The two cities will be linked by a large digital screen inside a freight crate located in Hippodrome Square, Southside, which will go live on Friday (23 October 2026) and host a range of interactive sessions until 4 November.
Birmingham has been twinned with Frankfurt since 1966, so this year marks the 60th year of friendship between the two cities.
Sister Cities Dialogue is a digital project linking Frankfurt with three of its twin cities – Birmingham, Krakow in Poland, and Lviv in Ukraine – where people can walk-in to the portal and see, speak and engage with twin citizens in real time.
The idea is that every encounter through the portal offers an opportunity to step into someone else’s world and discover common ground, by listening to one another.
Councillor Deborah Harries, Cabinet Member for Culture, said: “Birmingham’s friendship with Frankfurt has grown over 60 years through educational exchanges and cultural encounters – such as the Frankfurt Christmas Market, which has been a festive fixture for 26 years.
“The Sister Cities Dialogue project will help bring citizens in both cities closer through conversation, engagement and understanding – enabling us all to discover common ground.”
Eileen O’Sullivan, Deputy Mayor for International Affairs of Frankfurt am Main, said: “Our partnership with Birmingham has been part of Frankfurt’s international identity for six decades, and it has never depended on official agreements alone, but on people. It is cities and their citizens who hold Europe together and Sister Cities Dialogue does exactly that, by linking Frankfurt with Birmingham, it gives our citizens a direct way to talk and listen to each other.”
A special launch event will take place in Hippodrome Square where the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Cllr Zaker Choudhry will officially open the portal.
The portal is open Monday to Friday, between 10am and 8pm, with free sessions ranging from street art to music history, coffee and cake to wine tasting, and conversations between the cities’ various communities.
Full details of sessions being held from 23 October to 4 November are on Frankfurt am Main’s website – click the UK flag icon to translate the page into English.
