Last weekend, B-SIDE Hip-Hop Festival celebrated its tenth anniversary with an unforgettable programme of events and activities across the city centre.

From Fri 30 May – Sun 1 June, the Hippodrome welcomed over 40,000 people to the free annual festival, featuring electrifying dance battles, rap showcases, graffiti, workshops, exhibitions, immersive performances and more.

Produced by Birmingham Hippodrome with Break Mission, Afroflux, Queer-Side, GraffitiArtist.com and Soul City Arts, B-SIDE Hip-Hop Festival 2025 showcased a dynamic and inclusive programme that honoured a decade of creativity, collaboration and community spirit.

A special edition of Birmingham Hippodrome’s Young Community Drop-In kickstarted the festival on Friday, welcoming young people aged 14+ to experience all things Hip-Hop.

Mathilde Petford, Young People & Community Manager said: “This year, we’ve hosted around 150 young people from nine community partners at B-SIDE Hip-Hop Festival and it’s been an absolute delight! They’ve taken part in workshops with professional artists, watched dance performances and even made their own album covers. The weekend has been a wonderful celebration of hip-hop and it’s great to see the huge influence it still has on youth culture today.”

World-class dance masterclasses followed, led by international stars, including Viktor Manoel, Panda Waack, B-Boy Gieras, Perninha, E-Solo and D-Soul. A sold-out Inclusive Street Dance Workshop also took place for the first time at the festival, unlocking opportunities for Disabled, Nuerodivergent, D/deaf and Visually Impaired dancers.

On Saturday, Southside was transformed into a vibrant celebration, with the festival spilling across  streets and public spaces with dance competition qualifiers, a block party with graffiti and resident DJs, Afroflux – Fluxcon mini convention, The Next Gen Stage, workshops, skateboarding, roller skating and basketball.

Grand finals of the Break Mission Worldwide and Queer-Side Dance Championships, with special guest performance from rapper Namesbliss, brought the festival to a spectacular close on Sunday at Bullring.

Reflecting on the festival, Matt Evans, Head of Festivals & Sites at Birmingham Hippodrome, said: “This tenth edition is a real celebration of everything the festival stands for: outstanding talent, unbeatable energy and unwavering community spirit. We’d like to give a huge shout out to everyone involved, from artists and supporters, to volunteers and audience members – the festival was phenomenal and one to remember for years to come!”

The Epic Story of Graffiti, a striking new art exhibition, also launched during B-SIDE Hip-Hop Festival and displays the work of legendary American photographer and filmmaker Henry Chalfant – the man famed for capturing the rise of graffiti, Hip-Hop and street culture in 1970s New York. The free exhibition, presented by Bullring and produced by Birmingham Hippodrome and Soul City Arts continues at Bullring until Sun 29 June.

B-SIDE Hip-Hop Festival was produced by Birmingham Hippodrome with Break Mission, Afroflux, Queer-Side, GraffitiArtist.com and Soul City Arts. The festival was in partnership with Bullring and supported by Arts Council England, Southside District, The Arcadian, United By 2022, Kings Heath Clangers, Silva Sessions and Birmingham Skate Spaces.