From the grand Town Hall to the bustling Jewellery Quarter and creative streets of Digbeth, Birmingham has a wonderfully unique and vibrant cultural heritage.
And, although many of the jewels in Birmingham's crown are currently unable to welcome visitors, that's all set to change with one of the most exciting events in West Midlands' cultural history.
Last month, we were delighted to announce the National Lottery Heritage Fund was investing £3 million into the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Cultural Festival.
The games, which start on July 28, is an amazing undertaking, with 6,500 athletes and officials from 72 Commonwealth nations and territories, more than 1.3 million ticketed spectators and a broadcast audience of more than one billion.
The organising committee will, at its peak, employ 1,200 people and recruit 12,500 volunteers.
But it's not just about the games.
A year-and-a-half from now the West Midlands will feel like the centre of the world and there will be no better time to shine a light on all the things that make this area such a great and unique place to live, work and visit.
The Cultural Festival will run from March to September 2022 and is an important and distinct element of the Birmingham 2022 programme.
The festival will take place across the whole of the West Midlands, involving arts, cultural and heritage organisations from the city's grandest institutions to the region's diverse communities and neighbourhoods.
At the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we believe in the power of heritage to change people's lives and know that investing in heritage makes communities better places to live and work, as well as driving tourism and improving health and wellbeing.
We also know how hard heritage organisations have been hit by covid-19 which is why we've been providing emergency financial support to heritage organisations in the West Midlands over the past year, including The Roundhouse, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and Middleport Pottery to name but a few.
Thankfully, the Cultural Festival is an amazing opportunity to recover from the greatest challenge that many cultural organisations have ever faced, with numerous opportunities to showcase work, engage new visitors and bring much-needed visitor income to the West Midlands.
So, what can we expect from the Cultural Festival?
While the full programme has yet to be announced, we can expect it to include large-scale opening and closing ceremonies, a diverse programme of dance, music, theatre, film, spoken word, visual art, children and young people's commissions, a digital and an LGBTQI+ programme.
A further series of projects exploring black art and heritage, migration, sports and geography will also take place.
On the back of this investment there will also be a £2 million Creative Communities Small Grants Programme, offering funding from £5,000 to £25,000 to 150 local organisations.
I am confident that, as we start to look ahead to life post-pandemic, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has, thanks to National Lottery players, made a timely investment in arts and heritage across the West Midlands, creating a lasting legacy for Birmingham and the Commonwealth.
I wish the team at Birmingham 2022 every success in programming the Cultural Festival which will bring much needed hope, inspiration and joy to so many of us.
Ros Kerslake is chief executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund
