Bright Brum

Last week I had the pleasure of hosting Bright Brum, an exciting new event in two parts.

First was a creative talk – in conversation with Birmingham Light Festival producers, OPUS. We reflected on the curation of light art works for the inaugural festival, the challenges of not securing Arts Council funding for the event and the extraordinary success of the collaborative nature of the festival. We were thrilled to premier the Light Festival film, which you can see below, and also share some key headline statistics from our evaluation which you can now read about here: https://colmorebusinessdistrict.com/2025/03/calls-for-birmingham-light-festival-to-return-in-2026/.

Second was facilitated networking, a session in which we brought together creative industries, place makers and hospitality businesses in the hope that we could support wider connections and facilitate more future collaborations. Feedback was great, so great in fact that we might look to do this kind of event again in future. Clearly there are plenty of opportunities to network in this city but what Bright Brum seemed to do was bring people together that might not necessarily normally be in the same room but all of whom are fully invested in working creatively and collaboratively to see the city thrive. 

This event really helped me to reflect personally on all we achieved in the inaugural edition of Birmingham Light Festival. Uniting the city-centre BIDs, securing funding from such a diverse array of supporters and then delivering a festival that 99% of audiences want to see return in 2026. I’m particularly proud of the fact that city centre footfall increased by 71% during the festival and that we know that 60% of our audience spent in hospitality businesses during their BLF visit.

We know there is a creative and community building case for events like Birmingham Light Festival but with so many of our hospitality businesses on their knees at the moment, that positive impact on the economy has never been more important. 

Bright Brum, along with the conversations I had at the event, made me reflect on our relationship with Birmingham City Council. We benefitted from UK Shared Prosperity Funds, which were distributed through the council. These funds played a crucial role, and when combined with the investments from each BID, they provided the financial foundation we needed to secure the full budget and bring the event to life.

I confess that despite my understanding the council’s financial position, I found it quite difficult that we had to pay for the use of Centenary Square – we were putting on a free arts & culture event for the people of Birmingham after all – but the team at the council did what they could to make that as affordable as possible, and for that I’m grateful.

Looking to the future, and in the context of the city’s widely documented financial woes, I’d love to see a system that really enables community organisers to deliver events like this. Do I think we can expect BCC budgets to include allocation for events like Birmingham Light Festival in the immediate future, no, but what could it look like for the council to enable this kind of work in a different way?

Could non-commercial, free arts & culture events that are organised by local people for local people be given free access to our public squares? BCC doesn’t have the resources to directly fund or organise this kind of activity at the moment but how could we work together to collectively remove the road blocks and help more people to step into that void for the benefit of all?

I’m sure we’ll know the answer from the UK government soon, but my other question is will anything replace UKSPF funding (which I understand to have ended in March 2025)? And, could these funds continue to be directed to this kind of activity? The fund was designed to empower local communities to make a different in their own cities and I believe our use of these funds met the brief entirely.

I’ll continue to reflect on BLF and work has already begun to ensure this festival returns in 2026. Beyond light, there is also much to be excited about and soon I’ll be writing more about supporting Birmingham Heritage Week, the Jewellery Quarter’s bid for World Craft City Status and the opportunities that arise from the soon to be aired TV show, United States of Birmingham.

About

Birmingham Light Festival is a City Curator Project, a role fully funded by Colmore BID. It is being made possible with thanks to the full support of all five city-centre BIDs. OPUS are the producers of Birmingham Light Festival. 

This project is part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.