Birmingham Weekender’s got it all going on across the city.
Birmingham Weekender has got it all going on, across the whole city this August Bank Holiday with dance, music, circus, interactive installations and street theatre all for free from Friday 23rd-Monday 26th August. Produced by Birmingham Hippodrome in partnership with Bullring & Grand Central expect spectacular performances in surprising places with marbles, orangutans, dinosaurs, bubbles and foam.
Chris Sudworth, Creative Director at Birmingham Hippodrome said: “This year’s Birmingham Weekender takes us to even more public spaces and surprising places across the city and we can’t wait to share the programme with everyone for the August Bank Holiday weekend. We are delighted to be working with regional, national and international companies to bring the city to life with extraordinary performances and playful, interactive installations around every corner.
“This year sees the city coming together through collaborations with key local and national cultural partners. Additionally, we will be offering more with our Access and Community provision as well as the first ever Hippodrome Live stage. We’re in for a great long weekend in Brum.”
Birmingham Weekender 2024 will spread across the city on the streets, in squares and shopping centres and in the sky above the city. Check the programme for dates and times, and note not everything takes place every day.
Outside at Bullring & Grand Central across Rotunda Square, Central Street and St Martins Square visitors can see a large-scale spectacular theatre, circus show in the sky above the audience with Unity from Gorilla Circus; get to grips with marbleology with the Marble Awareness Roadshow from UNBOSI; and then jump inside a world of coloured foam with Stephanie Lüning’s Island of Foam. Become an artist by covering living artwork Blanko in colour; sit in a woodland glade beneath the stars inside Talking Birds’ The Oakmobile; get your family rave on with Big Fish Little Fish; and come and listen to family friendly jokes at the Comedy Club 4 Kids Show.
Inside Bullring & Grand Central find the Bullring Dance Stage, highlights include the premiere of a new work Synergy from a stellar UK D/deaf and disabled dance company; choreographed by Olivier Award nominee Mark Smith; Walker Movement brings the repetition of a running machine to their performance with Tread; Break Mission merge street dance and classical for their dance adaptation Swan Break; and Linden Dance Company’s Keep Moving and FABRIC’s Future Shift dancers join for a collaborative piece demonstrating the inclusive dance opportunities for young people in Birmingham.
Audiences can also place themselves in the Birmingham skyline with Pickle Illustrations Weekender Selfie Studio and CBSO will present two full orchestral performances featuring up to seventy musicians led by Music Director Kazuki Yamada.
Edgbaston Street goes green with the Weekender Green Hub, be inspired by urban gardening; visit the SPARK garden activity zone to see newly commissioned art made from natural and upcycled materials; and play a tune with the Orchestra of Objects, 10 uniquely invented musical instruments made from unwanted industrial objects.
In Southside, in Hippodrome Square, visit the Southside Stage for a showcase of local artists presenting music, dance and spoken word and on Sunday 25th August only discover Birmingham Hippodrome’s 125 year history, with a special open day where visitors can get backstage. There’s Hippodrome Live! inspired by West End Live featuring exclusive performances and 
Over in Victoria Square, back by popular demand, see The Luminarium, a dazzling maze of winding paths and soaring domes to walk, rest and play within; and take a moment to enjoy Trigger’s Teabreak enjoying a cup of tea and a beautiful interactive performance.
1000 Trades Square at New Street Station will be transformed into a pop-up Indian garden for Mughal Miniatures from Sonia Sabri Company; a circus show using only bamboo and human bodies from No Fit State Circus; and a bubble extravaganza. On the concourse look out for Tape That, think acrobatics and colourful tape and watch dance flashmobs from Marshon Dance Company.
At the city’s transport hubs – New Street, Moor Street, Snow Hill – look out for Pop Up Poetry and Across the city look out for the last living dinosaur with street performance Dinotopia; prepare to encounter an Orangutan on board a tropical tricycle with Borneo Again; and look out for the trailblazing skate dance troupe Urban Gliders.
There’s free face painting throughout the weekend across the festival. Find a Birmingham Weekender Access Hub & Information Point at Rotunda Square, Victoria Square and Hippodrome Square where visitors can find out more about the programme and borrow ear defenders, fidget toys and audio description headsets, as well as taking a break in the chill out zones.
Birmingham Weekender 2024 is free to attend and runs from Friday 23 August to Monday 26 August. Read the full programme and plan your weekend: here.