Located in theWest Midlands region of England, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of theMidlands. It is just west of the traditional centre point of England atMeriden,[14] and is the most inland major city in the country,[15] lying north of theCotswolds and east of theShropshire Hills. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly theRiver Tame and its tributariesRiver Rea andRiver Cole – one of the closest main rivers is theSevern, approximately 20 miles (32 km) west ofthe city centre. The city does however have numerouscanals, collectively named theBirmingham Canal Navigations.[16]
Historically amarket town inWarwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during theMidlands Enlightenment and during theIndustrial Revolution, which saw advances in science, technology and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modernindustrial society.[17] By 1791, it was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world".[18] Birmingham's distinctive economic profile, with thousands of small workshops practising a wide variety of specialised and highly skilled trades, encouraged exceptional levels of creativity and innovation; this provided an economic base for prosperity that was to last into the final quarter of the 20th century. TheWatt steam engine was invented in Birmingham.[19]
The resulting high level ofsocial mobility also fostered a culture ofpolitical radicalism which, under leaders fromThomas Attwood toJoseph Chamberlain, was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy.[20] From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by theGerman Luftwaffe in what is known as theBirmingham Blitz. The damage done to the city's infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensiveurban regeneration in subsequent decades.
The nameBirmingham comes from theOld EnglishBeormingahām,[30] meaning the home or settlement of theBeormingas – a tribe or clan whose name means 'Beorma's people' and which may have formed an early unit ofAnglo-Saxon administration.[31]Beorma, after whom the tribe was named, could have been its leader at the time of the Anglo-Saxon settlement, a shared ancestor, or a mythical tribal figurehead. Place names ending in-ingahām are characteristic of primary settlements established during the early phases of Anglo-Saxon colonisation of an area, suggesting that Birmingham was probably in existence by the early 7th century at the latest.[32] Surrounding settlements with names ending in-tūn ('farm'),-lēah ('woodland clearing'),-worð ('enclosure') and-field ('open ground') are likely to be secondary settlements created by the later expansion of the Anglo-Saxon population,[33] in some cases possibly on earlierBritish sites.[34]
There is evidence ofearly human activity in the Birmingham area dating back to around 8000 BC,[35] withStone Age artefacts suggesting seasonal settlements, overnight hunting parties and woodland activities such as tree felling.[36] The manyburnt mounds that can still be seen around the city indicate thatmodern humans first intensively settled and cultivated the area during theBronze Age, when a substantial but short-lived influx of population occurred between 1700 BC and 1000 BC, possibly caused by conflict or immigration in the surrounding area.[37] During the 1st-centuryRoman conquest of Britain, the forested country of the Birmingham Plateau formed a barrier to the advancing Roman legions,[38] who built the largeMetchley Fort in the area of modern-dayEdgbaston in AD 48,[39] and made it the focus of a network ofRoman roads.[40] Birmingham was then later established by theBeormingas around the 6th or 7th century as a small settlement in the then heavily forestedArden region inMercia.
The development of Birmingham into a significant urban and commercial centre began in 1166, when theLord of the Manor Peter de Bermingham obtained a charter to hold a market athis castle, and followed this with the creation of a plannedmarket town andseigneurial borough within hisdemesne or manorial estate, around the site that became theBull Ring.[41] This established Birmingham as the primary commercial centre for the Birmingham Plateau at a time when the area's economy was expanding rapidly, with population growth nationally leading to the clearance, cultivation and settlement of previously marginal land.[42] Within a century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen.[43] By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire,[44] a position it would retain for the next 200 years.
The principal governing institutions of medieval Birmingham – including theGuild of the Holy Cross and the lordship of thede Birmingham family – collapsed between 1536 and 1547,[45] leaving the town with an unusually high degree of social and economic freedom and initiating a period of transition and growth.[46]
The importance of the manufacture ofiron goods to Birmingham's economy was recognised as early as 1538, and grew rapidly as the century progressed.[47] Equally significant was the town's emerging role as a centre for theiron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials and traded and marketed the industry's products.[48] By the 1600s Birmingham formed the commercial hub of a network offorges andfurnaces stretching fromSouth Wales toCheshire[49] and its merchants were selling finished manufactured goods as far afield as theWest Indies.[50] These trading links gave Birmingham's metalworkers access to much wider markets, allowing them to diversify away from lower-skilled trades producing basic goods for local sale, towards a broader range of specialist, higher-skilled and more lucrative activities.[51]
The East Prospect of Birmingham (1732), engraving by William Westley
