Birmingham is a city within the West Midlands. Birmingham has the second highest population in Britain, after the capital. Birmingham thrived during the Industrial revolution and was one of only a few British cities that were truly successful in becoming a strong source of manufacturing and trade, which aided its growth throughout the nineteenth century. Like many cities within the UK, the city of Birmingham has given way to its industrial roots, and now finds its biggest revenue being created within the service industries, which provide most of the job opportunities within the city of Birmingham. The city has a strong presence within the banking and finance industry, and both Lloyds and HSBC, were both formed in Birmingham.
There are four universities within the city of Birmingham which offer higher education courses. Those are, The University of Birmingham, Aston University, Birmingham City University and Newman University College. The presence of four institutions for higher education within the city gives Birmingham a strong student population, which means that businesses, bars, clubs restaurants and shops all benefit from the influx of the students during term times.
The National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, the NEC, hosts a variety of exhibitions and trade shows throughout the year for many different trading industries. It attracts people from all over the UK who attend conferences and trade shows at the NEC, which thus impacts on the tourism industry within Birmingham very positively. Birmingham city centre also has a strong focus in the retail industry and has an excellent shopping district, which includes The Bullring shopping centre which is very popular with shoppers both in and out of Birmingham.
Buses, trains and trams operate within the city of Birmingham and the city enjoys both excellent internal and external transport links. Birmingham links with many major motorway routes and train services making it easy to get to or from the city. As well as the many other methods of transport, Birmingham also has a large commercial airport, Birmingham International Airport.
The Birmingham Post and The Birmingham Mail are the two local newspapers within the city. They are both owned by the Trinity Mirror publishing group. Birmingham has two football clubs, Birmingham City, who currently plays within League one, and finished second in the league for the 2008/9 season. Birmingham is also home to the popular football club Aston Villa who are competitors within the premiership. Their home ground is Villa Park, and the team are supported by fans both in and out of Birmingham, with their ground being a popular tourist destination for fans of the sport. For more information on any aspects of the city of Birmingham, you can take a look at the Birmingham Council Website here.