There’s a real spring in our step as we build our plans for the BBC in Birmingham. I wanted to share some of our plans and activities with you in my latest post.
All stretched and warmed up, the International Dance Festival Birmingham is now in full swing, bringing a world-class programme of performance and participation to theatres and public spaces across the city and the wider region. Marking this, BBC WM 95.6 and the International Dance Festival Birmingham have joined up to create a special short film celebrating the talent, creativity and passion that is abundant in Brum.
The film features a myriad of local dance groups and professional dancers who have come together over the past couple of weeks to perform a specially choreographed routine. Birmingham’s iconic landmarks make up a stunning backdrop for the dancers including The Bullring, the Black Country Living Museum and the new Library of Birmingham; all set to a specially commissioned soundtrack capturing the essence of Birmingham through. Elgar to ELO and Duran Duran to Laura Mvula – a soundtrack of a city on the move.
The film - shown in two parts on BBC Midlands Today on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May – will also be made available here on the About the BBC blog in the coming days.
The film is a fantastic joining up of the BBC and the city’s creative sector and the kind of partnership I wrote about in my last post for the About the BBC Blog, and one we are very much hoping to build upon in the future.
With the Director-General recently announcing a renewed commitment to the arts from the BBC, it feels entirely appropriate too that the BBC in Birmingham immerses itself in local creative and artistic projects that will help define us as a creative city. And with the announcement in November 2013 that the BBC has agreed in principle with the Arts Council, England, that Birmingham will become the new home for The Space, their pioneering digital arts partnership, it feels like Birmingham is well placed to re-assert our cultural credentials to a nationwide and global audience.
Our thriving arts scene is the subject of an illuminating article in today’s Daily Telegraph by Rupert Christiansen where he talks about the treasure trove of our cultural heritage. It’s a story we often forget and it’s time to address the gap between perception and reality.
A few weeks ago, a large group of us from across the BBC were gathered together at a special Shakespeare Day we set up to discuss plans for a proposed season on The Bard of Avon to mark the 400th anniversary of his death in 2016.
The BBC in Birmingham hosted the event at the stunning new library which houses the first Shakespeare folio: a fitting backdrop to a day of inspiring ideas and insights.
Much was discussed. "Why are Brummies so self-deprecating?”; "Of course Shakespeare was a Midlander"; "What’s Birmingham famous for?" and "Does being in the middle of the country count against us?" were just some of the discussion points raised in what was a highly productive exchange of thoughts and ideas.
Guest speaker Robert Shore, author of a recent book, Bang In The Middle, shared his own quite provocative take on why the Midlands is: “the most under-rated place on earth” and for those visiting the library for the first time – he might just have a point.
I defy anybody who walks into the building to not be impressed by its use of space, architecture and stunning views of a city that’s rebuilding itself before our very eyes.
Our plans for BBC Birmingham are building momentum too. Since my last blog we have revealed plans for the setting up of a Digital Innovation Unit in the heart of the creative quarter at Fazeley Studios in Digbeth.
We’re calling them the ‘Digital Guerrillas’ and are now working closely with Birmingham’s Creative City Partnership to ensure that the team are up and running early next year. It’s an initiative built for the future, which we believe positions us for an opportunity to create, make content, and develop talent in wholly different ways. It’s a small step but the potential for us is huge.
And there’s more on its way for Birmingham. Last month Ben Cooper, controller of BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra, also announced that Radio 1Xtra are bringing their big annual event to Birmingham this November. For the first time in recent years the station’s flagship event will be landing in just one city for one big, special event. It’s our aspiration to bring more of these live events to the city and give Birmingham audiences a chance to experience and take part in a whole range of events and activity.
In the last couple of weeks we have also welcomed the BBC Academy’s Entry Level Talent Team who have now moved into the BBC Birmingham’s home at The Mailbox and are tasked with developing new talent across the BBC.
The BBC Academy’s Entry Level Talent Team manages the wide range of entry level training schemes including the gold standard Production Trainee Scheme, Journalism Trainees and Technology Trainees. They also look after the new Local Radio Apprenticeship scheme which launched nationwide last month.
It’s these endeavours which I hope will make Birmingham the home of new talent and having this team alongside our teams of programme makers is a step in the right direction. We have a busy period ahead of us as we head into the summer with our programme teams working around the clock to deliver a range of output – from drama to news across TV, radio and online from our bases at The Mailbox and Drama Village.
Over the next few weeks, I’m getting out and about to discover more. Birmingham City University have launched a new free public lecture series entitled “City Talks”, featuring discussions and insights on a range of topics relevant our city and region. I’ve been invited to do a talk on 22nd May on “The Untold Stories of Multicultural Britain”. More details and the option to register for free event tickets can be found here.
And later this week the BBC’s Director-General, Tony Hall, returns to Birmingham to meet with some of our external partners and catch up on the progress we are making with our plans for the BBC in Birmingham.
There’s a lot to do but I genuinely feel we are beginning to make real headway.
Tommy Nagra is Head of Business Development, BBC Birmingham.
- Read Tommy's blog Increasing BBC Birmingham's presence in the region