By 1700 Birmingham's population had increased fifteen-fold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales.[55] The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the cultural phenomenon now known as theMidlands Enlightenment.[56] The town developed into a notable centre ofliterary,musical,artistic andtheatrical activity;[57] and its leading citizens – particularly the members of theLunar Society of Birmingham – became influential participants in the circulation ofphilosophical andscientific ideas among Europe's intellectual elite.[58] The close relationship between Enlightenment Birmingham's leading thinkers and its major manufacturers[59] – in men likeMatthew Boulton andJames Keir they were often in fact the same people[60] – made it particularly important for the exchange of knowledge between pure science and the practical world of manufacturing and technology.[61] This created a "chain reaction of innovation",[62] forming a pivotal link between the earlierScientific Revolution and theIndustrial Revolution that would follow.[63]
Birmingham's explosive industrial expansion started earlier than that of thetextile-manufacturing towns of theNorth of England,[64] and was driven by different factors. Instead of theeconomies of scale of a low-paid, unskilled workforce producing a single bulkproduct such as cotton or wool in large, mechanised units of production, Birmingham's industrial development was built on the adaptability and creativity of a highly paid workforce with a strongdivision of labour, practising a broad variety of skilled specialist trades and producing a constantly diversifying range of products, in a highlyentrepreneurial economy of small, often self-owned workshops.[65] This led to exceptional levels of inventiveness: between 1760 and 1850 – the core years of the Industrial Revolution – Birmingham residents registered over three times as manypatents as those of any other British town or city.[66]
The demand forcapital to feed rapid economic expansion also saw Birmingham grow into a majorfinancial centre with extensive international connections.[67]Lloyds Bank was founded in the town in 1765,[68] andKetley's Building Society, the world's firstbuilding society, in 1775.[69] By 1800 the West Midlands had more banking offices per head than any other region in Britain, including London.[67]
Innovation in 18th-century Birmingham often took the form of incremental series of small-scale improvements to existing products or processes,[70] but also included major developments that lay at the heart of the emergence ofindustrial society.[17] In 1709 the Birmingham-trainedAbraham Darby I moved toCoalbrookdale inShropshire and built the firstblast furnace to successfully smelt iron ore withcoke, transforming the quality, volume and scale on which it was possible to producecast iron.[71] In 1732Lewis Paul andJohn Wyatt inventedroller spinning, the "one novel idea of the first importance" in the development of themechanised cotton industry.[72] In 1741 they opened theworld's first cotton mill in Birmingham's Upper Priory.[73] In 1746John Roebuck invented thelead chamber process, enabling the large-scale manufacture ofsulphuric acid,[74] and in 1780 James Keir developed a process for the bulk manufacture ofalkali,[75] together marking the birth of the modernchemical industry.[76] In 1765Matthew Boulton opened theSoho Manufactory, pioneering the combination and mechanisation under one roof of previously separate manufacturing activities through a system known as "rational manufacture".[77] As the largest manufacturing unit in Europe, this came to symbolise the emergence of thefactory system.[78]
Most significant, however, was the development in 1776 of theindustrial steam engine byJames Watt and Matthew Boulton.[79] Freeing for the first time the manufacturing capacity of human society from the limited availability of hand, water and animal power, this was arguably the pivotal moment of the entireIndustrial Revolution and a key factor in the worldwide increases in productivity over the following century.[80]
Birmingham rose to national political prominence in the campaign for political reform in the early 19th century, withThomas Attwood and theBirmingham Political Union bringing the country to the brink of civil war during theDays of May that preceded the passing of theReform Act 1832.[81] The union's meetings onNewhall Hill in 1831 and 1832 were the largest political assemblies Britain had ever seen.[82]Lord Durham, who drafted the act, wrote that "the country owed Reform to Birmingham, and its salvation from revolution".[83] This reputation for having "shaken the fabric of privilege to its base" in 1832 ledJohn Bright to make Birmingham the platform for his successful campaign for theReform Act 1867, which extended voting rights to the urban working class.[84]
The originalcharter of incorporation, dated 31 October 1838, was received in Birmingham on 1 November, then read in thetown hall on 5 November with elections for the firstBirmingham Town Council being held on 26 December. Sixteen aldermen and 48 councillors were elected and the borough was divided into 13 wards.William Scholefield became the first mayor and William Redfern was appointed as town clerk.Birmingham Town Police were established the following year.[citation needed]
By the 1820s,the country's extensive canal system had been constructed, giving greater access to natural resources and fuel for industries. During theVictorian era, the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a million[88] and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in England. Birmingham was grantedcity status in 1889 byQueen Victoria.[89]Joseph Chamberlain, mayor of Birmingham and later an MP, and his sonNeville Chamberlain, who was Lord Mayor of Birmingham and later the British Prime Minister, are two of the most well-known political figures who have lived in Birmingham. The city establishedits own university in 1900.[90]
The city was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s.[95][96] This included the construction of largetower block estates, such asCastle Vale. TheBull Ring was reconstructed andNew Street station was redeveloped. In the decades following World War II, the ethnic makeup of Birmingham changed significantly, as it received waves of immigration from theCommonwealth of Nations and beyond.[97] The city's population peaked in 1951 at 1,113,000 residents.[88]
Aftermath of the bomb attack on the Mulberry Bush Pub during thepub bombings of 1974
