People elsewhere are asking: Why can’t we be more like Birmingham?’

And The Business District From Ian Ward

The spring edition of Colmore Life is of course an opportunity to look forward to the exciting year ahead for the District and our city, but I hope you’ll forgive me if I start by briefly looking back at 2022.

Because, let’s face it, last year was very much ‘The Year of Birmingham’ as we played host to the best ever Commonwealth Games – an unforgettable celebration of sport, culture, community, and togetherness. And I’m immensely proud of the way we collectively rose to the challenge of staging such a major global event, welcoming over 5 million visitors to Birmingham, and showing the world’s media that ours is a great city with a lot to shout about.

I know of course that there were doubters in the lead up to the Games, but I can say hand on heart I was always confident that we would absolutely smash it. We did exactly that and the rest of the world is catching up on what we’ve known for some time: That Birmingham is an amazing, vibrant, and welcoming city with something for everyone.

For years people here in Birmingham have asked: Why can’t we be more like [insert name of major city]?

Now, people elsewhere are asking: Why can’t we be more like Birmingham? That’s because ours is a city on the up. We don’t aspire to be a major city – we are a major city.

I was born in Birmingham, and I’ve lived my whole life here. I’m a shameless cheerleader for our city, its people, and its businesses because I know that negative and outdated perceptions are exactly that - outdated.

Hopefully we put much of that negativity to bed once and for all last summer as, from the arrival of the Queen’s Baton Relay right the way through to an unforgettable ‘Ozzy Osbourne inspired’ closing ceremony, we showed the world the real Birmingham.

And don’t just take my word for it. I’m pleased to say that our summer in the limelight did not go unnoticed elsewhere, as we won or were nominated for a raft of awards, including being named the Estates Gazette City of the Year. But the biggest prize will be the legacy and how we build on our Games triumph.

I’m confident that many of our Games visitors will be back, because they experienced at first-hand that our warm, friendly city is a world class destination for business and leisure tourism, with award-winning museums and galleries, world class cultural institutions and festivals, major sporting events, family friendly attractions, amazing parks, and scenic waterways.

Our challenge now of course is to build on the Birmingham 2022 success, to show everyone that we’re no ‘one-hit wonder’, and to ensure that we realise the full potential of our Golden Decade of Opportunity – a period book-ended by the Games at one end and the arrival of HS2 at the other.

Like all truly great cities, Birmingham is not standing still. The ongoing transformation – Smithfield, Perry Barr, Digbeth and so much more – is delivering homes, jobs, and opportunities.

Meanwhile, a number of the UK’s biggest companies, such as PwC and HSBC are now proud to call the city home. Goldman Sachs and Arup are currently joining us and with partners like Lendlease, Turner Townsend and Mace, we have the businesses and the talent to grow our economy and build the international city of the future.

And nowhere better showcases Birmingham’s status as a city on the up than Colmore Business District. As everyone knows, we’ve faced unprecedented challenges over the last few years and the post-Covid landscape for city centres and business districts is vastly different to what existed before Spring 2020.

Thankfully Colmore BID has been ahead of the curve when it comes to adapting to that new landscape and the 2021 study on The Future Business District ‘The Space Between’ set out a compelling vision for an exciting future where the Colmore Business District – and therefore Birmingham – will not merely survive but will thrive.

As the report stated, the business quarter will continue to thrive by ‘curating The Space Between that gives Colmore life and makes it attractive to businesses, professionals and visitors.’

That phrase ‘The Space Between’ describes the areas used to move, connect and recharge – including transport hubs and routes, open and green places, cultural and hospitality spots. All of which are essential to supporting business within the workplace.

In lay terms, this means the allimportant added value - the stuff that helps Birmingham stand out from the crowd. Yes, the District is a long-established hub for business and professional service firms, but it is increasingly clear that the nature of economic development is shifting from business location and business attraction (where the jobs are) to talent and talent attraction (where the people are).

So, we need to be creating the type of places where people want to be. Places that attract and – even more importantly – retain businesses and talent. Well, take a walk around the constantly evolving Colmore Business District and it’s clear that is exactly what is happening in the heart of our city centre.

Working in the Council House, Colmore Business District is very much home territory for me, so I know this particular ‘Space Between’ very wellfrom the public spaces like Cathedral Square and Victoria Square, to the area’s magnificent cultural offer and of course the thriving leisure and hospitality offer.

The District shone throughout last summer’s Games and we will not be resting on our laurels, as the transformation of our city centre continues apace. Victoria Square is currently undergoing a welcome facelift, while improvements to Colmore Row and Waterloo Street are next.

Our city centre welcomes more than 42 million people a year and our ongoing programme of improvements to public spaces in the city centre will ensure we continue to offer a worldclass welcome to those visitors.

The Birmingham Commonwealth Games were a fantastic start to our Golden Decade of Opportunity.

But watch this space (and the Space Between) - there’s so much more to come.