Running from March through to beyond the conclusion of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in September 2022, the festival will feature hundreds of creative commissions across the region including art, photography, dance, theatre, digital art and more.

The festival will open with Wondrous Stories created by world renowned and Leamington Spa based dance-circus company, Motionhouse.

The opportunities and potential of Wolverhampton’s arts and culture sector have been recognised by Arts Council England.

The city has been named as a Priority Place as part of Arts Council England’s three-year Delivery Plan for 2021-2024.

Best known for playing Boycie in BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, John Challis, has died. His family said that he died peacefully in his sleep, after a long battle with cancer. Co-star Sir David Jason paid tribute describing him as "a wonderful actor and a gentleman in the true sense of the word".

His character - unscrupulous second-hand car dealer Terrance Aubrey Boyce - was a firm favourite with comedy fans.

Chess icon Nona Gaprindashvili has filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix, saying she was incorrectly portrayed in the hit series The Queen's Gambit. The case refers to a sequence in the drama's final episode which says Gaprindashvili, now 80, had never played competitive chess with men.

Although world events shut down in March 2020, the sprung dancefloor at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall, one of the largest in Birmingham, has not stood completely idle. Used for a dance school last Autumn and then featured in the filming of a major new release for cinemas, it was covered with carpet to protect it from heavy footfall during the first phase of NHS Covid-19 vaccinations in 2021.

It is set to be uncovered for the welcome return of dancing at the Town Hall in October. On Friday 8^th October, the Town Hall welcomes the 6^th ‘Sound Clash’ event, a highly successful series of dance events which alternate two styles of music.

After an action-packed summer season which saw his monster track ‘Carnival I Miss You’ make its way into the psyches of international Carnival enthusiasts, singer, musician & producer Miguel Maestre is back with his latest contribution to the musical melange of 2021 Soca releases entitled ‘Fete Ete’.

The Toronto-based rising Soca star describes this new song as an upbeat, loveable, catchy tune that is memorable and tailor-made to encourage fete lovers and Soca-holics alike to sing along.