The UK city of Birmingham celebrates its people, places, culture and transatlantic connections today, Thursday 24 September, with a full programme of extraordinary events showcasing the best of the place known affectionately as ‘Brum’.
The annual International Day of Birmingham (IDOB) celebration has grown to include a bonus second day of revelry on Friday 25 September.
A bumper festival-style offering of music, food, art, film, literature, comedy, sport, horticulture, history, performance and more – all with a distinctly Brummie edge – spans both days.
At the heart of the festivities, ten of the city’s grandest rooms in the Grade II-listed Council House have been transformed into a cultural palace open to all under the banner The House That Brum Built.
Attendees will be given a free and limited edition Brummie Passport designed by Draw My City artist Stacey Barnfield, and collect stamps whilst exploring the building and its extraordinary programme, unlocking exclusive offers at IDOB supporters Bullring Birmingham,
The creative talent behind the passport – a future collectors item – as well as the Colour Palette Company has also produced a one-off Birminghams Colour Palette print to mark the special day in the city’s calendar. Free copies will be included in goody bags for attendees, available to collect as part of the official opening ceremony in Victoria Square from 1pm on Thursday 24 September.
Stacey Barnfield said: “I absolutely love drawing or designing anything connected to Birmingham. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to design everything from Rotunda beers and the Museum & Art Gallery entrance banners to Grand Central artworks and even the Pigeon in the Park pub sign, and I still get a huge buzz seeing something I’ve created out there in the city.
“I’ve always tried to make my Birmingham work positive, celebratory and a little bit tongue in cheek. We Brummies are good at not taking ourselves too seriously, while being incredibly proud of where we’re from.
“So, to design the first ever Brummie Passport and a special Birminghams Colour Palette for International Day of Birmingham is something I’m really proud of. I hope people pick them up, have a smile and enjoy them when they come along to the Council House. They’re two more little love letters to Birmingham from me.”
The now-traditional FlashBab, where Brummies and visitors are invited to join in a communal chant of “Alright bab”, will lead in to the official IDOB flag-raising ceremony with the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Mr Egg, dignitaries and representatives from Birminghams across the world.
Filmmaker Carl Woods brings his ‘Birmingham Is__’ project to Flashbab, giving a platform for people to share what Brum means to them, to help shape the way our city’s story is told.
The IDOB 2026 event programme takes place across the magnificent classical Council House building, the city’s most important civic building.
The action-packed schedule includes a look back at 75 years of The Archers, as the longest running radio drama series celebrates a special anniversary; a celebration of Brummie football with PJ Ellis and Hijab Shah; Hot Ones with Bonehead and Pip’s Hot Sauce; a creative writing session with Birmingham author Catherine O’Flynn; a surrealist art spectacular; horticultural treasures from Birmingham Botanical Gardens, alongside poetry, film, food, music, bingo and a specially-curated one off evening event – the Big Brum Night Out.
Nicola Silk, executive producer of IDOB, said: “We wanted this year’s programme to feel like Birmingham had been tipped upside down, shaken about a bit and then poured into the Council House.
“There is something for everyone – whether your thing is ballet, bingo, football, plants, poetry, spicy food, film or simply coming together to compare Brummie credentials.
“Where else could you collect a passport, watch the CBSO, visit a botanical garden, talk to someone from another Birmingham via live video link, eat a cob and see Mr Egg all under one roof?
“We want Brummies and visitors to come along and celebrate Birmingham for Birmingham’s sake, as well as discovering new elements of the city and reminding themselves why Brum is the real centre of the universe.”
The IDOB team will be modelling specially designed t-shirts featuring the slogan ‘I Got You Bab’ – produced and supplied by Birmingham’s global reggae stars UB40, who are supporting the celebrations from afar whilst they spread the Birmingham gospel on a three month tour of the USA and Canada.
Cakemaker Luci Campbell, the talent behind award-winning Midlands business the Juci Luci Cake Company, has created a Bourville chocolate-meets Alabama cookie dough flavour for the day, with free limited edition cupcakes for IDOB attendees.
Highlights of the programme include:
The Archers at 75 – celebrating one of Britain’s best-loved radio dramas and its remarkable Birmingham connections (free).
Birmingham United: celebrating football in Brum – PJ Ellis and Hijab Shah explore the city’s football culture and the people who have made it part of Birmingham life (free).