21 people were killed and 182 were injured ina series of bomb attacks in 1974, thought to be carried out by theProvisional IRA. The bombings were the worst terror attacks in England up until the2005 London bombings[98] and consisted of bombs being planted in twopubs in central Birmingham. Six men were convicted, who became known later as theBirmingham Six and sentenced to life imprisonment. They were acquitted after 16 years by theCourt of Appeal.[99] The convictions are now considered one of the worst miscarriages of justice in the UK in recent times. The true perpetrators of the attacks are yet to be arrested.[100][101][102]
Birmingham remained by far Britain's most prosperous provincial city as late as the 1970s,[103] with household incomes exceeding even those of London and theSouth East,[104] but its economic diversity and capacity for regeneration declined in the decades that followed World War II asCentral Government sought to restrict the city's growth and disperse industry and population to the stagnating areas of Wales andNorthern England.[105] These measures hindered "the natural self-regeneration of businesses in Birmingham, leaving it top-heavy with the old and infirm",[106] and the city became increasingly dependent on themotor industry. Therecession of the early 1980s saw Birmingham's economy collapse, with unprecedented levels of unemployment andoutbreaks of social unrest in inner-city districts.[107]
On 5 September 2023, Birmingham city council issued a Section 114 notice to say that it could not meet its financial commitments after an equal pay lawsuit.[110] Effectively this meant the council was bankrupt. Major contributing factors include a £1.1billion sum that has been paid out since 2010 for equal pay claims, an ongoing bill for £760million, increasing by £14million a month, and problems with a new IT system that was projected to cost £19million, but is now closer to £100million. There is a projected £87million deficit for the financial year 2023/2024.[111]
Birmingham is located in the centre of theWest Midlands region of England on theBirmingham Plateau – an area of relatively high ground, ranging between 500 and 1,000 feet (150 and 300 metres)above sea level and crossed by Britain's main north–southwatershed between the basins of the RiversSevern andTrent. To the immediate south west of the city lie theLickey Hills,[120]Clent Hills andWalton Hill, which reach 1,033 feet (315 m) and have extensive views over the city. Birmingham is drained only by minor rivers and brooks, primarily theRiver Tame and its tributaries theCole and theRea. Birmingham is located significantly inland, and its nearest body of sea is atLiverpool Bay. It lies at the same latitude asLowestoft, Britain's easternmost settlement; it is therefore much more proximate to the western coast of Wales, atCardigan Bay.[121][122]
As the crow flies, Birmingham lies approximately 100 miles (160 km) north-west ofLondon, 85 miles (137 km) north-east of the Welsh capitalCardiff, 45 miles (72 km) south-west ofNottingham, 70 miles (110 km) south ofManchester, and 75 miles (121 km) north-north-east ofBristol.
Much of the area now occupied by the city was originally a northern reach of the ancientForest of Arden and the city remains relatively densely covered byoak in a large number of districts such asMoseley,Saltley,Yardley,Stirchley andHockley. These places, with names ending in "-ley", deriving fromOld English-lēah meaning "woodland clearing", are named after the former forest.[124]
Birmingham is dominated by the Birmingham Fault, which runs diagonally through the city from the Lickey Hills in the south west, passing through Edgbaston and the Bull Ring, toErdington and Sutton Coldfield in the north east.[125] To the south and east of the fault the ground is largely softerMercia Mudstone, interspersed with beds ofBunter pebbles and crossed by the valleys of the Rivers Tame, Rea and Cole and their tributaries.[126] To the north and west of the fault, between 150 and 600 feet (46 and 183 metres) higher than the surrounding area and underlying much of the city centre, lies a long ridge of harderKeuperSandstone.[127][128] The bedrock underlying Birmingham was mostly laid down during thePermian andTriassic periods.[125]
Birmingham has atemperatemaritime climate (Cfb according to theKöppen climate classification), like much of the British Isles, with average maximum temperatures in summer (July) being around 21.3 °C (70.3 °F); and in winter (January) around 6.7 °C (44.1 °F).[132] Between 1971 and 2000 the warmest day of the year on average was 28.8 °C (83.8 °F)[133] and the coldest night typically fell to −9.0 °C (15.8 °F).[134] Some 11.2 days each year rose to a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above[135] and 51.6 nights reported an air frost.[136] The highest recorded temperature recorded at theEdgbaston Campus was 37.4 °C (99.3 °F),[137] whilst a temperature of 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) was recorded at Birmingham Airport on the city's eastern edge, both recorded on19 July 2022.[138]
Like most other large cities, Birmingham has a considerableurban heat island effect.[139] During the coldest night recorded, 14 January 1982, the temperature fell to −20.8 °C (−5.4 °F) at Birmingham Airport, but just −14.3 °C (6.3 °F) at Edgbaston, near the city centre.[140] Birmingham is a snowy city relative to other large UK conurbations, due to its inland location and comparatively high elevation.[141] Between 1961 and 1990Birmingham Airport averaged 13.0 days of snow lying annually,[142] compared to 5.33 atLondon Heathrow.[143] Snow showers often pass through the city via theCheshire gap on north westerly airstreams, but can also come off theNorth Sea from north easterly airstreams.[141]
The city has been known to experiencetornadoes: according to TORRO, Birmingham experienced 15 significant tornadoes between 1946 and 2005, with some being incredibly destructive. Most notably, adeadly F3 tornado on June 14, 1931, and anotherIF3 tornado which followed a similar path on 28 July 2005, becoming the United Kingdom's costliest tornado on record.[144][145] On 23 November 1981, during a record-breakingnationwide tornado outbreak, three tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits – in Erdington,Selly Oak, and King's Heath–with three more tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the widerWest Midlands county.[146][144] Notable tornadoes also struck the city in 1946, 1968, and 1999.[144]
