Birmingham chosen to host world famous international arts festival

The festival - which showcases South Asian culture through performance, visual, culinary arts, fashion and more - will offer mostly free events in Birmingham from 23rd May until 1st June 2025 at venues and outdoor spaces across the city. It will be one of the biggest celebrations of culture and creativity ever seen in the region with more than 60 events, exhibitions and performances scheduled across ten days. Any ticketed events will only incur a minimal entry charge.

BCU and the city region have a longstanding relationship with India and the South Asian region, built on shared cultural heritage and strong economic ties. Serendipity Arts Festival Birmingham 2025 will celebrate this connection, highlighting the alignment between the two regions. With the city as its main stakeholder, the Birmingham edition of the Festival aims to encourage the public’s engagement with culture. Through the lens of nostalgia and identity, it looks to the future, addressing pressing global worldviews of invention, co-creation, sustainability, inclusivity, accessibility and cultural diplomacy.

Now in its 9th edition, Serendipity Arts Festival is an annual event which takes place in multiple venues throughout Panaji, Goa over eight days in December. Established by founder-patron Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal, it has grown into one of South Asia's largest and most anticipated art festivals, offering a unique platform for innovation and cultural exchange across a range of disciplines, including visual arts, dance, food, music, craft and wellbeing. In 2024, the festival in Goa will feature more than 200 events, showcasing creations of more than 1,800 artists.

Birmingham was chosen following a competitive process that examined its facilities and infrastructure, its commitment to nurturing the arts, and the cultural offer of the city which is widely regarded as one of the first ‘super diverse’ regions in the UK.

BCU students will play a large part in the festival, taking place at a range of University venues and locations including the iconic Royal Birmingham Conservatoire - from cultural research initiatives to playing alongside the festival’s performers. Some of the other confirmed city venues include The Rep, Centenary Square, Victoria Square, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Library of Birmingham and the Town Hall.

Sunil Kant Munjal, founder-patron of Serendipity Arts Festival, said: “Birmingham is the ideal place to bring the Serendipity Arts Festival to the international stage for the first time.

“The city is synonymous with culture and creativity and also exceeds all the requirements needed to stage a multicultural global event at this scale. We have been incredibly impressed by the BCU’s focus on nurturing the arts, and its ideas for creating an event which celebrates inclusivity and diversity and is truly for everyone.”

Birmingham City University Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Mba added: “I am incredibly proud that our University will partner with Serendipity to host the festival for the first time outside of India.

“Since our founding almost 180 years ago, arts, design and performance have been at the core of our University, and our education provision remains rooted in the city’s diverse cultural landscape. All the while, we have continued to deepen our ties with India and the rest of the world. This event, which promises to be a very special one indeed, will not only cement Birmingham’s position as a cultural destination of choice but will build on the talents and aspirations of our students and University.”

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Arts and culture can have an incredibly positive impact on the wellbeing of individuals and a unique ability to bring diverse communities together. So it’s an exciting moment for the West Midlands to be chosen as the first international host of the Serendipity Arts Festival.

“I’ve placed our creative industries at the heart of my plan to get our region’s economy growing again in a way that benefits everyone. The festival will provide a brilliant opportunity for the exchange of creative ideas between our own ambitious artists and those coming to Birmingham. I look forward to seeing how these collaborations support future opportunities for our creatives to take their place on the global stage, to grow their own reputations and to make a name for the West Midlands internationally.”