105-712: Utilita Arena Birmingham (previously known as Arena Birmingham , The Barclaycard Arena , originally as the National Indoor Arena and still commonly called The NIA ) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham , England. It is owned by parent company the NEC Group . When it was opened in 1991, it was the largest indoor arena in the UK. The arena is located alongside the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line's Old Turn Junction and opposite
210-510: A Eurostat measure of the functional city-region approximated to local government districts, had a population of 2,357,100 in 2004. In addition to Birmingham itself, the LUZ ( West Midlands conurbation ) includes the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley , Sandwell , Solihull and Walsall , along with the districts of Lichfield , Tamworth , North Warwickshire and Bromsgrove . Beyond this is
315-472: A Lord Mayoralty was conferred on Birmingham by Letters Patent on 3 June 1896. Birmingham's ten parliamentary constituencies are represented in the House of Commons as of 2024 by one Conservative , one independent and eight Labour MPs . Originally part of Warwickshire , Birmingham expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, absorbing parts of Worcestershire to the south and Staffordshire to
420-542: A conurbation with the borough of Solihull to the south east, and with the city of Wolverhampton and the industrial towns of the Black Country to the north west, which form the West Midlands Built-up Area covering 59,972 ha (600 km ; 232 sq mi). Surrounding this is Birmingham's metropolitan area – the area to which it is closely economically tied through commuting – which includes
525-410: A Section 114 notice to say that it could not meet its financial commitments. Effectively this meant the council was bankrupt. A major contributing factor is a £1.1b sum that has been paid out since 2010, for equal pay claims. There is still a bill for £760m, increasing by £14m a month. There are also problems with a new IT system that was projected to cost £19m but is now closer to £100m. In addition there
630-491: A broader range of specialist, higher-skilled and more lucrative activities. By the time of the English Civil War Birmingham's booming economy, its expanding population, and its resulting high levels of social mobility and cultural pluralism , had seen it develop new social structures very different from those of more established areas. Relationships were built around pragmatic commercial linkages rather than
735-562: A century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen. By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire, a position it would retain for the next 200 years. The principal governing institutions of medieval Birmingham – including the Guild of the Holy Cross and the lordship of the de Birmingham family – collapsed between 1536 and 1547, leaving
840-534: A considerable urban heat island effect. 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. Birmingham is a snowy city relative to other large UK conurbations, due to its inland location and comparatively high elevation. Between 1961 and 1990 Birmingham Airport averaged 13.0 days of snow lying annually, compared to 5.33 at London Heathrow . Snow showers often pass through
945-506: A constantly diversifying range of products, in a highly entrepreneurial economy of small, often self-owned workshops. 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 many patents as those of any other British town or city. The demand for capital to feed rapid economic expansion also saw Birmingham grow into
1050-565: A contender. Edinburgh , Cardiff , and Belfast also have alternative claims due to their status as capital cities of the other home nations . York was named the second city in earlier centuries, by virtue of its prominence in Roman times as the northern capital, Eboracum , of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior . The title Second City of the Empire or Second City of the British Empire
1155-576: A haven for Nonconformists from the 1660s. By 1700 Birmingham's population had increased fifteen-fold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the cultural phenomenon now known as the Midlands Enlightenment . The town developed into a notable centre of literary , musical , artistic and theatrical activity; and its leading citizens – particularly
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#17328375450041260-612: A major financial centre with extensive international connections. Lloyds Bank was founded in the town in 1765, and Ketley's Building Society , the world's first building society , in 1775. By 1800 the West Midlands had more banking offices per head than any other region in Britain, including London. Innovation in 18th-century Birmingham often took the form of incremental series of small-scale improvements to existing products or processes, but also included major developments that lay at
1365-467: A population of 600,000 although the surrounding conurbation of Greater Glasgow has a population of 1,199,629. In contrast, the population of the city of Birmingham has remained steady around the one million mark; its central population fell like Glasgow's, but the city boundaries were extended several times in the early 20th century. Occasional claims were made for Liverpool , Birmingham and Manchester . Birmingham has generally been considered to be