Climate data for Birmingham (Winterbourne),[b] elevation: 140 m (459 ft), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1959–present
Several green spaces within the borough are designated asgreen belt, as a portion of the wider West Midlands Green Belt. This is a strategic local government policy used to preventurban sprawl and preservegreenfield land. Areas included are the aforementioned Sutton Park; land along the borough boundary by the Sutton Coldfield, Walmley and Minworth suburbs; Kingfisher, Sheldon, Woodgate Valley country parks; grounds by the Wake Green football club; Bartley and Frankley reservoirs; and Handsworth cemetery with surrounding golf courses.[160]
Historical population of Birmingham, between 1651 and 2011[162]
The 2021 census recorded 1,144,900 people living in Birmingham, an increase of around 6.7% from 2011 when 1,073,045 were recorded.[163] It is the 27th largest city inEurope by population within its city boundary.[164] Birmingham's continuous urban area extends beyond the city's boundaries: the BirminghamLarger Urban Zone, aEurostat measure of the functional city-region approximated to local government districts, had a population of 2,357,100 in 2004.[165] In addition to Birmingham itself, the LUZ (West Midlands conurbation) includes the Metropolitan Boroughs ofDudley,Sandwell,Solihull andWalsall, along with the districts ofLichfield,Tamworth,North Warwickshire andBromsgrove.[166] Beyond this is the widermetropolitan area with a population numbering 3,558,916 in 2019 according to Eurostat.[167] Around 305,688 or 26.7% of the population in 2021 wereforeign-born, making it a city withone of the largest migrant populations in Europe.[168]
Ethnic demographics of Birmingham from 1951 to 2021
According to figures from the 2021 census, 48.7% of the population wasWhite (42.9%White British, 1.5%White Irish, 4.0%Other White, 0.2%Roma, 0.1%Irish Traveller), 31% wereAsian (17.0%Pakistani, 5.8%Indian, 4.2%Bangladeshi, 1.1%Chinese, 2.9%Other Asian), 10.9% wereBlack (5.8%African, 3.9%Caribbean, 1.2%Other Black), 4.8% ofMixed race (2.2% White and Black Caribbean, 0.4% White and Black African, 1.1% White and Asian, 1.1% Other Mixed), 1.7%Arab and 4.6% of Other ethnic heritage.[169] The 2021 census showed 26.7% of the population were born outside the UK, an increase of 4.5% percentage points from 2011.[168] Figures showed that the five largest foreign-born groups living in Birmingham were born in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Romania and Jamaica.[170]
In 2011, 57% of primary and 52% of secondary pupils were from non-White British families.[171] As of 2021, 31.6% of school pupils in Birmingham wereWhite, 37.7% wereAsian, 12.6% wereBlack, 9.7% wereMixed race and 8.4% were Other.[172]
There is particularly a large community of Asian descent, especially from Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi backgrounds, as well as Afro-Caribbeans from theCommonwealth, and a solid Chinese presence through migrants from the former colony ofHong Kong.[173] Birmingham also has an older Irish connection,[174] with the city having the largest population of Irish in mainland Britain and home to its only Irish quarter,Digbeth.[175]
In Birmingham, 65.9% of the population were aged between 15 and 64, higher than when compared to the national average of 64.1% in England and Wales. Furthermore, 20.9% of the population were aged under 15, higher than the national average of 17.4% while the population aged over 65 was 13.1%, which was lower than the national average of 18.6% respectively.[163] Birmingham is one of the youngest cities inEurope with 40% of its population below the age of 25[176] and the median age being 34 years of age, below the national average of 40.[177]
Christianity is the largest religion within Birmingham, with 34% of residents identifying as Christians in the2021 Census.[179] The city's religious profile is highly diverse: outside London, Birmingham has the United Kingdom's largestMuslim,Sikh andBuddhist communities; its second largestHindu community; and its seventh largestJewish community.[179] Between the 2001, 2011, and 2021 censuses, the proportion of Christians in Birmingham decreased from 59.1% to 46.1% to 34%, while the proportion of Muslims increased from 14.3% to 21.8% to 29.9% and the proportion of people with no religious affiliation increased from 12.4% to 19.3% to 24.1%. All other religions remained proportionately similar.[180]
TheGun Quarter is a district of the city that was, for many years, a centre of the world's gun-manufacturing industry. The first recorded gun maker in Birmingham was in 1630, and locally made muskets were used in theEnglish Civil War. The Gun Quarter is an industrial area to the north of thecity centre, bounded by Steelhouse Lane, Shadwell Street, and Loveday Street, specialising in the production of military firearms and sporting guns. Many buildings in the area are disused but plans are in place for redevelopment including in Shadwell Street and Vesey Street.[186][187]
In 2012, manufacturing accounted for 8% of the employment in Birmingham, a figure below the average for the UK as a whole.[21] Major industrial plants in the city includeJaguar Land Rover inCastle Bromwich andCadbury inBournville, with large local producers also supporting asupply chain of precision-based small manufacturers and craft industries.[190] More traditional industries also remain: 40% of thejewellery made in the UK is still produced by the 300 independent manufacturers of the city'sJewellery Quarter,[191] continuing a trade first recorded in Birmingham in 1308.[44] In June 2025, Birmingham was declared aWorld Craft City by theWorld Crafts Council, because of its continuing jewellery trade.[192]
