Grace Roffe: City of Diversity and Culture

For all too long Birmingham has been given a bad name. With an above average crime rate, an accent everyone loves to hate and songs written about it such as Made in Hell, nothing seemingly can go right in the country’s second city.

Like many others, however, I love it, and think it’s a far more interesting and enjoyable city than anyone makes it out to be. Birmingham is one of the most diverse cities in the world, let alone the country and not just culturally, although the city’s large ethnic mix is one of its most defining characteristics. Whether it’s world class sporting venues or internationally renowned culture centers there’s something in Brum for even the greatest skeptics, although the biggest trick when in Birmingham is not to be skeptical.

Sure, if you’re looking for it, you’ll be able to find a gun culture in some areas of the city. But it takes far less straining to find exactly why the city was chosen to be European City of Culture. There are at least seven brilliant theatres (including the Rep, Hippodrome, Alexandra and Crescent), a symphony hall which hosts concerts from world renowned musicians as well as local groups, a series of brilliant gig venues and of course the NEC that hosts major events such as the clothes show live and the NIA that has been home to the IAAF world indoor championships.

The development of the Bull Ring, the Palisades, the Mail Box and the Pavilions has made once no-go areas palatable to even the most salubrious, but it’s the experiences that come along with shopping that really make a day out in Brum great. The Big Wok is a Chinese chain that has just three restaurants in the UK, one of which is just round the corner from the new Bull Ring. The food is brilliant, and for a fiver for all you can eat you really can’t go wrong, but the experience of eating in a warehouse-size canteen alongside people who have come from all over the world to make Birmingham their home is a uniquely brummie experience.

The city also has a vibrant art circuit, second only to London in the UK. There is the main Birmingham Art gallery off Victoria square, but in Brindley Place is the fabulous Ikon gallery which puts on some of the most cutting edge and daring contemporary artists including the likes of Simon Patterson, Ryan Garden and Harminder Singh Judge and still charges nothing to get in!

It would take pages to record all the highlights of the city centre—the rag market, oasis market, swordfish records—and even longer to go into the details of the wonders of the different districts—Mosley’s amazing pub Horse and Hounds, Bartley Green’s chip shop, King’s Heath’s French delicatessen Maison Maysi—but even from this brief glimpse at the country’s most exciting city there’s no denying there’s more to Birmingham than the crime rate.