Hot Ones: Bonehead x Pip’s Hot Sauce – a distinctly Birmingham take on the global hot-sauce phenomenon (free).
My Own Private Birmingham – an elegy for the overlooked – an interactive creative writing workshop with award-winning author Catherine O’Flynn (£).
Desert Island Dinners with Jess Phillips and Ed James, and Dan Lee and Lyle Bignon – food, conversation and Birmingham stories (free).
Birmingham Surrealists – Sally Chidlow brings a little creative chaos to the Council House, including what promises to be the world’s biggest game of Exquisite Corpse (free).
Tat Vision: Wearable Birmingham Landmarks Workshop – Birmingham has many famous landmarks but weirdly no one ever makes cardboard versions of them to wear on their heads. Tat Vision is here to change that. Join him and create your own Birming-homage out of cardboard and paint! (£)
Wander through the fictional museum devoted to Brum brought to you by the brilliant mind of BAM! BAM!. Through photographs, films, found objects and fabricated artefacts, you decide where documented history ends and folklore begins. Grab yourself a selfie with Mr Egg.(free)
Feted Brummie subversive artist Fokawolf presents an exclusive exhibition of never seen before work, featuring hot satirical takes on a wide range of subject matter including the burning issues of the moment. (free)
Rag Market to Riches – Richard O’Gorman brings his transformation and makeover magic to the celebrations (£).
Felt Tipsy with Tat Vision – art, creativity and Birmingham eccentricity collide, from one of the city’s best-loved artists and performers (£).
Benny’s Babbies: The Reunion – Cold War Steve, Kit de Waal, Mike Gayle and Catherine O’Flynn revisit the joyful, satirical world of one of Birmingham’s most recognisable works of art (£).
The Council House will also host live performances from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Woodwind Quintet (free), and Birmingham Royal Ballet will be performing the Act II Swan Lake pas de deux to coincide with their latest production now showing at Birmingham Hippodrome (£).
The Big Brum Night Out will bring together award-winning drag queen Yshee Black, Bing0121, acclaimed comedians Lindsey Santoro and Tal Davies, Birmingham Royal Ballet, the Jetz Quartet from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and DJ Cheese Dip, alongside free Dim Sum from Birmingham Chung Ying (£)
Meanwhile, Birmingham Botanical Gardens will bring a little greenery to the stunning Glass Corridor of the Council House, with plants for sale and horticultural experts on hand, accompanied by a Birmingham Soundscape by Martyn Stewart ‘The David Attenborough of natural sound’ (free).
Mockingbird Cinema will put Birmingham on the big screen, with features, shorts, archive gems and filmmaker Q&As including Reel Brum, Overlap, Telly Savalas Looks at Birmingham, Dion & The Unicorn, United States of Birmingham, Made in Birmingham: Reggae Punk Bhangra, Joe Lycett shorts, Trevor Beattie-produced Moon and cult classic I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle (free).
Popular Birmingham Irish community bar and music venue Nortons Digbeth have installed a pop-up Irish pub in the Council House reception space adjoining the Banqueting and Drawing Rooms, complete with endless creamy Guinness, classic Brummie cobs, an Irish whiskey menu, and Barry’s’ Tea on tap.
Elsewhere across the programme, visitors can expect music, dance, literature, visual art, film, food, comedy, conversation and opportunities to discover parts of Birmingham they may never have encountered before.
IDOB was originally devised for the Sky TV programme Joe Lycett’s United States of Birmingham, which saw Lycett travel across North America in 2024 to explore the history and shared cultural connections of the many places called Birmingham – including eighteen Birminghams across the United States and Canada.
The annual celebration, now delivered by International Day of Birmingham CIC, celebrates Birmingham in all its forms, while recognising the connections between the city and its namesakes.
IDOB has been made possible with kind thanks to Birmingham City Council and The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, and with generous support from Bullring Birmingham, University College Birmingham, and University of Birmingham,
2026 supporters also include The Arcadian, The Jack and Ada Beattie Foundation, Birmingham City University, Brumbassadors, Central BID, Chung Ying, Colmore Birmingham, The Heath Bookshop, Hollywood Monster, Nortons Digbeth, UB40, West Midlands Combined Authority, and Westside BID.
International Day of Birmingham 2026 takes place on Thursday 24 and Friday 25 September.
For all programme details, visit www.idob.co.uk
To book event tickets, visit https://idob.seetickets.com/tour/international-day-of-birmingham
