From the central hub in Victoria Square, dance, music, visual arts and opera will spill out across the city to Eastside Green at one side and to mac birmingham at the other. From music inside Selfridges to dance in the Bullring, from a symphony on the canal to an orchestra in a multi-story car park, from cabaret on trams to story-telling Drag Queens in the Bull Ring Retail Markets, the city will be transformed over three days.

Birmingham Weekender are pleased to announce the following as part of the programme, the full programme will be announced during the summer:

• Selfridges Birmingham loves to surprise, amaze and amuse customers with extraordinary experiences. It is proud to be hosting its annual Live + LOUD festival which celebrates the city’s local art and design talent, along with its contribution to the music industry, with live performances in store throughout the weekend.

• In a car park in the city centre, Town Hall Symphony Hall will take live classical music to unexpected spaces by presenting Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony in a secret city-centre car park on Friday and Saturday, performed by The Multi-Story Orchestra who, conducted by Christopher Stark, will make their Birmingham debut.

• Expect temporary public art commissions to spill out of buildings, over buildings and appear in some of the city’s iconic locations including the New Alexandra Theatre. Stopping festival goers in their tracks, Sky Dancers by Design in Air, renowned for their inflatable street art, will make people see the New Alexandra Theatre as they’ve never seen it before.

• On the stage at the Bullring DanceXchange will present Humanhood, contemporary dance exploring the relationship between humankind and the moon. Shoppers will be immersed in an extraordinary spectacle of dance and sound.

• Indoors at the mac birmingham join renowned dancer and choreographer Daksha Sheth for the UK premier of Sari, part of Utsav, Birmingham’s Year of South Asian Culture. Sari is a celebration of this unique Indian textile and how the Sari is in constant play with the body, both in stillness and in movement.

Festival Directors, Graham Callister (Birmingham Hippodrome) and Piali Ray (Sampad) commented: “The Weekender programme is really taking shape, we can almost feel the spaces within the city filling up with arts and culture and already we are beginning to look again at the places that seem familiar and we look forward to Weekender audiences doing the same.

“There really will be something for everyone, whether you’re looking for family-friendly entertainment, classical music or cutting-edge UK premieres.”

Richard Hawley, from Town Hall Symphony Hall said: “Town Hall Symphony Hall is delighted to once again play our part in Birmingham Weekender. As a Culture Centre member, we understand what becomes possible when the city’s arts organisations work collaboratively to place high calibre arts events in unexpected spaces with audience experience at its heart.

“Whether its outdoor firework spectaculars, or intimate theatre events, or Beethoven in a car park, or dancing all day with your family, Birmingham Weekender is an opportunity for everyone to come in to the city centre and celebrate the vibrant, bustling international city we all know and love.”

Birmingham Weekender relies on an army of volunteers to welcome visitors and audiences to the city. If you’d like to register your interest, contact at [email protected]

For more information visit www.birminghamweekender.com or Facebook

Pics: This page – Ambra Vernuccio. Front – Meetesh Taneja.