Birmingham events in October 2026 include three nights of Westlife at Utilita Arena, three Champions League and Premier League nights at Villa Park, and Cats at the Hippodrome. The Horse of the Year Show and the Motorhome and Caravan Show fill the NEC, and the Birmingham Literature Festival runs for five days in early October. The month ends with half-term, Disney On Ice and a busy Halloween weekend.
This guide lists what’s on week by week and picks out the dates when several big crowds overlap. It also explains how to get to each venue. Every event has been checked against the venue, the club or an official ticket seller. Tour dates and kick-off times can still change, so confirm the details on your ticket before you travel.
October 2026 in Birmingham at a glance
| Week | Highlights |
|---|---|
| 1–4 October | Karan Aujla (Utilita Arena), Matchroom Boxing (Utilita Arena), Swan Lake’s final night (Hippodrome), National Wedding Show (NEC) |
| 5–11 October | Horse of the Year Show (bp pulse LIVE), Birmingham Literature Festival, Sylvia (Hippodrome), Hans Zimmer (Utilita Arena), Villa v Brentford |
| 12–18 October | Stevie Wonder, Westlife ×3 (Utilita Arena), Villa v Fenerbahçe, Blues v Preston and QPR, Motorhome and Caravan Show (NEC), The Car Man (Hippodrome) |
| 19–25 October | Duran Duran, D-Block Europe, J. Cole (Utilita Arena), Villa v Viking and Man City, Blood Brothers (Hippodrome), clocks go back |
| 26–31 October | Half-term, Korn (Utilita Arena), Disney On Ice (bp pulse LIVE), Cats (Hippodrome), Casino Royale in Concert (Symphony Hall) |
Concerts at Utilita Arena Birmingham
Utilita Arena, on King Edwards Road near Brindleyplace, has its busiest month of the autumn:
- Thursday 1 October: Karan Aujla, P-Pop Culture Tour
- Saturday 3 October: Matchroom Boxing, Whittaker vs Wallace
- Saturday 10 October: The World of Hans Zimmer
- Tuesday 13 October: Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life 50th anniversary tour
- Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October: Westlife, 25th anniversary tour (three nights)
- Tuesday 20 October: Duran Duran
- Thursday 22 October: D-Block Europe
- Friday 23 October: The Rock Orchestra
- Sunday 25 October: J. Cole, The Fall-Off Tour
- Wednesday 28 October: Korn
The three Westlife nights are the biggest run of the month. With back-to-back sold-out crowds from Friday to Sunday, the roads and car parks around Broad Street will stay busy all weekend. Our guide to getting to Utilita Arena covers parking, trains and drop-off in detail.
Symphony Hall and Town Hall
Symphony Hall, on Broad Street, has a varied month of pop, comedy, film scores and classical music:
- Thursday 8 October: The Burt Bacharach Songbook with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Friday 9 October: Daniel Sloss, Bitter
- Saturday 10 October: Avatar: The Last Airbender in Concert
- Monday 12 October: Katherine Jenkins, 25th anniversary tour
- Wednesday 14 October: Steve Hackett
- Friday 16 October: Hue and Cry with Roachford
- Saturday 17 October: The Shamrocks
- Sunday 18 October: The Legends in Vegas: After Hours
- Monday 19 October: Soul II Soul
- Wednesday 21 October: CBSO, Symphonie Fantastique
- Thursday 22 October: Alison Moyet
- Saturday 24 October: How to Train Your Dragon 2 in Concert
- Sunday 25 October: Halloween Spooktacular family concert
- Friday 30 October: Casino Royale in Concert
Over at Birmingham Town Hall on Victoria Square, Jason Byrne brings 30 Years Byrning on Saturday 3 October. Justin Hayward follows on Monday 5 October.
Both halls are within easy walking distance of New Street station. For most visitors staying in or near the centre, the train is the simplest way to get there.
Theatre at Birmingham Hippodrome
The Hippodrome, on Hurst Street in the Southside district, has a new production almost every week:
| Dates | Show |
|---|---|
| Until Saturday 3 October | Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake |
| Tuesday 6 to Saturday 10 October | Sylvia, starring Beverley Knight |
| Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 October | Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man |
| Tuesday 20 to Saturday 24 October | Blood Brothers |
| Tuesday 27 October to Saturday 7 November | Cats |
Cats is only in Birmingham for two weeks, and its run overlaps with half-term. Expect family matinées to sell out early. If you’re making an evening of it, our guide to private dining rooms in Birmingham suggests places to book before or after a show.