1470-574: A record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak , two tornadoes touched down within the Birmingham city limits – in Erdington and Selly Oak – with six tornadoes touching down within the boundaries of the wider West Midlands county. More recently, a destructive T6/F3 tornado occurred in July 2005 in the south of the city, damaging homes and businesses in the area. The tornado took an almost parallel path to that of
1575-492: A single black box later described by an official American historian as "the most valuable cargo ever brought to our shores". The city was extensively redeveloped during the 1950s and 1960s. This included the construction of large tower block estates, such as Castle Vale . The Bull Ring was reconstructed and New 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
1680-538: A tourist attraction in the early 1900s. Birmingham has a temperate maritime climate ( Cfb according to the Köppen 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). Between 1971 and 2000 the warmest day of the year on average was 28.8 °C (83.8 °F) and
1785-402: A variety of events including concerts, sporting events and conferences. It has a capacity of up to 15,800 using both permanent seating and temporary seating configurations. The arena was renamed after it underwent an extensive renovation which was completed at the end of 2014. Michael Bublé opened the renovated arena on 2 December 2014. In 2018 the arena had ticket sales of 497,443, which was
1890-803: A visit to the newly built Bullring Shopping Centre in 2003. At different times, MPs representing constituencies in Manchester and Glasgow have spoken out in support of their respective cities' claims: However, in 2007, Phil Woolas MP for the constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth , former Minister of State for the Environment, appeared to concede the second city title to Birmingham, remarking: "And, of course, I, and colleagues in Manchester, am pleased to see its very sensible plans to relocate to Manchester – Britain's third city." Most recently, MP for Solihull , Julian Knight conceded that people see Manchester as England's second city but argued that "Birmingham
1995-564: Is a projected £87m deficit for the financial year 23/24. Birmingham City Council has 101 councillors representing 77 wards as of 2018. Its headquarters are at the Council House in Victoria Square . As of 2023 , the council has a Labour Party majority and is led by John Cotton. Labour replaced the previous no overall control status at the May 2012 elections. The honour and dignity of
2100-702: Is located in the centre of the West Midlands region of England on the Birmingham 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–south watershed between the basins of the Rivers Severn and Trent . To the immediate south west of the city lie the Lickey Hills , Clent Hills and Walton Hill , which reach 1,033 feet (315 m) and have extensive views over
2205-501: Is particularly a large community of Asian descent, especially from Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi backgrounds, as well as Afro-Caribbeans from the Commonwealth , and a solid Chinese presence through migrants from the former colony of Hong Kong . Birmingham also has an older Irish connection, with the city having the largest population of Irish in mainland Britain and home to its only Irish quarter, Digbeth . In Birmingham, 65.9% of
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#17328375450042310-629: Is the second-largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $ 121.1bn (2014 ). Its five universities, including the University of Birmingham , make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham's major cultural institutions – the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra , Birmingham Royal Ballet , Birmingham Repertory Theatre , Library of Birmingham and Barber Institute of Fine Arts – enjoy international reputations, and
2415-461: Is the arbitrary nature of the metropolitan county boundaries , which were drawn up in the early-1970s as administrative divisions and do not necessarily reflect the present state of either conurbation. A second drawback is the implication that each county is, in itself, homogeneous, thus ignoring the sensitivities of the distinct settlements which fall within the boundaries of the county but may not identify strongly with its principal city, for example
2520-412: Is the second-largest city in Britain – commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom – with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper . Birmingham borders the Black Country to its west and, together with the city of Wolverhampton and towns including Dudley and Solihull , forms the West Midlands conurbation . The royal town of Sutton Coldfield is incorporated within
2625-437: Is typically held to be either Birmingham or Manchester , between which the title is disputed. The title is unofficial and cultural and is often debated in the popular press between Birmingham, Manchester, and other candidates. The United Kingdom has a primate city structure where London significantly surpasses other cities in size and importance and all other cities have much more in common with one another than with
