Five key things expected for Birmingham in 2026

As we get stuck into 2026, the city of Birmingham is looking forward to what's ahead with a number of key events looming.

In a first for the UK, the European Athletics Championships will be taking place in the second city, attracting sporting guests and fans from across the continent.

There's also going to be key redevelopments to the city's transport and waste which are expected to be finished this year.

Here is a list of key events taking place in 2026:

Just four years after the Commonwealth Games were held in the city, a big summer of sporting events will be returning.

Birmingham will host the European Athletics Championships from 10-16 August, at the Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr.

It will be the first time that the tournament has been held in the UK, with more than 1,500 track and field stars from about 50 countries expected to compete.

After financing for the games came into question when Birmingham City Council declared effective bankruptcy in September 2023, funding for the event will be spread across a number of bodies.

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has committed £600,000, UK Athletics has assigned £250,000 and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport has agreed to put forward £680,000 conditional on the authority's contribution.

Birmingham City Council will provide £670,000, which has been saved from works on Alexander Stadium.

As bin strikes continue across the city, new fortnightly waste and recycling collections will be rolled out.

The council has approved a move from weekly bin collections to a fortnight service with a reintroduction of recycling services, including weekly food waste collections from April.

A second recycling bin, specifically for recycling paper and cardboard is set to be introduced in phases across the city.

The council said the changes were now set to start rolling out in June 2026 "regardless of the strike situation".

Birmingham's bin collections have been hit by industrial action this year, after members of the Unite trade union walked out in a dispute with the council over pay and jobs.

The Midlands Metro Alliance has said work is underway in Meriden Street as part of the Birmingham Eastside metro extension.

It is expected the section between High Street and Coventry Street in Digbeth will be open to the public from April, with construction moving up towards Fazeley Street and New Bartholomew Street in sections.

The work is being delivered by the Midland Metro Alliance on behalf of the West Midlands Combined Authority and Transport for West Midlands.

West Midlands mayor Richard Parker has pledged £400m towards a further extension from Digbeth to Birmingham City's new stadium - the Sports Quarter - which will include a new tram line and provision for an eventual route through Chelmsley Wood to Birmingham Airport.

Three new train stations are set to open this year in a move that will reconnect South Birmingham to the rail network for the first time in 80 years.

The Kings Heath, Pineapple Road and Moseley Village stations will replace original stations that closed in 1941, due to coal shortages during the war.

Each station will have two platforms, lifts, ticket machines, information screens, and secure bike parking.

Services will run into and out of Birmingham New Street, with two trains per hour Monday to Saturday and one train per hour on Sundays.

Highway works have now finished around Kings Heath and Pineapple Road stations and they are both expected to open this spring while construction is still underway around the Moseley Village Rail Station, Transport for West Midlands has said.

Birmingham Airport recently announced plans to spend £300m over the next four years as passenger numbers look set to increase.

This year, the project included a revamp of the ground floor which has already begun, and after the summer peak the second stage will involve relocating Caffè Nero and improving the Assisted Travel Reception with enhancements alongside a refresh of entrance doors and lobbies.

.The new stands will be set up for Aviramp use, enabling easier boarding for assisted travel passengers and creating space for planned new based aircraft from easyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair.

Passengers faced long delays in 2024 and some users suggested security checks needed to be speeded up.

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