Festival Garden opens as part of UK City of Culture finale

Among the first performers at Assembly Festival Garden are drag-act Queenz

A performing arts festival venue has opened in Coventry, to form part of the finale for its UK City of Culture year.

The Assembly Festival Garden on Little Park Street will remain open until late September and host artists from around the world.

It has been set up by event group Assembly Festival, which has been involved with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for 40 years.

General manager Dani Rae described it as "a city centre oasis".

She said they had listened to feedback after the festival was held in the city last year and promised a "new programme with some familiar faces".

The festival in 2021 was put together in just six weeks she said, because of uncertainty over Covid restrictions, and they needed to rely on expertise brought in from Edinburgh.

But this year she said there would be more local people involved in putting on the events.

Dani Rae said she was pleased to be part of the City of Culture finale

Ms Rae said she was glad to be back and added: "We found that Coventry really did take us into their hearts and it's such a beautiful city."

She said her message to people was: "Come and have a drink with us, come and have something to eat with us, enjoy the vibe of the shows coming from the tents."

The Queen of Flanders spiegeltent has been brought over from Belgium

The organisers have promised "an exhilarating programme of music, theatre, circus, and comedy".

Among the first performers are acapella group Magnets, drag performers Queenz and Friendsical - a parody musical based on the TV series Friends.

Acts for children also form part of the festival, with Shark in the Park, Bubble Show and You Choose among the first shows.

Shark in the Park is a show based on a popular children's book

The festival also includes food and drink stalls and more performers are due to be announced in the coming weeks.

Coventry City of Culture said the event in 2021 welcomed "tens of thousands" of visitors.

Chenine Bhathena, creative director of Coventry UK City of Culture 2021, said: "The Festival Garden was a huge draw for locals and visitors to Coventry last summer and hosted so many memorable events and moments."