In what is Birmingham’s largest arts festival, Birmingham Weekender features an awe-inspiring programme of events from hundreds of world-class West Midlands and international artists and companies. The festival will showcase Birmingham’s extraordinary cultural offering to those living locally and the thousands of visitors expected to travel into the city from 25th-27th September.

Organised by Birmingham Arts Partnership and produced by Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Weekender includes exciting new commissions, world premieres, roaming and pop-up street theatre, a musical picnic, participative events and workshops, and much more, all animating Birmingham’s shopping and civic heart.

In addition to celebrating the city’s cultural offering, it will also mark the opening of the newly transformed New Street Station and Grand Central and coincides with Style Birmingham Live and the Rugby World Cup. Birmingham Weekender underlines the next exciting stage in the development of the city, as arts, shopping, food and sport come together in this unique programme of events.

Birmingham Weekender highlights include:

– Birmingham Hippodrome presents Compagnie Transe Express’ Maudits Sonnants – an orchestra of baroque bell-ringers will play from a musical chandelier suspended above Centenary Square in a nocturnal performance for everyone.

– New commissions from Birmingham Repertory Theatre in association with Mem Morrison Company, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Birmingham Opera Company, Corey Baker Dance, Sampad Arts with poet Amerah Saleh and Barbara Nice in association with Women & Theatre.

– The CBSO take up residence at The Mailbox, Birmingham Royal Ballet performs at Bullring in their 25th year in the city, and shoppers can listen out for music and opera in the city’s cafes and shops.

– Centenary Square will welcome young people as its transformed into a Mexican day-of-the-dead block party; Victoria Square will become a music festival-within-a-festival as it stages live music besides the city’sTown Hall and Council House and Oozells Square in Brindleyplace is the perfect setting for the festival’s family craft offering.

– Imagineer’s Godiva Odyssey will journey to Birmingham for the first time. This beautiful six metre tall puppet will awake in Birmingham through a short performance before taking a stroll to explore her new landscape, greeting and meeting audiences and visitors to the city along her mechanical way.

– In advance of London performances, mac birmingham and Fierce Festival present theatre-maker and choreographer Dan Canham’s Of Riders and Running Horses. The project, from the acclaimed Still House, is a stirring and visceral new dance event and will be staged in the urban setting of a car-park roof

– Following an unprecedented response to an open call-out for independent companies, Birmingham Weekender presents some of the country’s best physical theatre including: Motionhouse and their signature style with awe-inspiring lifts in a duet entitled Lost; Strictly Night Cycling, a new, nocturnal version of Bicycle Ballet Company’s popular choreographic work on two wheels; BodyGuards from InfuseDANCE will humorously control the festival crowds; Highly Sprung’s aerial Urban Astronaut explores the environmental
issue of air pollution through aerial performance; watch out for Vamos Theatre’s interactive, twin-set, octogenarian campaigners Crimplene Crusaders; and Shop ‘Til You Drop by RoguePlay Theatre, a striking piece of circus theatre, explores the joys and perils of shopping.

Roxana Silbert, Creative Director of Birmingham Weekender, and Artistic Director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre said: “Birmingham Weekender is a celebration of the spirit and cultural energy of our city. Over the three days a wealth of performance, creativity and art found inside our much-loved arts organisations will spill out across the civic centre, streets and shopping centres of Birmingham for everyone to enjoy. This programme features world premieres and innovative work that has originated here in Birmingham alongside international performances.

“It will be packed with street theatre, outdoor performances and an amazing line-up including music, dance, visual arts, food and a dedicated family programme. For audiences it will be a real adventure. We want this weekend to demonstrate the ambition, creativity and the incredible collaboration between the city’s arts organisations both large and small. Each day of the weekend offers wonderfully life-enriching experiences and we hope people visiting, or simply stumbling across the Birmingham Weekender, take the chance to savour this moment.”

A host of food, shopping and sports activity compliments the arts and entertainment of Birmingham Weekender. The best street food from the region will serve amazing international cuisine in Centenary and Victoria square and a special Caribbean barbeque at Opus Café in Oozells Square will complement the cultural offering in and around
Brindleyplace.

Style Birmingham Live will take fashion to the art with fashion shows throughout the weekend in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery’s stunning Gas Hall (26th & 27th September). All the action from the Rugby World Cup will be shown live on big screens in Eastside City Park.

Birmingham expects tens of thousands of visitors across the weekend as people visit the city for Rugby World Cup matches and to experience the newly transformed New Street Station and Grand Central shopping centre. Birmingham Weekender will entertain the crowds and provide a fitting showcase for our city.