The NEC and bp pulse LIVE
The NEC campus, next to Birmingham Airport, hosts some of October’s largest crowds:
- Friday 2 to Saturday 3 October: National Franchise Exhibition
- Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October: Grand Designs Live
- Saturday 3 to Sunday 4 October: National Wedding Show
- Wednesday 7 to Sunday 11 October: Horse of the Year Show
- Tuesday 13 to Sunday 18 October: Motorhome and Caravan Show
- Wednesday 28 October to Sunday 1 November: Disney On Ice: Discover the Magic, at bp pulse LIVE, returning from 6 to 8 November
- Until Sunday 8 November: Peppa Pig Space Adventure
The Horse of the Year Show brings five days of competition to bp pulse LIVE. The Motorhome and Caravan Show follows two days later and runs for six days. As a result, roads around Junction 6 of the M42 stay busy for most of the middle two weeks of October. This matters to anyone flying from Birmingham Airport as well, since it uses the same junction.
For the rest of the year’s NEC dates, see our NEC Birmingham events calendar.
Football in October
Aston Villa at Villa Park
Villa are in the Champions League this season, so October brings four home games in 15 days:
- Saturday 10 October, 3pm: Aston Villa v Brentford (Premier League)
- Wednesday 14 October, 8pm: Aston Villa v Fenerbahçe (Champions League)
- Wednesday 21 October, 8pm: Aston Villa v Viking FK (Champions League)
- Saturday 24 October, 12.30pm: Aston Villa v Manchester City (Premier League)
Villa’s home league game against Fulham falls at the turn of the month. Listings differ on whether it’s on 31 October or 1 November, so check the club’s website before you plan around it.
Midweek European nights are worth planning carefully. An 8pm kick-off in Aston means crowds heading to the ground right through the evening rush hour, then leaving well after 10pm. Our Villa Park match-day guide explains parking, trains and pickup points.
Birmingham City at St Andrew’s
Blues have two home Championship games at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park:
- Tuesday 13 October (evening kick-off): Birmingham City v Preston North End
- Saturday 17 October, 3pm: Birmingham City v Queens Park Rangers
On Saturday 17 October, the Blues game coincides with the second night of Westlife and the Motorhome and Caravan Show weekend. It’s one of the busiest days of the month across the city.
Festivals, family days and half-term
Birmingham Literature Festival
The Birmingham Literature Festival runs from Thursday 8 to Monday 12 October, with a separate Readers’ Day on Saturday 24 October. Events take place mainly at the Birmingham REP on Centenary Square. This year’s speakers include Sathnam Sanghera, Margaret Busby, Zakia Sewell and Cathy Rentzenbrink.
Half-term, 26 to 30 October
For schools following Birmingham City Council’s calendar, half-term runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October. Most schools finish on Friday 23 October. Academies can set their own dates, so check with your child’s school.
Half-term week brings Disney On Ice, Peppa Pig Space Adventure, Cats matinées and the Halloween Spooktacular at Symphony Hall. It’s also one of the busiest weeks of the autumn at Birmingham Airport. Our guide to autumn half-term airport travel explains how to plan around the rush.
The clocks go back
British Summer Time ends at 2am on Sunday 25 October, when the clocks go back an hour. From that weekend, most evening events finish in full darkness. That makes a pre-arranged route home, or an agreed pickup point, more valuable than it was in September.
Dates that need extra planning
A few days in October bring several large crowds into the city at once. If your event falls on one of these, allow extra time both ways:
- Saturday 3 October: Boxing at Utilita Arena, Jason Byrne at Town Hall, the final Swan Lake at the Hippodrome, and three shows at the NEC.
- Saturday 10 October: Villa v Brentford in the afternoon, then Hans Zimmer at Utilita Arena and Avatar at Symphony Hall in the evening. The Horse of the Year Show and the Literature Festival are also running.