2730-727: The 2021 United Kingdom census , the City of Birmingham is the most populous local government district (and therefore in terms of population actually the UK’s largest City-proper) with a population of 1.145 million — substantially larger than the City of Manchester , which at 552,000 is only the sixth largest, behind Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Bradford and Sheffield. However, municipal boundaries are problematic for comparing modern cities: many suburbs of Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester fall outside city limits largely drawn up in Victorian times, and
2835-757: The Anglican Diocese of Birmingham was created in 1905. There are two other cathedrals: St Chad's , seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham and the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Mother of God and St Andrew . The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands is also based at Birmingham, with a cathedral under construction. The original parish church of Birmingham, St Martin in
2940-593: The Birmingham Canal Navigations . Historically a market town in Warwickshire in the medieval period, Birmingham grew during the 18th century during the Midlands Enlightenment and during the Industrial Revolution , which saw advances in science, technology and economic development, producing a series of innovations that laid many of the foundations of modern industrial society . By 1791, it
3045-661: The Birmingham Political Union bringing the country to the brink of civil war during the Days of May that preceded the passing of the Great Reform Act in 1832. The Union's meetings on Newhall Hill in 1831 and 1832 were the largest political assemblies Britain had ever seen. Lord Durham , who drafted the Act, wrote that "the country owed Reform to Birmingham, and its salvation from revolution". This reputation for having "shaken
3150-489: The Black Country in the West Midlands, or Bolton in Greater Manchester. Relatedly, a third drawback is in the names of the counties themselves: Manchester has been able to leverage the name of its metropolitan county to build a cohesive " place brand ", whereas Birmingham's comparative sphere of influence tends to be hidden within the West Midlands moniker. In an attempt to circumvent the first of these drawbacks,
3255-514: The Commonwealth of Nations and beyond. The city's population peaked in 1951 at 1,113,000 residents. 21 people were killed and 182 were injured in a series of bomb attacks in 1974, thought to be carried out by the Provisional IRA . The bombings were the worst terror attacks in England up until the 2005 London bombings and consisted of bombs being planted in two pubs in central Birmingham. Six men were convicted , who became known later as
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3360-625: The Frisch–Peierls memorandum of 1940, the same year that the cavity magnetron , the key component of radar and later of microwave ovens , was invented by John Randall and Henry Boot . Details of these two discoveries, together with an outline of the first jet engine invented by Frank Whittle in nearby Rugby , were taken to the United States by the Tizard Mission in September 1940, in
3465-575: The German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz . The damage done to the city's infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive urban regeneration in subsequent decades. Birmingham's economy is now dominated by the service sector . The city is a major international commercial centre and an important transport, retail, events and conference hub. Its metropolitan economy
3570-597: The ICC Birmingham in central Birmingham, and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and bp pulse LIVE (previously Resorts World Arena, Genting Arena and LG Arena), based on The NEC site in nearby Solihull . Birmingham Birmingham ( / ˈ b ɜːr m ɪ ŋ ə m / BUR -ming-əm ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England . It
3675-508: The Meriden Gap , which separates the City of Coventry from the rest of the West Midlands built-up area. An alternative methodology, based around the concept of primary urban areas , is used by Centre for Cities to publish urban policy research. Primary urban areas are intended to allow economic and social comparisons between cities, using definitions less arbitrary than the administrative boundaries of local authorities, but avoiding some of
3780-686: The National Sea Life Centre in Brindleyplace . The building straddles the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton Intercity railway line (originally the Stour Valley Line ), but does not have a station of its own. There are three adjoining car parks with a total of 2,156 spaces. Close to the arena is The ICC which is also owned by the NEC Group. It is currently the third-largest indoor arena in
3885-537: The Soho Manufactory , pioneering the combination and mechanisation under one roof of previously separate manufacturing activities through a system known as "rational manufacture". As the largest manufacturing unit in Europe, this came to symbolise the emergence of the factory system . Most significant, however, was the development in 1776 of the industrial steam engine by James Watt and Matthew Boulton. Freeing for
3990-521: The Victorian era , the population of Birmingham grew rapidly to well over half a million and Birmingham became the second largest population centre in England. Birmingham was granted city status in 1889 by Queen Victoria . Joseph Chamberlain , mayor of Birmingham and later an MP, and his son Neville Chamberlain , who was Lord Mayor of Birmingham and later the British Prime Minister, are two of