Birmingham'sGVA was estimated to be £24.8 billion in 2015, economic growth accelerated each successive year between 2013 and 2015, and with an annual growth of 4.2% in 2015, GVA per head grew at the second-fastest rate of England's eight "Core Cities". The value of manufacturing output in the city declined by 21% in real terms between 1997 and 2010, but the value of financial and insurance activities more than doubled.[193] With 16,281start-ups registered during 2013, Birmingham has the highest level of entrepreneurial activity outside London,[194] while the number of registered businesses in the city grew by 8.1% during 2016.[195] Birmingham was behind onlyLondon andEdinburgh for private sector job creation between 2010 and 2013.[196]
Nominal GVA for Birmingham 2010–2015. Note 2015 is provisional[197]
Year
GVA (£ million)
Growth (%)
2010
20,795
02.1%
2011
21,424
03.0%
2012
21,762
01.6%
2013
22,644
04.1%
2014
23,583
04.2%
2015
24,790
05.2%
Economic inequality in Birmingham is greater than in any other major English city, exceeded only byGlasgow in the United Kingdom.[198] Levels of unemployment are among the highest in the country, with 10% of the economically active population unemployed in June 2016.[199] In the inner-city wards of Aston and Washwood Heath, the figure is higher than 30%. Two-fifths of Birmingham's population live in areas classified as in the 10% most deprived parts of England, and overall Birmingham is the most deprived local authority in England in terms of income and employment deprivation.[200] The city's infant mortality rate is high, around 60% worse than the national average.[201] Meanwhile, just 49% of women have jobs, compared to 65% nationally,[201] and only 28% of the working-age population in Birmingham have degree level qualifications in contrast to the average of 34% across other core cities.[202]
According to the 2014 Mercer Quality of Living Survey, Birmingham was placed 51st in the world, which was the second-highest rating in the UK. The city's quality of life rating has continued to improve over the years and Birmingham was ranked 49th in the world in the 2019 survey. This is the first time it has featured in the top 50.[203] TheBig City Plan of 2008 aims to move the city into the index's top 20 by 2026.[204] An area of the city has been designated anenterprise zone, with tax relief and simplified planning to lure investment.[205] According to 2019 property investment research, Birmingham is rated as the number one location for "the best places to invest in property in the UK". This was attributed to a 5% increase in house prices and local investment into infrastructure.[206]
Jazz has been popular in the city since the 1920s,[210] and there are many regular festivals such as the Harmonic Festival, the Mostly Jazz Festival and the annual International Jazz Festival.[211]
Birmingham's other city-centre music venues includeArena Birmingham (previously known as the National Indoor Arena and the Barclaycard Arena), which was opened in 1991,O2 Academy on Bristol Street, which opened in September 2009 replacing theO2 Academy in Dale End, theCBSO Centre, opened in 1997,HMV Institute in Digbeth and the Bradshaw Hall at theRoyal Birmingham Conservatoire.
The next decade saw the metal bandsNapalm Death andGodflesh emerge from the city, as well asBenediction and the extreme black death metal actAnaal Nathrakh later. The funeral doom bandEsoteric has been operating in the sub-genre since 1992. Birmingham was the birthplace of modernbhangra in the 1960s,[215] and by the 1980s had established itself as the global centre of bhangra culture,[216] which has grown into a global phenomenon embraced by members of theIndian diaspora worldwide fromLos Angeles toSingapore.[215] The 1970s also saw the rise ofreggae andska in the city with such bands asSteel Pulse,UB40,Musical Youth,The Beat andBeshara, expounding racial unity with politically leftist lyrics and multiracial line-ups, mirroring social currents in Birmingham at that time.
TheBirmingham Opera Company under artistic directorGraham Vick has developed an international reputation for itsavant-garde productions,[223] which often take place in factories, abandoned buildings and otherfound spaces around the city.[224] More conventional seasons byWelsh National Opera and other visiting opera companies take place regularly at theBirmingham Hippodrome.[225] The first dedicated comedy club outside London,The Glee Club, was opened in The Arcadian Centre, city centre, in 1994, and continues to host performances by leading regional, national and international acts.[226]
In the 1920s,Oscar Deutsch opened his firstOdeon cinema in the UK, inPerry Barr. By 1930, the Odeon brand was a household name and still thrives today.The Electric on Station Street opened on 27 December 1909, and is the oldest independent working cinema in the UK, continuing to operate despite multiple threats of closure over the years.[227][228][229] In 1931, theBirmingham Film Society was established, with an inaugural screening on 18 January 1931 at the Hampton Cinema in Livery Street. The largest cinema screen in the West Midlands was located atMillennium Point in Birmingham'sEastside, and opened in September 2001 as anIMAX format screen.[230] Unable to maintain commercial viability as large 3D screens became commonplace across commercial cinema multiplexes, the IMAX screen was closed and downgraded in September 2011, before its replacement Giant Screen Cinema was closed in January 2015.[231][232]
The city's primary film festival, the Birmingham Film Festival, wasco-founded by filmmaker Kevin McDonagh and actor Dean Williams in 2015 and has been held every year since.[233] It patrons include Peaky Blinders creatorSteven Knight and advertising executiveTrevor Beattie,[233] whilst its Grand Jury has featured judges including actressKia Pegg and filmmakersMichael B. Clifford andJoanna Quinn.[233]
Screen West Midlands, the regional screen agency for the West Midlands, is based in the city'sJewellery Quarter. Film Birmingham is theBirmingham City Council's Film and Television office, handling queries and filming requests from national and international productions.[234]
