BIRMINGHAM will bring in the Year of the Dragon when it celebrates the Chinese New Year in style on Sunday, January 29.

The free annual Birmingham Chinese New Year celebrations will be held from 11.30am to 5.30pm at the Arcadian Centre in the city’s Chinese Quarter.

The festival attracts around 20,000 visitors throughout the day and is among the many events taking place in the region and across the world. A full itinerary of the celebrations is included below.

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Organisers of Birmingham’s celebrations said on the CNY12 website: "The Festival of 2012 promises to be even bigger and better.

"The Festival of 2011 saw record crowds descend upon the Arcadian Centre. Mesmerising acrobatic and cultural performances made it truly a great day out for all the family - especially as it was all provided free of charge."

This year, Lord Mayor of Birmingham Councillor Anita Ward and Birmingham City Council leader Mike Whitby will launch the event by performing the traditional ceremony of dotting the dragon’s eyes.

The event will get under way with a colourful dragon and lion dance followed by acrobatics, dancing, kung fu demonstrations and a fireworks finale. There will also be stalls, with Hurst Street closed for the day to allow visitors to browse freely and there will be an even bigger screen than last year so shoppers can follow the action on stage at the same time.

The Patrick Centre of Birmingham Hippodrome will provide special cultural performances at 1pm and 3pm. Entry is free with tickets available on the door.

>>>See next page for Birmingham itinerary of Chinese New Year celebrations