4095-515: The union with Scotland in 1707, from the English Civil War until the 18th century, Norwich was the second-largest city of the Kingdom of England , being a major trading centre, Britain's richest provincial city and county town of Norfolk , at that time the most populous county of England. Bristol was the second-wealthiest city in England in the 16th century; and by the 18th century, Bristol
4200-509: The 112-mile (180 km) London and Birmingham Railway of 1838. Birmingham schoolteacher Rowland Hill invented the postage stamp and created the first modern universal postal system in 1839. Alexander Parkes invented the first human-made plastic in the Jewellery Quarter in 1855. By the 1820s, the country's extensive canal system had been constructed, giving greater access to natural resources and fuel for industries. During
4305-454: The 1931 tornado. Notable tornadoes have also struck the city in 1923, 1946, 1951, 1998 and 1999, most of which being of T2-T4/F1-F2 intensity. There are 571 parks within Birmingham – more than any other European city – totalling over 3,500 hectares (14 sq mi) of public open space. The city has over six million trees, and 250 miles (400 kilometres) of urban brooks and streams. Sutton Park , which covers 2,400 acres (971 ha) in
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4410-403: 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. St Philip's Cathedral was upgraded from church status when
4515-447: The 4th highest in the United Kingdom. In 2012 plans to refurbish and renovate the NIA were approved by Birmingham City Council . The plans included creating a showpiece entrance from the canal-side, three "sky needle" light sculptures, a new glazed facade fronting the canal and new pre-show hospitality elements. The design was by the architecture firm Broadway Malyan and the building contract
4620-536: The Birmingham Six and sentenced to life imprisonment, who were acquitted after 16 years by the Court of Appeal . The convictions are now considered one of the worst British miscarriages of justice in recent times. The true perpetrators of the attacks are yet to be arrested. Birmingham remained by far Britain's most prosperous provincial city as late as the 1970s, with household incomes exceeding even those of London and
4725-471: 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. Birmingham's tradition of innovation continued into the 19th century. Birmingham was the terminus for both of the world's first two long-distance railway lines: the 82-mile (132 km) Grand Junction Railway of 1837 and
4830-705: The Bull Ring , is Grade II* listed . A short distance from Five Ways the Birmingham Oratory was completed in 1910 on the site of Cardinal Newman 's original foundation. There are several Christadelphian meeting halls in the city and the Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Group has its headquarters in Hall Green . Second city of the United Kingdom The second city of the United Kingdom
4935-553: The Rivers Tame, Rea and Cole and their tributaries. 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 harder Keuper Sandstone . The bedrock underlying Birmingham was mostly laid down during the Permian and Triassic periods. The area has evidence of glacial deposits , with prominent erratic boulders becoming
5040-469: The South East, but its economic diversity and capacity for regeneration declined in the decades that followed World War II as Central Government sought to restrict the city's growth and disperse industry and population to the stagnating areas of Wales and Northern England . These measures hindered "the natural self-regeneration of businesses in Birmingham, leaving it top-heavy with the old and infirm", and
5145-491: The United Kingdom by capacity. In 2019, the arena had ticket sales of 530,597, which was the 4th highest in the United Kingdom. The arena was officially opened, as the National Indoor Arena, on 4 October 1991 by the athlete Linford Christie . When it was opened, the arena was intended to be an indoor sporting venue. However, the venue began to host entertainment events shortly after opening. The arena currently hosts
5250-542: The Wake Green football club; Bartley and Frankley reservoirs; and Handsworth cemetery with surrounding golf courses. Birmingham has many areas of wildlife that lie in both informal settings such as the Project Kingfisher and Woodgate Valley Country Park and in a selection of parks such as Lickey Hills Country Park , Pype Hayes Park & Newhall Valley, Handsworth Park , Kings Heath Park , and Cannon Hill Park ,
5355-624: The Welsh capital Cardiff , 45 miles (72 km) south-west of Nottingham , 70 miles (110 km) south of Manchester , and 75 miles (121 km) north-north-east of Bristol . Much of the area now occupied by the city was originally a northern reach of the ancient Forest of Arden and the city remains relatively densely covered by oak in a large number of districts such as Moseley , Saltley , Yardley , Stirchley and Hockley . These places, with names ending in "-ley", deriving from Old English - lēah meaning "woodland clearing", are named after
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#17328375450045460-499: The age of 25 and the median age being 34 years of age, below the national average of 40. Religion in Birmingham (2021) Christianity is the largest religion within Birmingham, with 34% of residents identifying as Christians in the 2021 Census . The city's religious profile is highly diverse: outside London, Birmingham has the United Kingdom's largest Muslim , Sikh and Buddhist communities; its second largest Hindu community; and its seventh largest Jewish community. Between