W. H. Auden grew up in the Birmingham area and lived there for much of his early life.
Literary figures associated with Birmingham includeSamuel Johnson who stayed in Birmingham for a short period and was born in nearbyLichfield.Arthur Conan Doyle worked in the Aston area of Birmingham whilst poetLouis MacNeice lived in Birmingham for six years. It was whilst staying in Birmingham that American authorWashington Irving produced several of his most famous literary works, such asBracebridge Hall andThe Humorists, A Medley which are based on Aston Hall, as well asThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow andRip Van Winkle.[235]
The poetW. H. Auden grew up in the Harborne area of the city and during the 1930s formed the core of theAuden Group with Birmingham University lecturerLouis MacNeice. Other influential poets associated with Birmingham includeRoi Kwabena, who was the city's sixth poet laureate,[236] andBenjamin Zephaniah, who was born in the city.[237]
Tolkien's blue plaque at Sarehole Mill, the inspiration forThe Shire
The authorJ. R. R. Tolkien was brought up in theKings Heath area of Birmingham.[238] He referred to Birmingham as his home town and to himself as a ‘Birmingham man’. There is a dedicated 'Tolkien Trail' across Birmingham which takes those who follow it to the landmarks which are said to have inspired Tolkien's works.[239]
The political playwrightDavid Edgar was born in Birmingham,[240] and the science fiction authorJohn Wyndham spent his early childhood in theEdgbaston area of the city.[241]
Nightlife in Birmingham is mainly concentrated alongBroad Street and intoBrindleyplace. Although in more recent years, Broad Street has lost its popularity due to the closing of several clubs; the Arcadian now has more popularity in terms of nightlife. Outside the Broad Street area are many stylish and underground venues. TheMedicine Bar in theCustard Factory,hmv Institute, Rainbow Pub and Air are large clubs and bars inDigbeth. AroundBirmingham Chinatown are areas such as the Arcadian andHurst StreetGay Village, that abound with bars and clubs. Summer Row, The Mailbox,O2 Academy in Bristol Street, Snobs Nightclub, St Philips/Colmore Row, St Paul's Square and theJewellery Quarter all have a vibrant night life. There are a number of late night pubs in theIrish Quarter.[265] Outside the city centre isStar City entertainment complex on the former site ofNechells Power Station.[266]
Birmingham's St Patrick's Day parade, the largest in Europe outside Dublin, is the city's largest single-day event.[270]
From 1997 until December 2006, the city hosted an annual arts festival,ArtsFest, the largest free arts festival in the UK at the time.[271]
Queens Heath Pride on 6 July 2025
The UK's largest two-day Gay Pride isBirmingham Pride (LGBT festival), which is typically held over thespring bank holiday weekend in May.[272][273] The streets of Birmingham's gay district pulsate with a carnival parade, live music, a dance arena with DJs, cabaret stage, women's arena and a community village. In addition, founded and organised by local comedianJoe Lycett with support from local businesses and the community, the smaller Queens Heath Pride is held annually, typically late June to early July. With stalls, events, and free entry, Queens Heath Pride lasts one day and takes place on York Road and Heathfield Road,Kings Heath. The event doesn't charge for entry, but independent market stalls sell a range of souvenirs, clothes, food, and drinks.[274][275]
The biennial Birmingham International Dance Festival (BIDF) started in 2008, organised by DanceXchange and involving indoor and outdoor venues across the city.[280] Other festivals in the city include the Birmingham International Jazz Festival. Moseley Folk and Arts Festival, and Mostly Jazz Festival.[281]
Simpsons in Edgbaston, one of the city's fiveMichelin-starred restaurants
Birmingham's development as a commercial town was originally based around its market for agricultural produce, established byroyal charter in 1166. Despite the industrialisation of subsequent centuries this role has been retained and theBirmingham Wholesale Markets remain the largest combined wholesale food markets in the country,[282] selling meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, and flowers, and supplying fresh produce to restaurateurs and independent retailers from as far as 100 miles (161 km) away.[283]
TheWing Yip food empire first began in the city and now has its headquarters inNechells.[287] TheBalti, a type ofcurry, was invented in the city, which has received much acclaim for the 'Balti Belt' or 'Balti Triangle'.[288] Famous food brands that originated in Birmingham includeTyphoo tea,Bird's Custard,Cadbury's chocolate andHP Sauce. There is also a thriving independent and artisan food sector in Birmingham, encompassing microbreweries like Two Towers,[289] and collective bakeries such as Loaf.[290] Recent years have seen these businesses increasingly showcased at farmers markets,[291] popularstreet food events[292] and food festivals including Birmingham Independent Food Fair.[293][294]
Birmingham is home to many entertainment and leisure venues, including Europe's largest leisure and entertainment complexStar City as well as Europe's first out-of-city-centre entertainment and leisure complexResorts World Birmingham owned by theGenting Group. The Mailbox which caters for more affluent clients is based within the city.[295]
