Birmingham – The City
Birmingham is a city which is passionate about sport. It is an International City of Sport, A European City of Sport for all and also has some of the finest sports facilities in Britain.
Football is deep in the city’s fabric with many major events, tournaments and matches being staged here in recent years. The world’s oldest football league was started in the city in 1888 when William McGregor of Aston Villa sent out invitations to five other clubs proposing a formal structure of their ad hoc and disorganised system of fixtures.
Birmingham’s Sporting Pedigree
In more recent times UEFA Euro 96 tournament matches were held in the city as was the last UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup Final in 1999. Villa Park has staged many England international matches and until recently was synonymous with the FA Cup semi-finals. The club also has plans to make significant improvements to the stadium’s quality and capacity.
In more recent years Birmingham has become well known across the globe for its staging of major sports events. In the last five years alone, the city has hosted the 9th IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships, the World Badminton Championships, the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Final, the World Junior Wheelchair Basketball Championships, the Trampoline and Tumbling World Cup Final and the 29th European Athletics Indoor Championships.
In future years, Birmingham will be hosting the IAAF/EDF Energy World Half Marathon Championships, the European Artistic Gymnastic Championships, the World Wheelchair Basketball Championships and the BMX World Championships.
There is a depth of experience, understanding and passion in the city of how to meet the needs of visiting teams, supporters and officials from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds.
City of Culture, City of Fun
Visitors to the city won’t just be thinking about sport though. Birmingham has one of the most dynamic and wide-ranging cultural scenes in the country. Listen to jazz by the canals or classical music in one of the world’s finest concert halls. The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery is also home to Renaissance masterpieces and boasts the world’s largest collection of pre-raphaelite paintings and drawings. The city also boasts four theatres with a diverse range of plays and productions and is home to the widely acclaimed Birmingham Royal Ballet.
In recent years Birmingham has reinvented itself as a shopping capital and city of style and there has been major investment in the city’s shops and department stores. This includes the opening of the £500 million Bullring which has over 160 of the most desirable shops to explore.
Birmingham is more than ready to be an integral part of England’s bid for the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup and is well placed to welcome players and fans from around the globe.
Birmingham sits at the heart of the country’s road and railway network and along with Birmingham International Airport offers excellent transport links to the rest of the country, Europe and the world.
You can pledge your support for England 2018 and Birmingham by backing the bid at:
http://www.england2018bid.com/support/register.aspx