Earlier this year I had the pleasure of working on the city’s alternative tourism itinerary that was developed off the back of Joe Lycett’s United States of Birmingham tv series. You can read more about that here.
So I was equally thrilled to support the ambitions for celebrating International Day of Birmingham, another legacy of this fantastic show. If you somehow (how?!) managed to miss the celebrations on September 24th, check this out to give a sense of the unadulterated joy here.
Thousands of people engaged and it drove so much positivity for the city – both online and on the streets. It really was something else to be marching down Colmore Row behind the Lord Mayor, holding a megaphone as Birmingham legend, PJ Ellis, led an ‘Alright Bab’ chant. A personal highlight was seeing hundreds of people gathered by the Birmingham Light Festival Legacy Artwork, Alright Bab, in Colmore Square as Mr & Mrs Grey delivered a show-stopping Flashmob. A magical celebration brought to you by Colmore BID.
What’s even more exciting than the day itself is that, what started as a small group of us trying to make cool things happen on a shoe string, has now become a full blown CIC. Isn’t that just fantastic? This is just the beginning for International Day of Birmingham!
Something I’ve been thinking about, in this context, is the words I wrote back in December 2023, after I set out my vision for what I would achieve as City Curator: I’m just one person with two days a week in this post, but it’s becoming very clear to me, the more conversations that I have, that I can add just as much value to the city by helping to connect the dots and supporting collaboration, as I can through independent commissioning.
There were moments in the International Day of Birmingham preparations where I was frustrated because I wanted to give more time and make even more happen, but I hope that what I managed to bring to the table was exactly the above. Connecting the dots and supporting collaboration. In this case bringing the BIDs, WMGC and local businesses into the fold.
It was a pleasure to play a small role in the proceedings and I hope you will all mark the date in your calendars from here on in – 24 September.
Alex Nicholson-Evans
City Curator