5565-620: The area during the Bronze 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. During the 1st-century Roman conquest of Britain , the forested country of the Birmingham Plateau formed a barrier to the advancing Roman legions, who built the large Metchley Fort in the area of modern-day Edgbaston in AD ;48, and made it
5670-462: The borough are designated as green belt , as a portion of the wider West Midlands Green Belt. This is a strategic local government policy used to prevent urban sprawl and preserve greenfield 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
5775-401: The capital, but various cities have held some claim to the title of second city through history. Eboracum ( York ), the northern capital of Britannia Inferior , would have been considered the second city by virtue of its prominence in Roman times. In medieval England , the second-largest city was Norwich . It was surpassed by Bristol in the seventeenth century. By the nineteenth century,
5880-465: The city became increasingly dependent on the motor industry . The recession of the early 1980s saw Birmingham's economy collapse, with unprecedented levels of unemployment and outbreaks of social unrest in inner-city districts. Since the turn of the 21st century, many parts of Birmingham have been transformed, with the redevelopment of the Bullring Shopping Centre , the construction of
5985-536: The city has vibrant and influential grassroots art , music , literary and culinary scenes. Birmingham was the host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games . In 2021, Birmingham was the third most visited city in the UK by people from foreign nations. The name Birmingham comes from the Old English Beormingahām , meaning the home or settlement of the Beormingas – a tribe or clan whose name means 'Beorma's people' and which may have formed an early unit of Anglo-Saxon administration. Beorma , after whom
6090-404: The city limits to the northeast. The wider metropolitan area has a population of 4.3 million, making it the largest outside London. Located in the West Midlands region of England, Birmingham is considered to be the social, cultural, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands . It is just west of the traditional centre point of England at Meriden , and is the most inland major city in
6195-464: The city via the Cheshire gap on north westerly airstreams, but can also come off the North Sea from north easterly airstreams. Extreme weather is rare, but the city has been known to experience tornadoes . On 14 June 1931, an extremely damaging T6/F3 tornado struck the city, carving an 11-mile damage path through Hollywood, Hall Green, Sparkbrook, Tyseley, Greet and Small Heath, causing extensive damage and killing 1 woman. On 23 November 1981, during
6300-430: The city. Birmingham is drained only by minor rivers and brooks, primarily the River Tame and its tributaries the Cole and the Rea . Birmingham is located significantly inland, and its nearest body of sea is at Liverpool Bay . It lies at the same latitude as Lowestoft , Britain's easternmost settlement; it is therefore much more proximate to the western coast of Wales, at Cardigan Bay . The City of Birmingham forms
6405-491: The coldest night typically fell to −9.0 °C (15.8 °F). Some 11.2 days each year rose to a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above and 51.6 nights reported an air frost. The highest recorded temperature recorded at the Edgbaston Campus was 37.4 °C (99.3 °F), whilst a temperature of 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) was recorded at Birmingham Airport on the city's eastern edge, both recorded on 19 July 2022 . Like most other large cities, Birmingham has
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#17328375450046510-451: The conurbation. According to the 2021 census, Greater Manchester had a total population of 2.868 million. This is nonetheless marginally smaller than the equivalent metropolitan county and combined authority of the West Midlands , which comprises the cities of Birmingham, Coventry , Wolverhampton , and four other metropolitan boroughs, with a total combined population of 2.92 million. There are several drawbacks to this approach. The first
6615-403: The country, and lying north of the Cotswolds and east of the Shropshire Hills . Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn , approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the city centre . The city does however have numerous canals , collectively named
6720-423: The creation of a planned market town and seigneurial borough within his demesne or manorial estate, around the site that became the Bull Ring . 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. Within
6825-412: The exchange of knowledge between pure science and the practical world of manufacturing and technology. This created a "chain reaction of innovation", forming a pivotal link between the earlier Scientific Revolution and the Industrial Revolution that would follow. Birmingham's explosive industrial expansion started earlier than that of the textile-manufacturing towns of the North of England , and
