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Coventry City of Culture unveils 'flexible' festival programme

Coventry City of Culture Trust Coventry Moves, by Nigel Jamieson, Justine Themen and six young creativesCoventry City of Culture Trust
Coventry's time as the UK City of Culture will begin on 15 May

An all-day launch, a street art festival and a "poignant" puppet walk have been announced as major events during Coventry City of Culture.

Music and theatre shows celebrating the city's heritage and diverse communities will form part of the 2021 programme.

Organisers say they have created a "flexible" festival after the pandemic made programming "challenging".

It has previously been announced the city will host the Turner Prize and a festival curated by Terry Hall.

Garry Jones Herbert Art Gallery and MuseumGarry Jones
The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum will host the Turner Prize exhibition from 29 September to 12 January 2022

It will kick off with Coventry Moves, a "dawn until dusk" performance, details of which organisers are keeping under their hats for now.

A "Summer of Surprises" will follow the launch, including a street art festival with 20 new artworks for the city centre and Coventry Welcomes, a week of events, performances and workshops to mark National Refugee Week.

The programme also includes:

  • The Walk, which will see a 3.5m tall puppet of a young refugee arriving in Coventry on 27 October, completing a journey that will begin on the Syria/ Turkey border in July
  • Performances celebrating Coventry's sound systems culture, including heats for an international competition linked with the city's twin town, Kingston, in Jamaica
  • An outdoor musical theatre production of George Eliot's Silas Marner, written by Coventry playwright Alan Pollock
  • Shop windows in the city will also be transformed to display artworks
  • Later in the year artists will re-imagine a broken window in Coventry Cathedral, which was smashed last year in a burglary

Chenine Bhathena, Coventry City of Culture's creative director, said the pandemic had created "the most challenging of environments to create a festival programme".

It has meant all the events have been planned in a "flexible and responsive way", with a greater focus on online and digital platforms.

Coventry City of Culture Street artCoventry City of Culture
A street art festival, In Paint We Trust, will bring 20 new art works to the city centre

Coronavirus pushed the festival back to May. However, organisers have no plans to delay it further in line with the government's road map, which currently dictates hospitality and entertainment venues can start opening up no sooner than 17 May - two days after the festival launch.

Coventry will also host the International Booker Prize - the first time the event has taken place outside London.

Coventry Cathedral
Later in the year, artists will re-imagine a Coventry Cathedral window that was smashed in a burglary

A number of programmes in partnership with the BBC were also announced, including documentaries on the city's car manufacturing heritage and a programme about Delia Derbyshire, a Coventry-born composer who helped create the Doctor Who theme music.

"The BBC will be here to support the city every step of the way," Director-General Tim Davie said, "helping to showcase the many talents of a city that is on the 'move' and drawing on its rich history to connect with audiences."

Coventry City Council confirmed regeneration projects in the city were under way and due to be completed by the start of the festival.

Coventry City Council Artist's impression of Hertford Street plansCoventry City Council
The council's plans for regeneration include re-designing Hertford Street in the city centre
Coventry City of Culture Bull Yard play areaCoventry City of Culture
Some public realm works have already been unveiled, including this play area in Bull Yard

The new £82m rail station is nearing completion, Councillor Jim O'Boyle said, and there has also been money spent regenerating the Belgrade Theatre and St Mary's Guildhall, which the council said was the city's "best kept secret".

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