Birmingham city centre is hosting exciting Chinese New Year Celebrations to welcome in the Year of the Snake. Bullring and Grand Central will be part of two days of family friendly attractions.
The Chinese New Year Festival will take place in Birmingham from Saturday February 1 to Sunday February 2, from midday til 6pm on both days. Here’s where you can find all the main activities.
Audiences will be treated to a traditional lion procession, along with over 40 modern dance and theatre performances over the weekend.
There will be processions and performances at Bullring and Grand Central on Saturday February 1. While in Southside, there will be a craft market, funfairs and street food to buy. There will also be pop up dances and the chance to meet Pom Pom, the giant 10ft panda across the weekend.
Birmingham’s Choy Lee Fut Lion Dance group will perform with the Lions, Dragons and Buddha Man as they do a dazzling procession from the Bullring to Grand Central on Saturday.
Key performances will be near the Bull at the Bullring at midday on Saturday and at Grand Central at 2pm.
On Sunday, the celebrations stay in Southside where there will be ‘The Uber Eats Stage’ and entertainment at Hippodrome Square including Dragon and Lion dances, K-pop dance, traditional Chinese dance, face changer performances, school choirs, Tai Chi and more..
Along with astonishing performances, family activities, market stalls, street food, funfairs, and face painting, there will be a spectacular fireworks finale to close the celebrations at 5.45pm.
From 12pm until 5.30pm on Sunday, visitors can also step into Birmingham Hippodrome via its Thorp Street entrance for face painting and free family activities including decorating snake puppets, trying calligraphy and colouring traditional Chinese New Year Zodiac animals and messages.
In the afternoon, festival goers can also enjoy a performance showcase in the Patrick Studio from MOVE Midlands. The emerging Birmingham-based theatre company empowers British East and South East Asian creatives to make new productions that share stories and voices of the underrepresented.
Welcoming in the Year of the Snake, audiences will be encouraged to wish each other a Happy New Year, which is Xin Nian Kuai Le in Mandarin or Sun Nin Faai Lok in Cantonese.
For more information on all the events and timings, see the Chinese New Year Celebrations website here.
Matt Evans, Head of Festivals and Sites at Birmingham Hippodrome said: “We look forward to kick starting the celebrations with Bullring and Grand Central on Saturday and having a weekend full of fun, festivities and community spirit.
“From performances on The Uber Eats Stage and in our Patrick Studio to a range of activities in and around Southside, there really is something for the whole family to enjoy.”
Jeffrey Yap, Chair of the Birmingham Chinese Festival Committee said: “We are thrilled to be co-producing Chinese New Year Festival 2025 with Birmingham Hippodrome. With the support of our incredible sponsors, we have curated a festival that not only celebrates the New Year but the Chinese and East Asian community, including local businesses, performers and festival goers.”
Chinese New Year 2025 is co-produced by Birmingham Chinese Festival Committee and Birmingham Hippodrome. This year’s festival is sponsored by Uber Eats and supported by Southside District, The Arcadian, Wing Yip and Brothers Foundation and The Birmingham Chinese School. The Saturday programme is in partnership with Bullring and Grand Central.