by the millions of people who have been violently displaced by war or persecution, especially children. At this time of multiple global crises Amal’s urgent message to the world is “Don’t forget about us”.

This extensive public art project is produced by Stephen Daldry, David Lan, Tracey Seaward and Naomi Webb for Good Chance, co-producers of the critically-acclaimed The Jungle, in association with Handspring Puppet Company, world-famous creators of the horse puppets in War Horse, and led by Good Chance’s Artistic Director Amir Nizar Zuabi.

Support for Wigan Arrivals Project, a community organisation which supports asylum seekers are also working with community groups across Greater Manchester and local artist, Ibukun Baldwin, to create a large patchwork quilt for Little Amal.