Birmingham Hippodrome and Bullring & Grand Central launched Birmingham Weekender Festival in splash-tastic style yesterday (Fri 26 Aug) with a preview event for Brum’s Big Splash; a giant 60 metre waterslide which has been installed on Central Street as part of the festival. The free tickets for Brum’s Big Splash are now sold out, with the second ticket release on Friday selling out in just fifteen minutes.

Birmingham Weekender features over 100 free events to enjoy at Bullring & Grand Central, the New Street Station concourse, Birmingham Markets and 1000 Trades Square. Between Saturday 27th – Sunday 28th August 2022, visitors to the city will be able to enjoy an eclectic programme of events with a mixture of dance, film, music, installations and performances throughout the city centre.

The cultural festival, produced by Birmingham Hippodrome, in partnership with Bullring & Grand Central and supported by Without Walls, features many of the best artists from Birmingham and the West Midlands, alongside exciting international artists and installations.

Another huge highlight will be the Dutch installation de Relaxerette, a large-scale structure where audience members can listen to music, poetry and stories in hammocks which are gently lifted from the ground in a truly relaxing experience.

Other performers and events include Birmingham Hippodrome Associates Sonia Sabri Company who will present dance piece Mughal Miniatures Scene 1: The Awakening; Italy’s Stalker Teatro who will bring Steli, a lively interactive event where participants can create and then enjoy a huge structure made of sticks; the premiere of D-Sign Dance’s project, Critical Vibrations, choreographed by Deaf Men Dancing’s Mark Smith, working with participants who are D/deaf or hard of hearing to explore the question “what do you feel when you hear music?”;  and a music stage curated by Hippodrome Young Advocates and Girl Grind featuring twenty artists across all musical genres during the course of the weekend. The festival will be hosted by Birmingham presenter Melzy J.

To view full details of the Birmingham Weekender programme, visit https://www.bullring.co.uk/events/birmingham-weekender. Some timings may be subject to change.