City gears up for another summer of celebration

PERRY the Bull is back as the Birmingham Festival 23 has been officially announced, drumming up nostalgia for the Commonwealth Games.

This year’s jamboree will mark an annual celebration taking place on the anniversary of the event, which was a massive success last summer.

Live music, performances, participatory activities and a “magical opening” promises to dazzle the city centre once again as organisers hope to create the same vibe as 2022’s celebration.

Birmingham City Council and organisers made the announcement on Tuesday morning (

Perry the Bull made a special re-appearance.

The festival will take place in Centenary Square with a ten-day programme of free events from July 28, to August 8.

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, also behind the games opening ceremony, is a “proud” patron of the event, saying: “The games are still very fresh in people’s minds, it was such a joyful period in the city’s history.

“And now, with a great team pulling out all the stops to make this year’s events a celebration of the anniversary, people will again have something to look forward to that everyone can enjoy, and it’s all free. I can’t wait to see what the programme has in store.”

Communities won’t be left out however with “Made in Brum”, a call out to smaller community groups and organisations to get involved and perform on the Centenary Square stage.

The team behind the Commonwealth Games Festival 2022 will be organising along with Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces (OPUS) and JA Productions, led by Creative Director Raidene Carter and Executive Director Will Mauchline.

Additional programme partners including SAMPAD, Fabric, ACE Dance & Music, and United By 2022 Legacy Charity. The council will fund £2m into the summer bash, however they are still raising money and hope to align the festival with the 2026 European Athletics Championships.

Cllr Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “The response last year was overwhelming and it brought five million people to the city centre. We also saw the best of Birmingham’s arts and culture. As a legacy we have created this annual festival that will showcase our young and diverse population.

“We want people to come into city centre again and have a good time, as well as attract artists from all over the world. Local communities can organise their own events and performances in their areas.

“The applications will open in a month and we will write to all the wards. It is fantastic to have

Steven Knight involved, he has done so much for the city.”