Diwali celebrations at the Bullring and Grand Central: dates, performances & more

Diwali is just around the corner and the festival of lights is coming to Birmingham as well. There will be multiple outdoor and public celebrations of the South Asian festival and one of the venues is Bullring & Grand Central, where Sharing the Light – Welcome Diwali is going to be set up.

There’s a huge festival in Victoria Square this weekend. And there are lots of other events taking place. If you are interested in taking part in the festival - where good prevails over evil - but with a modern twist to it, Birmingham Hippodrome and Bullring & Grand Central’s large-scale outdoor event is the right one for you.

Diwali is also an occasion to bring out your ethnic attire and dress up for ethnic communities - who are likely to bring out their grandest attires like lehengas, shararas and sarees this time of the year.

Dates

The outdoor event will take place on 21 and 22 October at Bullring & Grand Central.

Line up

From 6.30pm on Friday 21 October and Saturday 22 October, visitors will encounter dhol drummers and dance performances - who will be ready to welcome them.

Visitors will then have their first interactive introduction to Dundu’s breath-taking light puppets at St Martin’s Square.

This will be followed by a colourful installation of hundreds of Diwali lanterns created by local school groups, who will be joined by community groups for a mass dance event. The dance routine created by Sonia Sabri Dance Company is inspired by South Asian Dance forms. Participants can join in by learning the dance in advance as it will be digitally distributed in advance.

On both days, the event will culminate with a firework finale to welcome the annual Diwali celebrations.

In addition to the evening performances, on Saturday 22 October from 1-5pm, visitors to Bullring & Grand Central can enjoy lantern making workshops, the creation of a giant Rangoli as well as dance workshops, led by Sonia Sabri Dance Company, inside Bullring & Grand Central – near The Entertainer.

Free workshops in eight local schools across the city and with community groups at Saathi House are also being carried out.

What did the representatives say?

Danielle Bozward, Marketing Manager at Bullring & Grand Central, commented: “Sharing the Light – Welcome Diwali will be a real highlight in our events programme produced in partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome and we are delighted so many local community and school groups are part of the celebration. The unique opportunity for people to learn Sonia Sabri Company’s dance moves and truly be part of the event will be particularly special.”

Graham Callister, Director of Festivals at Birmingham Hippodrome, said: “We are thrilled to welcome the annual global Diwali celebrations to Birmingham through a mix of free, high quality local South Asian led and international arts, performances, installations and workshops that engage the city’s communities, schools and families.”

Sonia Sabri, Artistic Director for Sonia Sabri Company said, “This is an amazing opportunity for community groups to come together with the professional team of dance artists and musicians of Sonia Sabri Company and perform a brand-new work especially created for the outdoors at sunset. ‘Sharing The Light’ will be an exuberant event celebrating the city of Birmingham through an eclectic composition of dance and music and visuals by a very special guest!”

Other supporters of the performance

Apart from Bullring & Grand Central and Birmingham Hippodrome, the show is supported by Arts Council England and Global Streets - a national network co-creating and presenting international outdoor performances in places which are underserved by the arts. They deliver in a way in which local communities can feel included and engaged.

There are many more Diwali events taking place in Birmingham this year. Here is the full list.

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