A unique online festival, promoting the diverse identity of Birmingham, takes place this August Bank Holiday.
The festival co-ordinated by United Community Activity Network (UCAN) and partners, will feature a packed and exciting itinerary that can be enjoyed online. This Is My City will explore the culture of Europe, Asia, Caribbean and Africa through the universal components of world food, music, arts, culture and sport and is endorsed by ‘United by Birmingham 2022’.
Following the annual Sports & Culture Festival 2020 at Edgbaston Stadium being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the new virtual cultural bonanza, This Is My City 2020 Digital Festival, will take its place on Saturday 29th August – Monday, 31st August.
The central hub of activity will take place on The Stage, which is the main digital arena on the dedicated This Is My City Birmingham Channel on YouTube, which can hold up to 100,000 viewers at a time.
The Stage will feature five one-off live events on each day of the festival, celebrating European culture on Saturday, August 29th, Asian culture on Sunday, August 30th and Caribbean and African culture on Monday, August 31st.
Broadcast to the comfort of your living room, events include; Dishes of Change presents… Culture Cooking, showcasing live cooking demonstrations from Birmingham based chefs; Commonwealth Inspired Sports, which is dedicated at looking at how sport can bring all genders and races together and can be modified to enjoy at home; and Film Birmingham will be showcasing a selection of local films of all genres at Heritage Films by Short Fuse, which is a platform for the work of emerging regional filmmakers.
If that was not enough to keep digital festival goers entertained, running alongside the main events will be This Is My City Expo. The digital trade show will connect you with organisations who will be showcasing their services, products and resources throughout the three-day festival. To finish off the day’s events, a fabulous festival after party will feature performances and the best of Birmingham DJs, who will bring the tunes to reflect the theme of each day.
Ambassadors for This Is My City have been announced, all of whom are champions and advocates of Birmingham. Among those named include Aktar Islam, Celebrity Chef, Paul Faulkner, CEO of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, Sindy Campbell, Head of Film Birmingham, Marverine Cole, Broadcaster and Academic and Tru Powell, Creative Director of Aston Performing Arts Academy.
Festival partners include Sport Birmingham, Legacy West Midlands, Birmingham Commonwealth Association, Birmingham City University, Edgbaston Foundation, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Brum Hour. This Is My City festival 2020 headline sponsor is Transform Group, a Birmingham based design and build company, specialising in bespoke installations for the retail, leisure and hospitality sector.
Panikos Panayiotou, Head of Sport Development at Birmingham City Council stated:
As the architect of the scheme, I am proud to see its development and that UCAN and all partners have taken the This Is My City initiative to the next level. This is a time in which we need to show the world how diverse Birmingham is and how the city comes together in a time of need. The line-up for the festival is representative of what Birmingham is about and evidence that the Commonwealth has been in the city for over 70 years, not just as a celebration of ten days of sport. This Is My City will become a legacy event for Birmingham and also a tourist attraction.
Festivities will kick off each day at 10.00 and run until 21.00.
Tickets can be reserved online for each day of the festival. The festival is free admission, however, a donation can be given when purchasing tickets online here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/this-is-my-city-presents-digital-sports-culture-festival-tickets
For more information, please visit: www.thisismycitybham.org