Birmingham is chiefly a product of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries; its growth began during theIndustrial Revolution. Consequently, relatively few buildings survive from its earlier history and those that do are protected. There are 1,946listed buildings inBirmingham and thirteenscheduled monuments.[296] Birmingham City Council also operate a locally listing scheme for buildings that do not fully meet the criteria for statutorily listed status.[297]
Postwar redevelopment and anti-Victorianism resulted in the loss of dozens of Victorian buildings likeNew Street station and the oldCentral Library, often replaced bybrutalist architecture.[303] SirHerbert Manzoni, City Engineer and Surveyor of Birmingham from 1935 until 1963, believed conservation of old buildings was sentimental and that the city did not have any of worth anyway.[304] In inner-city areas too, much Victorian housing was demolished andredeveloped. Existing communities were relocated totower blockestates likeCastle Vale.[305]
In a partial reaction against the Manzoni years, Birmingham City Council is demolishing some of the brutalist buildings like the Central Library and has an extensive tower block demolition and renovation programme. There has been much redevelopment in the city centre in recent years, including the award-winning[306]Future Systems'Selfridges building in theBullring Shopping Centre, theBrindleyplace regeneration project, theMillennium Point science and technology centre, and the refurbishment of the iconicRotunda building. Funding for many of these projects has come from theEuropean Union; the Town Hall for example received £3 million in funding from theEuropean Regional Development Fund.[307]
Highrise development has slowed since the 1970s and mainly in recent years because of enforcements imposed by theCivil Aviation Authority on the heights of buildings as they could affect aircraft from the Airport (e.g.Beetham Tower).[308]
People from Birmingham are calledBrummies, a term derived from the city's nickname of "Brum", which originates from the city's old name,Brummagem.[309][310] TheBrummieaccent anddialect are particularly distinctive.
The city is served by theM5,M6,M40 andM42 motorways, and possibly the most well known motorway junction in the United Kingdom:Spaghetti Junction, a colloquial name for the Gravelly Hill Interchange.[312] The M6 passes through the city on theBromford Viaduct, which at 3.5 miles (5.6 km) is the longest bridge in the UK.[313]The Middleway (A4540) is a ring road that runs around the city centre. In the past there used to be a smaller ring road in the core of the city namedInner Ring Road.
Birmingham introduced aClean Air Zone from 1 June 2021, which charges polluting vehicles to travel into the city centre.[314]
Birmingham Airport, located 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the city centre in the neighbouring borough ofSolihull, is theseventh busiest airport by passenger traffic in the UK and the third busiest outside the London area, afterManchester andEdinburgh. It is a major base foreasyJet,[315]Jet2,[316]Ryanair[317] andTUI Airways,[318] and is the former headquarters and main hub of now-defunct airline,Fly:Be.[319] Airline services operate from Birmingham to many destinations in Europe, Africa, the Americas, Middle East, Asia and Oceania.[320]
Birmingham has a high level of public transport usage; in 2015, 63% of morning peak trips into Birmingham were made by public transport, with the remaining 37% made by private car. Rail was the most popular public transport mode, accounting for 36.4% of journeys, followed by buses at 26.3% and the Metro at 0.3%.[322]
There is currently no underground system in Birmingham; it is the largest city in Europe not to have one. In recent years, ideas of an underground system have started to appear, but none so far have been planned in earnest primarily due to the ongoing expansion of the West Midlands Metro tram network being viewed as a higher priority.[323]
Historically, Birmingham had a substantialtram system operated byBirmingham Corporation Tramways which was closed in 1953. In 1999, trams returned to the city with theWest Midlands Metro (formerly known asMidland Metro) which operates services to the city ofWolverhampton. Since 2015–2016, after extension work, the tram network runs in the streets of central Birmingham, for the first time since 1953; further expansions of the West Midlands Metro system are underway with extensions planned eastwards toChelmsley Wood andBirmingham Airport, and new lines being constructed, linkingBull Street andDigbeth High Street.[322][330][331]
Bus networks throughout the city and wider region are widespread.[332] 261million bus journeys were made in the TfWM area in 2016/17.[322] Bus routes are mainly operated commercially by private companies, although TfWM and local councils subsidise socially necessary services. WithMobico Group (formerly National Express Group) being based in Birmingham,National Express West Midlands, accounts for nearly 80% of all bus journeys in the city,[322] with other companies operating within the city includingArriva Midlands,Diamond Bus,Stagecoach Midlands and other smaller independent operators.[333]
Thenumber 11 Outer Circle bus route, run by National Express West Midlands, which operates in both clockwise[334] and anti-clockwise[335] directions around the outskirts of the city, is the longest urban bus route in Europe, being over 26 miles (42 km) long[336] with 272 bus stops.[337]
Sustrans' National Cycle Route 5 goes through central Birmingham, connecting with National Cycle Route 81 at Smethwick. National Cycle Route 535 fromSutton Coldfield terminates just north ofBirmingham Snow Hill railway station. In 2021, Transport for West Midlands launched a cycle hire scheme involving over 300 bikes and 43 docking stations across the West Midlands, including central Birmingham.[342]
