Your Hatters Hostel

Guitarfest 2009

11th July, 10am-5pm

Described by the organisers as ‘the largest day of guitars on earth’ the annual Guitarfest at the NIA is the place to be for guitar enthusiasts from near and far! All the the best-known brands will be under one roof to proudly present their range and some of the greatest and most popular guitarists will demonstrate their skills on stage.

As there will be exclusive show deals don’t miss the opportunity to shop for new equipment or just have a look around to learn about the latest products on the guitar market.

This great selection of guitar heroes will perform live on the main stage between 12am-5pm:

Yngwie Malmsteen, Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Jerry Donahue (The Yardbirds), Jennifer Batten (Michael Jackson), The Stone Gods, Doug Wimbish (Living Colour) and Sarah Jory (Van Morrison).

Drumfest 2009

12th July, 10am-5pm

The Drumfest is basically the same just for drums instead of guitars. It is the world’s largest event of its kind, all the major brands will be there to showcase their products and you’ll be able to watch some of the greatest drummers perform their skills live on the main stage:

Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner, Paul Rogers, Slash) Simon Phillips (Toto) Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr, Satriani, Toto, Brian Wilson, ELO) Jo Jo Mayer (Clinician) Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall, Stigmata, Burning) Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Jeff Beck).

Day passes are £15 and for the whole weekend it’s £20.

The NIA is just a 10 minutes walk – a nice stroll along the canal – from the hostel. Whether you’re a guitar or drum enthusiast or just a music fan, don’t miss this fantastic opportunity and great day out!

Another big sporting event is happening in Birmingham soon – The British Basketball League (BBL) Finals at the National Indoor Arena! It is the biggest event in British basketball and will take place next weekend, on the 2nd and 3rd of May. Make sure to be there if you are into basketball – you’ll get to see the top four teams in the country and Britain’s very best players! Every year when the season’s over the top eight of the 33 British league teams compete in the championship Playoff quarter-finals, with the four winners heading to the NIA for this exciting finals weekend in May. Both of the semi-finals are played on Saturday. Sunday will then see the winners of these two matches facing each other in the final, fighting for the Playoff Champion title.

The event is described as

“the culmination of the British Basketball League Championship season, and the pinnacle of many a player’s career”.

…So make sure not to miss this if you are interested in the sport!

Ticket information and more can be found on the official BBL website.

It’s not just about football here in Birmingham, many more sports are popular all over the city and we have some of the best sporting venues in the country! The National Indoor Arena is among the largest venues of its kind and regularly hosting some of the major UK sporting events.

Next week, it will see the return of the annual Yonex All England Championships!

From Tuesday 3rd to Sunday 8th March you’ll have the chance to watch badminton’s international stars fighting for a title in the oldest and most prestigious badminton tournament in the world!

Obviously great for fans, but why not give it a try even if you might have thought badminton was boring? You’ll get to see world’s greatest players – Olympians and World Champions alike – and who knows, maybe you’ll discover a new favourite sport to follow? It will certainly be an entertaining day at the NIA! Some of our guests at the Hatters next week have already expressed their intention to catch a bit of the action. We will even have a few people staying who are involved in the tournament – I’m sure they will happily answer all your questions around the Championship or badminton in general! We are also very close to all the action – it’s only a 10 minutes walk from the hostel! The finals on the Sunday are already sold out, but tickets for all other days are still available. Ticket prices start from £10 on Tuesday and are £23 for the quarter finals on Saturday, with students getting a 50% discount off the full price! You can buy them online or in person from the NIA/NEC box offices and the Birmingham Ticket Shop.

More detailed information about all things badminton and the All England Championships can be found here.

If you’ve never experienced the incredible Cirque Du Soleil now is your chance!  Be dazzled by these breathtaking performers as they return to Birmingham by popular demand. Cirque will give several performances at the NIA from the 18th-22nd of March. ‘Quidam’ will feature the death defying and surreal performances of contortionists, aerial acts, acrobats, rope jumpers, a balancing duo and the famous crazy clowns! One of those rare toupes who more than measure up to the hype, they’re even better than they sound!  Quidam is not to be missed!