Does Birmingham really have one of the worst nightlife scenes?

Birmingham’s nightlife landscape seems to be constantly evolving, as new hotspots continue to emerge. However, a recent study by Get Licensed has claimed that the city’s nightlife ranks among the worst in the country. I’m heading out to the streets to see if Brummies concur with these findings.

For a bit of context the Get Licensed study found that the best night out in the UK was Newcastle upon Tyne. York came second, Warrington third and Telford fourth. