Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the most populous of England's core cities, and is the second most populated British city after London, with a population of 1,010,200 (2005 estimate). Often considered to be the second city of the United Kingdom, the City of Birmingham forms part of the larger West Midlands conurbation, which has a population of 2,284,093 (2001 census) and includes several neighbouring towns and cities, such as Solihull, Wolverhampton and the towns of the Black Country.
The city's reputation was forged as a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution in England, a fact which led to Birmingham being known as "the workshop of the world" or the "city of a thousand trades". Although Birmingham's industrial importance has declined, it has developed into a national commercial centre, being named as the third best place in the United Kingdom to locate a business, and the 21st best in Europe by Cushman & Wakefield in 2007. It is also the fourth most visited city by foreign visitors in the UK. In 1998, Birmingham hosted the G8 summit at the International Convention Centre, on the site of Bingley Hall, the world's first purpose-built exhibition hall, and remains a popular location for conventions today along with the National Exhibition Centre in nearby Solihull. In 2007, Birmingham was ranked as the 55th most livable city in the world and the second most in the UK after London, according to the Mercer Index of worldwide standards of living.
People from Birmingham are known as 'Brummies', a term derived from the city's nickname of Brum. This comes in turn from the city's dialect name, Brummagem, which is derived from one of the city's earlier names, 'Bromwicham'. There is a distinctive Brummie dialect and accent, both of which differ from the adjacent Black Country. |