6930-503: The fabric of privilege to its base" in 1832 led John Bright to make Birmingham the platform for his successful campaign for the Second Reform Act of 1867, which extended voting rights to the urban working class. The original Charter of Incorporation , dated 31 October 1838, was received in Birmingham on 1 November, then read in the Town Hall on 5 November with elections for the first Birmingham Town Council being held on 26 December. Sixteen Aldermen and 48 Councillors were elected and
7035-458: The first importance" in the development of the mechanised cotton industry . In 1741 they opened the world's first cotton mill in Birmingham's Upper Priory. In 1746 John Roebuck invented the lead chamber process , enabling the large-scale manufacture of sulphuric acid , and in 1780 James Keir developed a process for the bulk manufacture of alkali , together marking the birth of the modern chemical industry . In 1765 Matthew Boulton opened
7140-426: 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 entire Industrial Revolution and a key factor in the worldwide increases in productivity over the following century. Birmingham rose to national political prominence in the campaign for political reform in the early 19th century, with Thomas Attwood and
7245-427: The focus of a network of Roman roads . Birmingham was then later established by the Beormingas around the 6th or 7th century as a small settlement in the then heavily forested Arden region in Mercia . The development of Birmingham into a significant urban and commercial centre began in 1166, when the Lord of the Manor Peter de Bermingham obtained a charter to hold a market at his castle , and followed this with
7350-407: The former forest. 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, to Erdington and Sutton Coldfield in the north east. To the south and east of the fault the ground is largely softer Mercia Mudstone , interspersed with beds of Bunter pebbles and crossed by the valleys of
7455-528: The freesheet press, including The Metro and City A.M. , regional publications including The London Evening Standard , The Scottish Herald , The Northern Echo and The Yorkshire Post , special interest publications including The Voice , and a number of international publications including The New Zealand Herald , The Times Colonist and The National . Publications including The Financial Times and The Scotsman have also referred to Birmingham's second city status. During
7560-531: The heart of the emergence of industrial society . In 1709 the Birmingham-trained Abraham Darby I moved to Coalbrookdale in Shropshire and built the first blast furnace to successfully smelt iron ore with coke , transforming the quality, volume and scale on which it was possible to produce cast iron . In 1732 Lewis Paul and John Wyatt invented roller spinning , the "one novel idea of
7665-494: The industry's products. By the 1600s Birmingham formed the commercial hub of a network of forges and furnaces stretching from South Wales to Cheshire and its merchants were selling finished manufactured goods as far afield as the West Indies . 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
7770-649: The issues associated with agglomerating distinct urban settlements into single cities. According to the Centre for Cities Data Tool, Birmingham's population in 2020 was 2.56 million, marginally ahead of Manchester's 2.52 million. At other times, the wider metropolitan areas of the two cities are considered. Compared directly, the Birmingham Metropolitan Area is the larger of the two, with an estimated 2021 population of 4.34 million as opposed to Manchester's 3.1 million. The media typically describe Birmingham as
7875-488: The label "second city of the British Empire" had emerged and was widely applied to Dublin , the capital of Ireland . Dublin was eclipsed over the coming decades by several rapidly industrialising cities in Britain. Glasgow was sometimes described as the second city of the Empire during the Victorian era . Currently, Birmingham is commonly referred to as the UK's second city, although Manchester has also emerged as
7980-530: The later expansion of the Anglo-Saxon population, in some cases possibly on earlier British sites. There is evidence of early human activity in the Birmingham area dating back to around 8000 BC, with Stone Age artefacts suggesting seasonal settlements, overnight hunting parties and woodland activities such as tree felling. The many burnt mounds that can still be seen around the city indicate that modern humans first intensively settled and cultivated
8085-522: The latter also housing the mini zoo, Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park . 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. It is the 27th largest city in Europe by population within its city boundary. Birmingham's continuous urban area extends beyond the city's boundaries: the Birmingham Larger Urban Zone ,
8190-465: The members of the Lunar Society of Birmingham – became influential participants in the circulation of philosophical and scientific ideas among Europe's intellectual elite. The close relationship between Enlightenment Birmingham's leading thinkers and its major manufacturers – in men like Matthew Boulton and James Keir they were often in fact the same people – made it particularly important for
8295-425: The most well-known political figures who have lived in Birmingham. The city established its own university in 1900. The city suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II 's " Birmingham Blitz ". The city was also the scene of two scientific discoveries that were to prove critical to the outcome of the war. Otto Frisch and Rudolf Peierls first described how a practical nuclear weapon could be constructed in
