Birmingham Entertainment

Birmingham is a 24-hour city and boasts a huge selection of entertainment options ranging from live music clubs and pop concerts to casinos, cinemas and a number of quality restaurants. Much of the city has been regenerated in recent years and Birmingham has certainly upped its tempo in regard to its night time activities. Further to this, Birmingham has even moved into the realms of lap dancing, where around a dozen clubs have been set up throughout the city.

Nightlife

Pubs, bars and nightclubs are in abundance throughout Birmingham with many of them spread throughout several popular areas. Although a bit rough, Broad Street offers the largest range of clubs and pubs in Birmingham and becomes particularly busy on Friday and Saturday nights. St Paul's Square in the Jewellery Quarter is one of the favourite areas in the city, with many up-market bars and restaurants, including that of Birmingham's premier jazz club, Jools Holland's Jam House. Those looking for a more sedate night out might like to try The Arcadian, which is located in the middle of Birmingham's Chinatown and features several laid-back bars and clubs. Birmingham also has a gay scene, centred on Hust Street, while a string of Irish pubs can be found along Digbeth High Street.

Theatre and Music

Birmingham is a vibrant and cultured city appealing to lovers of both the arts and live music. There are several large scale theatres in the town, as well as some smaller theatres scattered throughout the city and suburbs. The Birmingham Hippodrome on Hurst Street is the best known theatre in Birmingham and one of the foremost entertainment venues in England. It is a large theatre that has recently been refurbished and stages a variety of performing-arts shows. The Crescent Theatre and the Midlands Arts Centre are also worth remembering. Live music can be experienced every night of the week and three venues that stand out are the Carling Academy, a large club featuring alternative rock and indie; the Bar Academy next door; and the Flapper and Firkin on Cambrian Wharf.

Festivals

Birmingham has a number of lively festivals and events which take place throughout the year. The residents of Birmingham like to party and the area's extensive calendar of festivals and events includes lively Birmingham street fairs, carnivals, parades and numerous sporting events:

• Handsworth Park: celebrating the birth of the Sikh religion, where colourful and noisy processions file into Handsworth Park along with thousands of revellers, a funfair and plenty of free food (April).
• The Birmingham Art and Street Sounds Festival (BASS): this two-month-long festival features a string of live performances highlighting Birmingham’s creative music scene, as well as workshops and seminars (June to July).
• Taste of Birmingham: this four-day event all about food features some of the UK’s best chefs and 20 of Birmingham’s top restaurants preparing a selection of dishes in Cannon Hill Park (July).
• The Rath Yatra festival: one of the oldest festivals in the world, the Rath Yatra festival is hosted in Victoria Square (Late July).
• City Centre Discovery Day: this one-day family event is for tourists and residents alike and explores Birmingham’s sights, as well as delving backstage into the city’s theatres (August).