Residents are in for a treat this summer as the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Festival comes to the County over the summer.
The Birmingham 2022 Festival has announced its six-month-long cultural programme taking place across the West Midlands. It will be the biggest celebration of creativity ever seen in the region and one of the largest ever cultural programmes to surround the Commonwealth Games. Better still, there will be an event taking place in Warwickshire this June!
There will be over 200 events including a spectacular open-air show, a brand-new Birmingham inspired album, an immersive 3D experience on public transport, photography exhibitions across billboards, a city centre forest of magical proportions, a mass tap-dancing extravaganza and much, much more.
Events will be running from March to September and the festival will put Birmingham and the West Midlands’ creativity, ambition, heritage and diversity on a global stage. Some of the highlights include:
On Record – A brand-new album featuring eleven original songs about Birmingham offers a sonic love letter to the city. Featuring new songs by Birmingham artists - including SANITY, UB40 and Dapz on the Map - On Record has been created and produced by Jez Collins of Birmingham Music Archive and Grammy-nominated producer Simon Duggal. The multi-genre work will be available via a limited vinyl release and across all streaming platforms from Saturday 18 June. A new podcast and live event programme, In Conversation, will complement the album.
Time Travel Tram - Passengers on board a West Midlands Metro tram between Wolverhampton and Birmingham will be taken back in time while experiencing the world’s first immersive digital art powered by 5G. Time Travel Tram, created by immersive storytellers Surfing Light Beams and Crossover Labs, launches living history into the 21st century by transforming the view from the tram windows into a 3D visual extravaganza of people and places from the region’s past. Running throughout the duration of the festival, from 21 March – 30 September, Time Travel Tram will be accompanied by a contemporary soundtrack created by some of the West Midlands’ most exciting musicians and performers.
People, Place and Sport – Artist Jaskirt Boora explores the role of gender and ethnicity in sport through a series of photographic portraits and recorded conversations. People, Place and Sport - a collaboration with West Bromwich based community arts organisation Multistory - is a celebration of local communities and grassroots sport in the West Midlands and will take place from April to August in leisure centres across the region, as well as outdoors at Sandwell Valley Country Park.
Warwickshire will be playing host Talking Birds’ Come Bowl With Me, which is a funny and interactive outdoor performance by acclaimed Coventry theatre company Talking Birds, celebrating the popular and accessible sport of Lawn Bowls.
Audiences are invited to join Lorna Bowles, Dwaine Hardball and Roger Rinkwell as they coach you through the gentle joys and fierce competition of this much-loved game. Tensions may rise in the Strictly Come Bowling arena as players compete for the Glitter Bowl Trophy. After a round of Crazy Bowls, the crowd will be amazed by the antics of Cirque du Boules and their terrifying Great Bowls of Fire.
Come Bowl with Me will be in Leamington Spa’s Pump Room Gardens from 16 to 17 July 2022. In addition to this fantastic event, there will also be a range of other activities and events taking place across Warwick District as part of the Birmingham 2022 festival and more details can be found here: birmingham2022.com/festival
Cllr Heather Timms, Warwickshire County Council portfolio holder for Environment, Heritage and Culture, said: ““Across the West Midlands, we are fortunate to have such a vibrant, world-class, and dynamic creative industry. And so the exciting programme on offer for the Birmingham 2022 Festival will be a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase this incredible creative sector to the world along with our partners across the region
“The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games coming to our region is truly a once in a lifetime event and it is about far more than 11 days of sport. This festival of creativity, with its packed roster of events will certainly ensure that there is plenty to keep residents and visitors entertained this summer.”
John Crabtree OBE, Chair of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, said: “I am delighted to see the hard work of the Birmingham 2022 Festival team come to fruition. This amazing programme of events will include something for everyone across the region and well beyond and will provide a unique stage both to present and celebrate our very special creative talents. With the Commonwealth Games starting in 150 days’ time and featuring a world-class sporting programme, the festival will further extend the experience of all our visitors - an unforgettable moment in the spotlight for us all.”
To learn more, view the full programme of events or get involved visit: http://www.birmingham2022.com/festival
To find out more about the Commonwealth Games in Warwickshire, visit: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/Birmingham2022commonwealthgames