8400-425: The naming deal would end early, and from September 2017 it would be named Arena Birmingham. On 16 January 2020, it was announced that the arena will be renamed Utilita Arena Birmingham from 15 April 2020. The arena has been used for several major events in the past, including counting no less than eight constituencies in the hall for the 1992 general election . Parent company The NEC Group also owns and operates
8505-594: The new Library of Birmingham (the largest public library in Europe) and the regeneration of old industrial areas such as Brindleyplace , The Mailbox and the International Convention Centre , as well as the rationalisation of the Inner Ring Road . In 1998 Birmingham hosted the 24th G8 summit . The city successfully hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games . On 5 September 2023 Birmingham city council issued
8610-591: The north and west. The city absorbed Sutton Coldfield in 1974 and became a metropolitan borough in the new West Midlands county . A top-level government body, the West Midlands Combined Authority , was formed in April 2016. The WMCA holds devolved powers in transport, development planning, and economic growth. The authority is governed by a directly elected mayor , similar to the Mayor of London . Birmingham
8715-528: The north of the city, is the largest urban park in Europe and a national nature reserve . Birmingham Botanical Gardens , located close to the city centre, retains the regency landscape of its original design by J. C. Loudon in 1829, while the Winterbourne Botanic Garden in Edgbaston reflects the more informal Arts and Crafts tastes of its Edwardian origins. Several green spaces within
8820-546: The population of each city is sometimes taken to be the contiguous built-up urban area of their respective conurbations. According to a methodology defined by the Office for National Statistics in 2011, the Greater Manchester Built-up Area 's population of 2.55 million is marginally bigger than that of the West Midlands conurbation , at 2.44 million. This disparity is explained by the area of green belt known as
8925-420: 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. Birmingham is one of the youngest cities in Europe with 40% of its population below
9030-532: The population were born outside the UK, an increase of 4.5% percentage points from 2011. Figures showed that the five largest foreign-born groups living in Birmingham were born in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Romania and Jamaica. In 2011, 57% of primary and 52% of secondary pupils were from non-White British families. As of 2021, 31.6% of school pupils in Birmingham were White , 37.7% were Asian , 12.6% were Black , 9.7% were Mixed race and 8.4% were Other. There
9135-447: The rigid paternalism and deference of feudal society , and loyalties to the traditional hierarchies of the established church and aristocracy were weak. The town's reputation for political radicalism and its strongly Parliamentarian sympathies saw it attacked by Royalist forces in the Battle of Birmingham in 1643, and it developed into a centre of Puritanism in the 1630s and as
9240-705: The same period, the BBC published a "Brummies' guide to Birmingham and beyond" which contained the subheading "Something for everyone in the second city", while Sky published a legacy piece discussing the concerns of "people who live in Britain's second city". Other national broadcasters whose websites have, at different times, referred to Birmingham as the second city include ITV , and Channel 4 . Since 2010, major international news providers including Reuters , The Associated Press , Agence France-Presse , Bloomberg News , CNN International , Al Jazeera and The New York Times Company have all referred to Birmingham as
9345-428: The second city is an unofficial title and one of subjective opinion, a number of polls have been conducted over the years. Despite Birmingham being viewed as the traditional second city, public polls have shown a slight preference for Manchester since 2000: Although the government does not publish policy on the matter, ministers have tended to endorse Birmingham's status as the country's second city. A notable exception
9450-455: The second city of either Britain or England, although the descriptor "second-largest city" is also frequently seen. In 2019, an article in the New York Times suggested both Liverpool and Manchester might lay claim to being England's cultural second city. Travel and events publications including Lonely Planet , Rough Guides and Time Out refer to Birmingham as the second city. As
9555-514: The second city of the United Kingdom since the time of World War I . However, from the mid-twentieth century, Manchester has been pitched as a contender for the title. Birmingham is the more populous city and is recognised as such by His Majesty's Government . However, confusion surrounding the correct way to define the two cities' populations, along with the publication of outdated, inaccurate or estimated population statistics, has sometimes led to erroneous comparisons between them. According to
