The latest news, updates and events in Birmingham
Thousands of people descended on Birmingham city centre this Bank Holiday weekend to attend one of the country’s biggest LGBTQ+ festivals, with a special focus on providing sanctuary to individuals from marginalised communities. Officially launched in Centenary Square, the Birmingham Pride parade saw thousands of people march through the city showcasing Pride flags, brightly coloured…
After plans for a £9.5million new look for a flagship section of Birmingham’s Southside district fell through, the area has been temporarily decked out in rainbow colours which have led to people asking for the eye-popping feature to become permanent. Although the current street surface decorations are temporary – put in place ahead of the Commonwealth Games 2022 –…
A Tipton man has been charged over the brutal homophobic attack in Birmingham’s Gay Village in which a student was smashed over the head with a glass bottle and struck with a pole. Usman Murtza, from Tipton, was charged for the horrific and unprovoked attack on John-Paul Kesseler and another man as they walked together…
After recent weeks and days which have seen violent and horrific homophobic attacks in Birmingham a joint statement has been released by city leaders to show solidarity and support for the LGBTQI+ community. The verbal and physical abuse suffered by Birmingham’s LGBTQI+ community has left people terrified and frightened to venture out for fear of being on…
The opera world has been devastated after news broke about the death of pioneering director Sir Graham Vick who died from COVID-19 complications on Saturday 17th July. The 67-year-old artistic director of Birmingham Opera Company tragically died of complications arising from COVID-19. The company announced he had been in hospital since June after testing positive…
A prominent candidate for West Midlands metro mayor has criticised the lack of black and ethnic minority candidates standing for the position, as well as the lack of women, describing the potentially embarrassing situation as a “problem”. Labour hopeful Pete Lowe has expressed concerns at what he described as “cultural problems” within the Labour movement.
A Sandwell MP, who last month was one of only 21 Members of Parliament to vote against LGBT inclusive education, has now come out in support of diversity lessons after meeting with protesters. The u-turn from John Spellar, MP for Warley, came following anger after he voted against plans to update the school curriculum to include…
Beatfreeks, a creative organisation which focuses on giving young people in Birmingham a voice, has launched a new project called Don’t Settle, which aims to make all stories in museums visible by changing who tells these stories Free Radical, part of the Beatfreeks Collective, is working on the three-year project, aimed at improving representation and involving more…
A Birmingham teacher at the centre of a row over lessons on LGBT+ rights is up for a $1 million global teaching prize. Andrew Moffat, assistant headteacher of Parkfield community school in Saltley, is one of ten teachers from around the world to make the final shortlist for the $1m Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2019.
After the massive relaunch last year, rebranding from GT back to Gay Times and the announcement of a new CEO, one of the world’s leading LGBTQ+ magazines dropped into Birmingham to engage the city’s queer community. With the publication going from strength to strength in recent months in its mission to embrace a more inclusive level…