Birmingham Festival 23 demonstrated positive impact on the city – report  

Birmingham Festival 23 has shared the full evaluation results that has demonstrated the positive impact the 10-day free event had on the city.

The Festival was created to mark the one year anniversary of the Commonwealth Games and was a celebration of the wealth of talent and creativity that the city continues to platform, develop and nurture.

Taking place between 28 July and 6 August, the packed programme included 153 individual projects and performances, created by over 800 artists, creatives and performers.

185 organisations took part and over 40 events were created from scratch or performed to audiences for the first time. There were opportunities to re-see 14 creative projects that were first shown during the 2022 Festival, and new partnerships and collaborations were formed for the Twilight Takeover strand of events.

Independent evaluation team FRY Creative Consulting, sums up the results in its report: “The original aim of Festival 23 and of Birmingham City Council - to have an outdoor, free-to-access festival, created by the people of the city for the people of the city - was successfully achieved.

“The festival was roundly celebrated as accessible, representative, and celebratory, all while continuing the strong sector development trajectory of the Birmingham 2022 Festival, and platforming an incredibly wide range of emerging and established creative talent, both on and off the stage.” 

Over 123,000 people came through the festival site on Centenary Square over the course of 10 days - despite the weather - 46.5 thousand of which were engaged audiences who stayed for an average of 3 hours, demonstrating a high level of participation.

And audiences came back for more, with the average spending 2.2 days enjoying the free entertainment and activities, 36 per cent of whom said they had never attended an outdoor festival before and 52 per cent of whom came from areas of high deprivation. 96 per cent of audiences felt that public spaces like Centenary Square should be used more frequently for cultural events.

A strong partnership with United by 2022 (the official legacy charity of Birmingham 2022) saw 74 Volunteers from the original Commonwealth Collective work over 1300 hours on site, making an invaluable contribution to the overall success of the Festival with their infectious enthusiasm, energy and warmth.

Nicola Turner, CEO of United By 2022 said: “United By 2022 and Festival 23 came together to deliver a jam-packed 10 days of free-to-access culture and arts in Brum, which reignited the magic of the Games and the pride in our City.

“Audiences loved seeing our volunteers and of course Perry, back in action! There's a real appetite out there and we are excited to see what ideas will come forward for community events in the summer of 2024, through the Inclusive Communities Fund, which is taking applications now.”

Creative director of Festival 23, Raidene Carter, said: “We’re delighted to finally have the full results of this year’s one-off festival to share with the city, and everyone involved.

“Evaluation of this kind takes time, but is so important for the city and cultural sector to keep building on the cultural legacy of the Games, as well as other legacy outcomes, such as volunteering, and health and wellbeing.

“Now, more than ever, does the city need robust evidence, useful insights and lessons learned to support its future ambitions for staging more large-scale cultural events, and to recognise the individuals and partnerships that need investment to make them happen.

Commissioned and supported by Birmingham City Council to celebrate the city’s creativity, Arts Council England and University of Birmingham were Principal Partners and Hollywood Monster was Presenting Partner.