Open Call
In February 2025 a new hero event for Birmingham will be launching and you’re invited to be part of it.
What is Birmingham Light Festival?
Birmingham Light Festival will be an annual multi-day event that will bring the city-centre to life at night through transforming Birmingham’s city core into an extraordinary gallery of illuminated artworks.
Birmingham Light Festival is a City Curator project and is being produced by OPUS. Taking place from 19-22 Feb 2025 in order to generate a footfall and trading boost for businesses in the challenging post-Christmas winter months.
Birmingham Light Festival will encourage local people to explore and experience their city in a different light.
If you’re not familiar with Light Festivals then you can get an idea of what a light art installation might look like here, this was our test installation delivered earlier this year to gauge the city’s appetite for light art:
For 2025, we are anticipating having 8–10 artworks on display across the city centre. 3 of these will be commissions staying in situ after the festival. The remainder will be temporary interventions.
There will also be an accompanying programme of events and activities and it is through this that we are inviting wider businesses and organisations to be part of the event.
Key Principles
Before we get into what the programme might look like, please do have a read of our key principles. These are the principles that guide our work:
PLACE:
We will connect audiences with the city in a positive, creative and playful way through light art that makes connections with Birmingham; it’s heritage, it’s USPs and it’s people
ECONOMIC:
A festival designed to encourage curiosity and creativity but with driving footfall and increasing spend in local businesses at the centre of the proposition
COLLABORATIVE:
A festival with collaboration at it’s heart, with City Centre BIDS uniting alongside both private and public partners to deliver an exciting event for the city
ACTIVE:
Artworks will all be within walking distance of one another, showcasing Birmingham as a walkable city and encouraging visitors to actively explore the city-centre
SOCIAL:
Some artworks will be participatory, encouraging social experience - enhancing community cohesion and human connection
SAFE:
We will use the first year of the festival to explore how we can improve perceptions of safety through light
INCLUSIVE:
Light art is accessible to all and resonates with a wider audience, and in taking this art to the streets of city centre we remove many of the barriers that exist with traditional art forms
SUSTAINABLE:
Working in an environmentally sustainable way across all areas of the festival, including using sustainability as a criteria for future commissions
LEGACY:
Each year we will aim to work with partners to ensure that at least one of the light art commissions remains in place as a longer-term installation, brightening and enhancing city spaces more permanently over time
Who can be part of it?
We are inviting expressions of interest from organisations who are interested in programming in response to Birmingham Light Festival. By that we mean, planning and delivering an event, activity or promotion that responds in some way to the theme of light.
What could that look like?
A local art gallery and might want to organise a late event themed around light.
A local creative organisation might programme a family craft workshop focused on neon light.
A local business with a city-centre base might use this opportunity to temporarily light their building differently.
A local restaurant might deliver an exclusive candle-lit dining experience.
A local bar might put in a special drinks menu inspired by light.
A local leisure facility may host candle-lit yoga sessions.
A local academic institution hosting a workshop or talk.
Those are just examples (not an exhaustive list) to give you an idea of what could be possible.
Why be part of it?
Birmingham Light Festival is going to be a new hero event for the city and will be widely promoted; locally, regionally and also nationally.
We’re inviting local organisations to be part of the programme that will be listed on our website so that our investment in Birmingham Light Festival can also help you reach new audiences and customers. It’s completely free to be involved in this way.
It’s important to note that at the heart of this free city-centre-wide festival is collaboration and a desire to drive footfall and trading benefits for local businesses. In many cities this kind of event is delivered with the support of significant public funding. Birmingham’s financial position, as we all know, is challenging so we’re bringing the city together in a different way to deliver and to fund this major event.
You might want to be part of it because you want to reach new audiences or you might simply want to join us in our mission to stage a fantastic event in Birmingham in the cold and dark winter month of February.
Criteria
To submit an event or activity you’ll need to meet a couple of simple criteria:
Your event / activity / promotion must take place in the city-centre (Colmore BID / Central BID / Southside BID/ Westside BID / Jewellery Quarter BID areas but you don’t need to be a BID levy paying business to submit)
Your event must take place on 19, 20, 21 and/or 22 Feb.
The majority of the programme will be in the evening (between the hours of 6pm and 10pm) but we are open to events that take place in the twilight hours - just before the festival begins.
Your event / activity promotion must respond to the theme of light
You must be willing to badge your event / activity / promotion with the Birmingham Light Festival branding (using our brand guidelines) if your event is accepted into the official programme
You must be comfortable not promoting the event/activity until the festival programme has gone live on our website on 14 Jan
Events can be free or have a ticket charge- whatever suits your organisation. You will need to manage the event in full (from concept to delivery) and we will promote it.
How will it work?
At this stage we’re simply asking for expressions of interest. Complete our simple survey to tell us who you are, what your event / activation / promotion will be and how we can contact you.
Then, if it feels like a good fit for the festival, we’ll be in touch so you can submit the final details we need in order to promote the event.
In the new year we will share our logo and guideline with you so you can badge your activity as an official part of the programme.
All events will need to be embargoed until the programme launch on 14 Jan. We’ll ask you to make your event ‘live/public’ on the evening of 13 Jan in readiness for the launch.
We’ll list your activity on the Birmingham Light Festival website. The programme will also be promoted on social media and via PR.
Timeline
• Expressions of Interest Open:
19 Nov 2024
• Expressions of Interest Close:
5 Dec 2024
• Decisions taken and invitations to submit final details will be issued:
9 Dec 2024
• Deadline for final details to be submitted & Programme Finalised:
6 Jan 2025
• Programme Announcement:
14 Jan 2025
• Light Festival:
19–22 Feb 2025
What next?
Submit your EOI below. If you have any question about the process, please contact us: hello@birminghamlightfestival.co.uk