- Wednesday 14 October: Villa’s Champions League night coincides with Steve Hackett at Symphony Hall and a weekday at the Motorhome and Caravan Show.
- Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October: Three Westlife nights, Blues v QPR on the Saturday, and the Motorhome and Caravan Show’s final weekend. This is the busiest stretch of the month.
- Saturday 24 October: Villa v Manchester City at lunchtime, the Literature Festival’s Readers’ Day, a film concert at Symphony Hall, and the start of the half-term weekend.
On weekdays, evening events that start between 7pm and 8pm clash with the tail end of the rush hour. Our guide to rush hour in Birmingham shows which roads slow down most.
How to get to October’s main venues
| Venue | Nearest station | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Utilita Arena | New Street (about 15 minutes’ walk) | Inside the Clean Air Zone; car parks fill on big nights |
| Symphony Hall and Town Hall | New Street | Short walk from the station; Town Hall is on Victoria Square |
| Birmingham Hippodrome | New Street (about 5–10 minutes’ walk) | Southside streets get busy before evening curtain-up |
| Birmingham REP | New Street | On Centenary Square, beside the Library of Birmingham |
| NEC and bp pulse LIVE | Birmingham International | Next to the airport; parking is paid and busy during major shows |
| Villa Park | Witton or Aston | Road closures and heavy traffic around match times |
| St Andrew’s | Bordesley | Short walk from the station; limited nearby parking |
Utilita Arena, Symphony Hall, Town Hall, the Hippodrome and the REP all sit inside Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone. If you’re driving an older car, check whether it’s compliant before you set off. Our Birmingham Clean Air Zone guide explains the daily charge and how to check your vehicle.
For groups or late finishes, a pre-booked car avoids both the parking and the queue for a taxi at the end of the night. National Executive Transfers can arrange event transport to any of these venues, with a collection time agreed in advance.
When a chauffeur makes sense for October events
For a solo trip to a city-centre concert, the train is usually the simplest option. A chauffeur is worth considering in other situations:
- Groups of up to seven: travel together in a Mercedes-Benz V-Class, rather than splitting across several taxis.
- Late finishes: after the clocks change, you’ll be heading home in the dark, when taxi demand peaks as everyone leaves at once.
- Match-day hospitality: for Villa’s Champions League nights, see our football match chauffeur service.
- Evenings with several stops: dinner, a show and drinks afterwards suit hourly chauffeur hire, with the car available all evening.
- Visitors flying in: book a Birmingham Airport transfer with flight monitoring and meet-and-greet, then go straight to the NEC, your hotel or the venue.
If you were in the city last month, our September 2026 events guide covers the events that led into October.
Book your October event transport
National Executive Transfers provides fixed-price chauffeur transfers to Birmingham’s concerts, matches, theatre nights and NEC shows, in Mercedes-Benz E-Class, S-Class and V-Class vehicles. Tell us your event, group size and preferred pickup point, and we’ll plan the collection around the crowds. Get a quote and book online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Highlights include Westlife, Stevie Wonder and J. Cole at Utilita Arena, and Cats and Blood Brothers at the Hippodrome. At the NEC, there's the Horse of the Year Show and the Motorhome and Caravan Show. Villa host four home games, and the Birmingham Literature Festival runs from 8 to 12 October.
Karan Aujla, Hans Zimmer, Stevie Wonder, Westlife (16 to 18 October), Duran Duran, D-Block Europe, The Rock Orchestra, J. Cole and Korn. Matchroom Boxing also stages a card on 3 October.
Swan Lake closes on 3 October. It's followed by Sylvia (6–10 October), Matthew Bourne's The Car Man (13–17 October), Blood Brothers (20–24 October) and Cats (27 October to 7 November).
Villa host Brentford on 10 October and Fenerbahçe on 14 October. Viking FK follow on 21 October and Manchester City on 24 October. The two midweek Champions League games kick off at 8pm.
For schools following the council calendar, half-term runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. Academies can set different dates.
The clocks go back one hour at 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026, when British Summer Time ends.
The Westlife weekend from 16 to 18 October is the busiest stretch. It overlaps with Blues v QPR and the Motorhome and Caravan Show. Saturday 10 October and Saturday 24 October are also busy, with football and several evening shows on the same day.
