Everything changed for Birmingham with the arrival of the Commonwealth Games in 2022, the biggest in the event’s history. With athletes and delegates from 72 nations descending on the region and more than 1.5 million tickets sold, it gave England’s second city a chance to prove its mettle on the world stage. And so it did. The opening and closing ceremonies rolled out Birmingham’s multifaceted past, proudly celebrating the city’s long-standing multicultural residents —often referred to as ‘Brummies’ —and manufacturing heritage as reggae, rock and grime artists shared the stage.
It’s no surprise that this former industrial powerhouse chose to showcase its roots. From around the 16th century, the city became lauded for its metal-working industry, earning it the nickname of the ‘workshop of the world’ by the 18th century. It then became home to two of the UK’s biggest car manufacturers: Jaguar and MG Rover.
Today, the residents of Birmingham are down-to-earth and self-deprecating, but the city has had its fair share of fame. Novelist and lecturer JRR Tolkien grew up in King’s Heath, in the south of the city, at the end of the 19th century and later cited the area as inspiration for his books. During the same period, the real-life Peaky Blinders criminal street gang rampaged around Birmingham; they would go on to be the inspiration for the blockbuster period television drama
