An estimated audience of over 150,000 people watched, participated and enjoyed the recent Birmingham Weekender events and activities across the city, with hundreds of thousands of people travelling to Birmingham for the culmination of Super September. Birmingham Weekender was produced by Birmingham Hippodrome on behalf of Birmingham Arts Partnership.

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  • 46% of the visitors surveyed were from outside Birmingham, further establishing the city as a major cultural visitor destination.
  • 69% of respondents said that the festival improved their perception of Birmingham with 40% of survey respondents planning their trip to the city specifically to see Birmingham Weekender.
  • An estimated audience of 150,000 people watched, participated and enjoyed Birmingham Weekender events and activities across the city.

From 25 – 27 September hundreds of thousands of people travelled to Birmingham for the culmination of Super September, the city’s biggest weekend of arts, shopping, food and sport.

Festival goers danced atop rooftops, paraded through city streets and soaked up the musical atmosphere.  Crowds joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in a Swan Lake Flash Flock in the Bullring, watched an astronaut fly through the markets, strutted their stuff on the Culture Catwalk,  listened to opera in coffee shops and sketched the festival en mass.

Visitors to the city were surveyed over three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), and 46% of respondents were from outside Birmingham, further establishing the city as a major cultural visitor destination with non-UK visitors  from South Africa, Northern Ireland, USA, Brazil, Iraq, Romania, Spain, India and Hong Kong.

Birmingham Weekender brought the city to life with great art and culture in city squares, markets, museums and shopping spaces including the fantastic new Grand Central and New Street Station.

Organised by Birmingham Arts Partnership and produced by Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Weekender opened with Transe Express night-time spectacular Maudits Sonnants, presented by Birmingham Hippodrome, which created a magical outdoor event in the skies over Centenary Square on Friday and Saturday seen by over 8,500 people over the two evenings.

69% of survey respondents said that the festival had improved their perception of Birmingham with 40% of survey respondents planning their trip specifically to attend Birmingham Weekender events.

Area Director for Arts Council England, Peter Knott said: “The hugely successful Birmingham Weekender not only brings new opportunities for artists, arts organisations and producers, but attracts huge audiences to the city, benefiting the local economy.

“Events like this help to shape the reputation of a city and there’s a wealth of arts and cultural organisations in Birmingham and we are proud to support so many of them.

“Birmingham Weekender has certainly been a highlight in the UK’s cultural calendar.”

Birmingham Weekender is supported by Birmingham City Council, Arts Council England and the European Regional Development Fund through Marketing Birmingham’s Investing in the City Region project. It is also supported by Retail Birmingham, Grand Central, The Mailbox, Bullring, Birmingham City University and Birmingham Hippodrome.

Relive Birmingham Weekender on our gallery

Take a look at our video on YouTube

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