Schedule
9 AM: Sunrise Stretch: Dubstretch with Emma Smallman
10.30 AM: Perry’s Playtime Disco
12 PM: B:Music Presents Lunchtime Ceilidh with Juniper
2.30 PM: Screen Spotlight: People, Place and Sport by Jaskirt Boora
5 PM: B:Music Presents Musical Meet Up with Punch the Sky
7.15 PM: B:Music Presents Big Birmingham Soul Night with The Night Owl and Northern Soul Taster Dance Class with Ed Quigley
Throughout the day: Games action on screen, Piing, Screen Spotlights, food & drink
Are you more into Drum and Bass, folk or rock? We’ve got something for everyone to party and sing along to at Victoria Square Festival Site! Starting with a Dubstretch session from Emma Smallman which combines fluid, fresh and accessible yoga with catchy and uplifting beats. Feel free to bring along your own mat and join in, 20 mats will be provided to those that don't have their own.Then, show off your best moves at Perry’s Playtime Disco - your opportunity to have a boogie with the Commonwealth Games’ official mascot!
Dust off your best moves at Juniper’s Lunchtime Ceilidh, a high-energy session that will have everyone dancing to the best English, Scottish and Irish tunes. Juniper have years of experience as a Ceilidh Band and they are well-known for their unique approach to folk and original music. Presented by B:Music and generously funded by Colmore BID and Central BID.
Celebrate sports and communities in the West Midlands with a special Screen Spotlight on Jaskirt Boora’s People, Place and Sport. This series of portraits shine a light on the sporting hubs frequently used in the city’s communities, away from the large stadia, where grassroots sport takes place on a weekly basis.
Later in the afternoon, you’re invited to a Musical Meet-Up with Punch the Sky - a raucous, genre defying show unlike any other! Take a wild ride through high octane Japanese guitar duels, plugged-in mediaeval sax rock and untethered Latin grooves that never fail to liven up a crowd. The 6 members of Punch The Sky have been playing and writing together for over a decade, earning their chops playing festival stages across the UK. This is not one to miss. Presented by B:Music and generously funded by Colmore BID and Central BID.
In the evening, B:Music presents Big Birmingham Soul Night with The Night Owl and Northern Soul Taster Dance Class with Ed Quigley. Inspired by former soul scene-setting jaunts such as the Wigan Casino and Wolverhampton’s Catacombs, The Night Owl is dedicated to music and dancing with the motto of “Nice People Dancing To Good Soul Music”. Soul is and always will be at The Night Owl’s core, but music fans can expect everything from Northern Soul, Motown, ska, funk, disco, garage rock, psychedelia, rock and roll, Britpop, indie, punk, world music and more. The Night Owl’s resident DJs Mazzy Snape and Sonny & Spare bring their soulful sounds to the Fountain Stage! Generously funded by Colmore BID and Central BID.
At various times during the day, challenge your friends, family and other audience members to a game of Piing. Piing is a virtual game that brings people together, inviting them to play an immersive high-speed game, using their phones as controllers, with the action happening on our big screen. Piing is super simple, uniquely challenging and seriously fun. Presented by Comic Relief - donations are encouraged as part of gameplay. Comic Relief intends to split all proceeds equally between Comic Relief and registered charities United by Birmingham 2022 Legacy Charity and Commonwealth Sport Foundation.
The Festival Food and Drink Eatery, a pop up catering unit, will offer a range of tasty breakfast, lunch and dinner treats daily from 8am to 10pm. From lunchtime, the square will also be licensed for people to enjoy drinks from the bar, including a choice of social enterprise prosecco and cocktails for those looking to support a worthy cause as they enjoy the Games atmosphere.
The menus will change across the two weeks, giving return visitors something different to look forward to and showcasing some of the finest Colmore eateries and bars in the city. For early risers, who want a healthy treat on the way into the city, perhaps after enjoying the Sunrise Stretch sessions, there will be granola yoghurt pots, overnight oats, kombucha and coffee. From lunchtime you can pick up salads, deli bakes, vegan cakes, muffins and pastries plus appetising ciabatta and focaccia sandwiches. There will also be biriyani, vegetarian papdi chaat, spicy chicken noodles and veggie stir fry to enjoy whilst listening to the Fountain Stage Music programme plus kebab wraps, shawarmas with selections of salads, pickles, and sauces and vegan options including crispy tofu. Games and Festival site visitors will be spoiled for choice!
Throughout the day visitors and passers by are also invited to watch sporting highlights from the Games on our big screen, enjoy food and drinks from Colmore BID cafes, bars and restaurants, and take a look at digital commissions and projects from the Birmingham 2022 Festival at our Screen Spotlights.
