This annual review marks the second year of our ambitious five-year plan, and it’s been so fulfilling to see the extraordinary Hippodrome team continue to deliver for the people of Birmingham and the West Midlands. It’s been a year of growth, with new productions, new artistic programmes and even more opportunities for young people.

We presented a world-class performance on our stages and festival sites, welcoming over 900,000 people. We redoubled our commitment to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to engage with arts and culture. And we continued to build new creative skills pathways for meaningful career development through our New Work & Artistic Development department and New Musical Theatre department.

We are incredibly proud of the programme of work we brought to audiences to audiences this year – from the landmark Hamilton to another record-breaking Hippodrome panto. We’re equally proud of the strides we’ve made with West Midlands artists and with young people in our communities. We worked with 44 schools in our Hippodrome Education Network, with 42,000 young people engaging with us in the last year. Over 2,900 artists engaged with us in 2024/25, and this Annual Review details the many programmes and opportunities we have delivered for artists and creatives to make work in the region they love.

We are so proud to share this report and still have much work to do as we continue our strategic plan and ambitions for a distinctive, world-class Birmingham cultural scene with the Hippodrome at its heart.