Birmingham Airport has announced that, for the third year, it will be the headline sponsor
of the Chinese New Year festival in Birmingham city centre
The Chinese New Year festival will be held on Sunday 10 February 2019 and is
expected to
attract more than 30,000 revellers. Friends and family will gather in the Southside area of
the city to enjoy the vast entertainment - including lion and dragon dancing, fireworks and
other performances, as well as local Chinese cuisine available to all passers-by
This year will be The Year of the Pig in the Chinese lunar calendar, with the new year
falling on Tuesday 5 February 2019. However, celebrations will run throughout the first
half of February, up until 19 February 2019. Over this period, festivities will be found
across the city's popular hotspots, including Colmore Row and St Phillip's Cathedral,
Bulling and Grand Central, and China town - spreading across Southside Square,
Hurst Street, Inge Street, The Arcadian and The Hippodrome
Birmingham Airport will have a strong presence throughout the period, particularly at the
festival. To celebrate Chinese New Year, those who visit the Airport stand will be in with
several chances of winning flights to China. Celebrations will also spread to the Airport,
where retailers will be running various offers, activities and entertainment. Passengers
will be given the chance to enjoy a traditional lion dance performance in the terminal on
Tuesday 5 February 2019 - the official Chinese New Year's Day
The West Midlands has one of the biggest Chinese communities in the UK, with a population
of over 20,000 living in the Midlands, plus an additional 150,000 Chinese students studying
across the region. In the last 12 months alone, Birmingham Airport welcomed nearly 120,000
passengers through its doors travelling to either China or Hong Kong
Nick Barton, CEO at Birmingham Airport said: "Supporting Chinese New Year 2019 as the
headline sponsor for the third time is fantastic and something we are extremely proud of.
The Midlands region holds great heritage and culture, especially in Birmingham which is said
to be more ethnically diverse than the UK's capital of London for its size. To be a part of this
history and culture is important to us, as we too hold great regional heritage and will be
celebrating our 80th anniversary this year. We would like to wish all those celebrating
Chinese New Year a happy and prosperous year ahead"
Airlines operating onwards to China from Birmingham Airport include; Emirates via a twice
daily service to Dubai, Qatar Airways via a daily service to Doha, Turkish Airlines via a twice
daily service to Istanbul, KLM via a five times daily service to Amsterdam, Lufthansa via a
four times daily service to Frankfurt and Air France via a six times daily service to Paris
James Wong, Chairman of Birmingham's Chinese Festival Committee said "We are delighted
to have Birmingham Airport as our headline sponsor once again and are looking forward in
producing another fantastic event for the city of Birmingham. Last year's celebration broke all
records in attendance and we love how diverse the city is, in celebrating the Chinese New Year"
Graham Callister, Associate Director, Community Engagement & Festivals at The Hippodrome
commented: "We're proud to be once again co-producing the annual official Chinese New Year
celebrations with our good friends and neighbours, the Chinese New Year Festival Committee.
Working with headline sponsor Birmingham Airport and all of our event partners across the city
to deliver a fantastic free event for Birmingham and the West Midlands"
To find out more about the Chinese New Year celebrations, please visit:
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