Monday 4 June 2012

Best of Birmingham film is part of Olympics TV ad campaign


Royal Shakespeare Company present Adjoa Andoh, Ray Fearon, Patterson Joseph and Jeffrey Kissoon in Julius Caesar: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford. 0844 800 1110/King John: Swan Theatre, Stratford. 0844 800 1110.

EVENTS

Lord Mayor’s Show with live music and children’s entertainment: Birmingham City Centre; Vintage Fashion Show: Bullring, Birmingham.

ROCK AND POP

Westlife - Greatest Hits Tour: NEC LG Arena. 0844 338 8000; Gavin Harrison and 05Ric Stick Men (Tony Levin & Pat Mastelotto): O2 Academy, Horsefair, Birmingham. 0844 477 2000.

FOLK

Lunar Festival featuring Benjamin Francis Leftwich, The Old Dance School, Rachel Sermanni, Two Wings, Bonfire Radicals, Tom Dillon and The Cowboy Dodgers: Umberslade Estate, Tamworth In Arden. www.lunarfestival.co.uk

EXHIBITIONS

Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham University: The Age Of Leonardo: Christian Themes in Italian Renaissance Prints. Pugin, Dürer and the Gothic – showing the gallery’s eight Dürer prints, and stained glass designs by Hans Holbein and Abel Stimmer, both until June 24. 0121 414 7333; Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square: Style Africa – exhibition exploring the rich textile heritage of West Africa, until September 2. Staffordshire Hoard, until December 31. Children’s Lives - children from the 18th century to the present day, until June 10. 0121 303 2834; Ikon Gallery, Oozells Square, Brindley Place, Birmingham: RIFFS, varied media works by Yto Barrada from Tangiers. My Bad, installations and sculptural pieces by Bedwyr Williams, both until July 8 0121 248 0708; MAC, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham: Allotment – 10 plots each tended by a Midlands arts practitioner, changing regularly until September 9. Tom Price – Sentinels. Animated works by sculptor featuring large blinking heads and Mahtab Hussain

The film features Smethwick-born actress Julie Walters urging viewers to discover hidden treasures in the West Midlands. Some of the region’s top attractions, including The Black Country Living Museum, Solihull’s buzzing shopping district and the canals of Brindleyplace, are showcased in the advert.

Emma Gray, director of marketing services for Visit Birmingham, said: “In the lead-up to the Olympics we have joined forces with Visit England to encourage visitors to venture beyond the capital and discover the country’s many hidden gems.

“We have seized the opportunity to be part of the largest domestic tourism campaign ever undertaken in the UK.

“Our new television advert is a fantastic platform to communicate the region’s diverse cultural offering to a national audience, positioning the city as a must-see visitor destination.

“Birmingham and the wider region has so much to offer visitors this summer.

“Not only will we be home to the Jamaican and USA track and field teams who are training in the city before the Olympics, but a jam-packed events programme and a range of independent events including the Birmingham Food Fest are sure to provide a unique visitor experience.”

Visitor numbers to Birmingham have risen by 13 per cent over the last five years, from 29.1million to 32.8million, contributing to the city’s visitor economy worth £4.6billion.


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