9660-492: The second city. Reporting on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in July and August 2022, ten of the twelve nationally distributed daily newspapers in the United Kingdom published articles referring to Birmingham as the "second city" of either the United Kingdom, Britain or England: The Times , The Daily Telegraph , The i , The Guardian , The Independent , and The Daily Mirror . The same phrasing appeared in
9765-484: The surrounding conurbations and areas that can be considered part of each city are hard to define. Manchester is regarded as a particularly 'under-bounded' city, whose archaic boundaries no longer accurately reflect its true size. To reflect this, the City of Manchester is sometimes conflated with Greater Manchester , the metropolitan county and combined authority which includes the neighbouring City of Salford and eight other metropolitan boroughs that broadly define
9870-593: The town of Tamworth and the city of Lichfield in Staffordshire to the north; the city of Coventry and the towns of Nuneaton , Bedworth , Whitnash , Kenilworth , Rugby, Atherstone , Coleshill , Warwick and Leamington Spa to the east in Warwickshire and the Worcestershire towns of Redditch and Bromsgrove to the south west. As the crow flies, Birmingham lies approximately 100 miles (160 km) north-west of London , 85 miles (137 km) north-east of
9975-430: The town with an unusually high degree of social and economic freedom and initiating a period of transition and growth. The importance of the manufacture of iron goods to Birmingham's economy was recognised as early as 1538, and grew rapidly as the century progressed. Equally significant was the town's emerging role as a centre for the iron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials and traded and marketed
10080-596: 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. 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
10185-817: The wider metropolitan area with a population numbering 3,558,916 in 2019 according to Eurostat. Around 305,688 or 26.7% of the population in 2021 were foreign-born , making it a city with one of the largest migrant populations in Europe . According to figures from the 2021 census, 48.7% of the population was White (42.9% White British , 1.5% White Irish , 4.0% Other White , 0.2% Roma , 0.1% Irish Traveller ), 31% were Asian (17.0% Pakistani , 5.8% Indian , 4.2% Bangladeshi , 1.1% Chinese , 2.9% Other Asian ), 10.9% were Black (5.8% African , 3.9% Caribbean , 1.2% Other Black ), 4.8% of Mixed 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. The 2021 census showed 26.7% of
10290-412: Was John Prescott , former Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Kingston upon Hull East , who concluded a conference speech in Manchester in 2007 with the words "...Manchester – our second city", although this was later played down by his department, claiming they were made in a "light-hearted context". Prescott had previously declared Birmingham the second city while on
10395-433: Was 0.784 million in April 1911; 1.034 million in April 1921; 1.088 million in April 1931 and 1.090 million in April 1951. However, slum clearance in the 1960s led to displacement of residents from the city centre to new communities located outside the city boundaries. This, together with local government reorganisation, resulted in the official population of Glasgow falling sharply. The Glasgow City Council area currently has
10500-499: Was awarded to Royal BAM Group in 2013 with a projected finishing date of Winter 2014. The £26 million redevelopment began in June 2013. The redeveloped arena was officially opened with a performance by singer Michael Bublé on 2 December 2014. It was renamed the "Barclaycard Arena" in November 2014 after Barclaycard won the naming rights for five years, but in May 2016 it was announced that
10605-400: Was being hailed as "the first manufacturing town in the world". 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. The Watt steam engine
10710-502: Was claimed by a number of cities in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Commercial trading city Liverpool was regarded as holding this title with its massive port, merchant fleet and world-wide trading links. Liverpool was constantly referred to as the New York of Europe. Glasgow (which continues to use the title as a marketing slogan), and (outside of Britain or Ireland) Calcutta (modern Kolkata ) and Philadelphia . Prior to
10815-418: Was driven by different factors. Instead of the economies of scale of a low-paid, unskilled workforce producing a single bulk commodity 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 strong division of labour , practising a broad variety of skilled specialist trades and producing
10920-411: Was invented in Birmingham. The resulting high level of social mobility also fostered a culture of political radicalism which, under leaders from Thomas Attwood to Joseph Chamberlain , was to give it a political influence unparalleled in Britain outside London and a pivotal role in the development of British democracy. From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by
11025-470: Was often described as the second city of England. During the 19th century, claims were made for Manchester , Liverpool and York . By the early 19th century, Glasgow was frequently referred to as the second city; and during much of the 20th century it had a population of over one million, larger than that of Birmingham until the 1951 census. For example, the Official Census population for Glasgow
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