"The Birmingham people, when we were at camp...were extremely great to us. They showed us a lot of love, and thank you guys – you guys helped us come out here and do our best."
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| The newly opened Spiceal Street |
The Birmingham Central blog aims to inform readers of the latest in planning and developments in Birmingham, with a spotlight on the City Centre. 
The Mercer Quality Of Living ranking assesses 221 cities to help governments and firms place staff on assignments. The worldwide rankings are produced annually from the most recent Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, conducted by Mercer. The study was based on factors including crime, political stability, hospitals, transport, food and drink, leisure, climate and personal freedom. Vienna was ranked at the top of the list for the second year running. Other UK cities included London, which was 39th with Aberdeen at 53rd position, Glasgow at 57 and Belfast at number 63 more...
As I've previously posted, Birmingham's been shortlisted for the title of UK City of Culture 2013. Birmingham now needs YOU to help us win by taking part in a Blogging Day. As many people as possible who live or work in, or visit Birmingham, are asked to write a blog post between 12 noon on Friday 23rd April and 12 noon on Saturday 24th April to talk about cultural activities they are enjoying in the city. This will map 24 hours in the cultural life of Birmingham to form part of the bid; it will show just how much goes on in the city and how important culture is to people.
There are now just 28 days left to share your ideas and thoughts on what you would like to see happen if Birmingham becomes the City of Culture in 2013. You can join the 'Big Conversation' on Facebook, or here. The best ideas will be included in the final bid with the winning city to be announced in June this year.
An exhibition commemorating Matthew Boulton's diverse achievements as an industrialist will be highlighted from 30th May to 27th September at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Boulton was also one of the founders of the Lunar Society, a group of great thinkers and inventors who met at his home Soho House.
..."Huge regeneration projects have revitalised the industrial landscapes and canals that criss-cross the city; now there are more glamorous shops, swanky bars and hectic nightclubs than you can shake a bargepole at...Established cultural and architectural gems dot the city centre and planners keep coming up with ever-more-innovative makeovers, such as the striking post-industrial Bullring shopping centre...Cities like Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham have become vibrant and cosmopolitan places with lots to offer." 
The Birmingham Big City Plan provides the ideas for shaping the city centre over the next 20 years although the wider economic situation may mean that development plans for regenerating Eastside may be shelved. Meanwhile, Birmingham City Council has been busy consulting with the public regarding the Sustainable Community Strategy in which they have set out their vision and targets for the wider community upto 2026.
Birmingham has taken an historic step by becoming the first city to sponsor two of its local football clubs - Aston Villa and Birmingham City. Marketing Birmingham have signed a 3 year contract with the teams in a project which will promote the visitbirmingham.com brand, in order to boost tourism in the city. The Chief Executive of Marketing Birmingham Neil Rami commented, "Football has a global audience of 3.13bn and is a major influence on tourism, helping to shape people's perceptions of a city, particularly with international visitors...it's the first time that a city has supported its football clubs in this way and we're very excited about the project." more...
Marketing Birmingham produce statistics following various surveys they carry out relating to tourism in Birmingham. The latest hotel occupancy report for the first quarter of 2008 is now available. The Birmingham Perceptions Survey has gathered people's views of Birmingham as a place to visit and to do business. And good news for retail - Birmingham is still second to only London's West End in terms of retail expenditure as illustrated in the the 2007 CACI Retail Ranking Results.
Telly Savalas shares his views on Birmingham in the 70's, in this short film; apparently it was rockin'...
The Climate Change Festival in Birmingham is now underway and over the course of this week will be offering a variety of events, alongside exhibitions, stalls and performers. Catch a tour of secret green roofs, send your own message to the world via the Green diary room at Central Library or attend a masterclass on climate change. There will also be a futuristic multimedia exhibition at Baskerville House later this week and don't miss the pylon near the Council House.
