Birmingham Today

‘Birmingham is one of the most diverse cities in the uk ’

The population of Birmingham is approximately 1 million: 6 million people live within 50 miles of the City.

They say Birmingham has more canals than Venice! Over recent years, our canals have been regenerated, locks have been restored and canal navigation improved. The Waterside development, next to the International Convention Centre, is a thriving area full of pubs, restaurants and shops. Former President Bill Clinton once enjoyed a pint there whilst taking in the atmosphere.

We have more parks than any other European City and won many gold medals from the Chelsea Flower Show and National Britain in Bloom awards.

Birmingham has received funding from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to produce the most comprehensive set of noise maps in Europe. These will be used to assist in planning the redevelopment of our City in the most sustainable way in future.

Council street cleaners regularly sweep 1,300 miles of road and empty 4,000 litter bins - helping to make Birmingham officially the UK’s cleanest large city.

Birmingham is home to Cadbury’s Chocolate, located in the leafy suburb of Bournville - noted for the bells of its Carillon.

Victoria Square, in the City Centre, features one of the largest fountains in Europe, with a flow of 3,000 gallons per minute.

Centenary Square, in Broad Street, is paved with more than half a million individual bricks - all hand laid.

Birmingham is known for its 1960s Rotunda building - earmarked for demolition but saved for posterity by popular acclaim. It dominates the Bulll Ring - site of a historic market for more than 800 years - where the five retail markets, attracting around 20 million visitors a year has been developed.

The International Convention Centre stages conferences, exhibitions and conventions held by organisations from all over the world, and has been the location of a Summit Meeting of the world’s leaders. Within the ICC is the highly acclaimed Symphony Hall, home of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The complex was built on the site of Bingley Hall, the world’s first exhibition hall, which opened in 1850.