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A splash of colour lit up a grey day for shoppers and city centre workers as Birmingham International Dance Festival was launched.

Groups of dancers who will be performing at the three-week festival, which starts on 17 June, met in Victoria Square.

As Birmingham emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, and prepares to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, organisers of the festival hope to tap into a summer of cultural excitement in the city.

Festival producer Ellen Booth said: "It's the UK's largest dance festival. Three weeks of amazing activity, free, accessible and really it's just to showcase exactly what dance is for audiences and artists.

"It's a form of expression. Everybody has got an innate ability to dance. We grow up and don't think that we can. It's a way to express yourself, tell stories through the form of dance."

Events will be staged across the city, at both indoor and outdoor venues.

During the Covid pandemic, the dance festival had to be staged online, before a return to more traditional programming in October last year.

"It's one of the biggest programmes we've done this year, showcasing the city, and also bringing Commonwealth territory artists into the city which is really exciting," Ms Booth added.

"It's a way to connect with people, see different stories."

The festival will feature newly commissioned work by UK artists plus dance from around the globe, including from across the Commonwealth, with nine world premieres and 11 UK premieres.

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