New audience research commissioned by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) has highlighted how strongly Birmingham residents view culture as a defining part of the city’s international identity.
The findings reveal that 92% of adults in and around Birmingham can point to aspects of arts and culture that they believe place the city proudly on the national or global stage. The research suggests that for many residents, culture is not simply a “nice to have”, but a fundamental part of Birmingham’s identity.
Music was a dominant source of pride – and on many levels, reflecting the musical and creative diversity of the city. Around a third of respondents highlighted the city’s track record for iconic rock bands (33%), the calibre of its orchestras and concert halls (32%), theatre and ballet (32%) and the richness of its creative and cultural festivals (32%). The clustering of multiple artforms around the 30-40% mark suggests residents see arts and culture as central to Birmingham’s wider reputation, rather than peripheral to it. In addition, 13% of people felt pride in the city’s international reputation for being innovators in Grime and Rap and also for being the home of Bhangra (13%).
Four in ten Birmingham residents (41%) felt the city’s art galleries and museums were something Birmingham could be proud of – with the success of the city’s football teams also a source of pride in the city (39%).
These preliminary research findings are from a forthcoming major report by the CBSO that will explore people’s definitions of and terms of engagement with The Arts and culture in and around Birmingham.
Across all age groups between 25 and 65, at least one in four people identified orchestras and concert halls as something the city should be proud of on the international scale. Women were more likely to highlight galleries and theatre, while men were more likely to cite football and rock bands – suggesting different emphases, but broadly shared civic pride.
Early analysis also indicates that pride in Birmingham’s arts and culture cuts across faith groups and backgrounds, pointing to culture as a unifying feature of the city’s identity.
These findings are published as the CBSO embarks on a 13‑date international tour (7–23 March) which takes the orchestra to some of Europe’s most iconic concert halls across Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and France. Led by Music Director Kazuki Yamada and joined by acclaimed pianist Bruce Liu, the orchestra will perform a programme featuring Tchaikovsky, Walton and Mussorgsky. The tour places Birmingham’s orchestra firmly on the international stage at a moment when people across the city are expressing unmistakable levels of pride in Birmingham’s cultural offer.
Emma Stenning, CBSO Chief Executive said:
“As we prepare to perform in many cities across Europe, we’re proud to carry Birmingham’s cultural identity with us. At the same time, our commitment remains here at home – raising the profile of Birmingham’s music internationally while ensuring opportunities to experience and be inspired by love orchestral performance are open to people from every community. The work of our Community Board has done a great deal over the last year to strengthen connections between the orchestra and communities across Birmingham has been fantastic – and our listening research adds further insight to this, in our bid to become the people’s orchestra – at home and abroad.”