An extensivecanal system still remains in Birmingham from the Industrial Revolution. The city has more miles of canal thanVenice, though the canals in Birmingham are a less prominent and essential feature due to the larger size of the city and the fact that few of its buildings are accessed by canal.[16] The canals are mainly used today for leisure purposes;[343] canalside regeneration schemes such asBrindleyplace have turned the canals into a tourist attraction.[344][345][346]
Most of Birmingham's state schools areacademy schools,community schools,free schools andvoluntary aided schools. Since the 1970s, most secondary schools in Birmingham have been 11-–-16/18 comprehensive schools, while postGCSE students have the choice of continuing their education in either a school's sixth form or at a further education college. There are eightstategrammar schools.[365]
The formerBirmingham Central Library, opened in 1972, was considered to be the largest municipal library in Europe.[371] Six of its collections weredesignated by theArts Council England as being "pre-eminent collections of national and international importance", out of only eight collections to be so recognised in local authority libraries nationwide.[372]
A newLibrary of Birmingham inCentenary Square, replacing Central Library, was opened on 3 September 2013. It was designed by the Dutch architectsMecanoo and has been described as "a kind of public forum ... a memorial, a shrine, to the book and to literature".[373] The library is viewed by theBirmingham City Council as a flagship project for thecity's redevelopment. It has been described as the largest public library in the United Kingdom,[374] the largestpublic cultural space in Europe,[375][376][377] and the largest regional library in Europe.[378] 2,414,860 visitors came to the library in 2014 making it the 10th most popular visitor attraction in the UK.[379]
There are 41 local libraries in Birmingham, plus a regular mobile library service.[380] The library service has 4 million visitors annually.[381][382]
There are several majorNational Health Service hospitals in Birmingham. TheQueen Elizabeth Hospital, adjacent to theBirmingham Medical School inEdgbaston, is one of the largestteaching hospitals in the United Kingdom with over 1,200 beds. It is a major trauma centre offering services to the extended West Midlands region and houses the largest single-floorcritical care unit in the world, with 100 beds.[386] The hospital has the largest solid organ transplantation programme in Europe as well as the largest renal transplant programme in the United Kingdom and it is a national specialist centre for liver, heart and lung transplantation, as well as cancer studies. It is the home of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine for military personnel injured in conflict zones.[387]
TheAEGON Classic is, alongsideWimbledon andEastbourne, one of only three UK tennis tournaments on theWTA Tour.[411] It is played annually at theEdgbaston Priory Club, which in 2010 announced plans for a multimillion-pound redevelopment, including a new showcase centre court and a museum celebrating the game's Birmingham origins.[412]
Birmingham hosted the2022 Commonwealth Games, which took place between 28 July and 8 August 2022. This was the first time that Birmingham hosted the Commonwealth Games and the 22nd edition of the Commonwealth Games to take place.[417]Alexander Stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies and athletics was renovated, and the capacity was increased to 30,000 seats.[418] The event contributed £1.2billion to the economy of the United Kingdom.[419]
The Electric is the oldest working cinema in the UK.
Birmingham is home to a media industry that includes news and magazine publishers, radio and television networks, film production and specialist educational media training.[420] Birmingham has several major local newspapers – the dailyBirmingham Mail and the weeklyBirmingham Post andSunday Mercury, all owned byReach plc.Forward is afreesheet produced byBirmingham City Council, which is distributed to homes in the city. Birmingham is also the hub for various nationalethnic media, lifestyle magazines, digital news platforms, and the base for two regionalMetro editions (East and West Midlands).[421]
Birmingham has three mainstream digital-only news publishers,I Am Birmingham,Birmingham Updates andSecond City. Birmingham has a long cinematic history;The Electric on Station Street is the oldest working cinema in the UK.[422] Birmingham is the location for several British and international film productions includingFelicia's Journey of 1999, which used locations in Birmingham that were used inTake Me High of 1973 to contrast the changes in the city.[423]
TheBBC has two facilities in the city. The Mailbox, in the city centre, is the national headquarters ofBBC English Regions[424] and the headquarters ofBBC West Midlands and theBBC Birmingham network production centre. These were previously located at thePebble Mill Studios in Edgbaston. The BBC Drama Village, based in Selly Oak, is a production facility specialising intelevision drama.[425]
Central/ATV studios in Birmingham was the location for the recording of various programmes for ITV, includingTiswas andCrossroads, until the complex was closed in 1997,[426] and Central moved to its current Gas Street studios. Central's output from Birmingham now consists of only theWest andEast editions of the regional news programmeITV News Central.
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