Play By Night
OPUS were thrilled to produce and deliver Birmingham’s official Eurovision Fan Zone, with production support from JA Productions.
Birmingham celebrated Liverpool hosting the Eurovision Song Contest, on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine, with a giant FREE party in Centenary Square in May 2023.
OPUS were responsible for:
All photos by Lensi Photography
Event Planning, Design and Delivery including facilitating the requirements for Birmingham City Council's Healthy Fan Zone pilot initiative
Programming and curating an exciting live programme that represented Ukraine and the City before the Grand Finale screening
Providing European themed food and beverage offer from local city suppliers
Photography and videography capture of the event and on site media liaison
Managing all aspects of host scripting and briefing, artist liaison and access provision
...and more!
About the event
OPUS planned, programmed and managed a one-day BBC Eurovision Song Contest Fan Zone on Saturday 13th May 2023 in Centenary Square on behalf Birmingham City Council and in association with BBC Eurovision.
The event programme included a diverse cultural offering, with a range of creative programming curated in partnership with Centrala to ensure Ukrainian and Central Eastern European artists were prominent within the event. The live programme culminated with a screening of the Grand Final on our beautiful large screen and stage structure, slickly clad in Ukrainian colours and official BBC Eurovision branding.
Along with 9 other official cities, including Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester and Brighton, Birmingham provided a safe, accessible and welcoming environment for the Fan Zone.
A Healthy Fan Zone
OPUS were commissioned by Birmingham City Council's Public Health department to trial their first healthy fan zone. A healthy fan zone builds on the learning from the Healthy Stadia report, establishing core criteria for the delivery specification around minimum standards on food and drink, digital/display media utilisation for appropriate health messaging and targeted activation activity to connect the event with potential health benefits and impact. The approach taken aligns with BCC's Creating a Bolder Healthier City Strategy and its underpinning strategies and delivery frameworks such as the Birmingham Food Revolution.
At the event, OPUS provided:
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A balanced F&B offer, including a wide range of non-alcoholic and soft drinks
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Active programming designed to get people moving in any way they could
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Access to free drinking water
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Joyful programming with participatory elements to boost wellbeing and mental health
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Hand sanitiser points
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Increased messaging on screen and on table toppers
Cllr Jayne Francis,
Cabinet Member for Digital, Heritage, Culture and Tourism, at Birmingham City Council
We are so excited to be hosting one of the UK’s official Eurovision Fan Zones, with some fantastic local and Ukrainian talent and lots of fun for all ages in the build up to the Grand Final in Centenary Square on 13 May.
Following our bid to host this year’s Eurovision in Birmingham, we see this as a real opportunity to celebrate Ukrainian culture and community – so we are throwing this party on Ukraine’s behalf.
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I am delighted and so so excited to be hosting this event as a massive Eurovision fan, Ukrainian music enthusiast and queen of the West Midlands.
I feel like I have won the lottery and feel very honoured to celebrate Eurovision 2023 in Birmingham to show our support to Ukraine and Liverpool! Please come along and let's have the best Eurovision party ever, all together!
Ginny Lemon
Star of BBC's Ru Paul’s Drag Race and co-host of the event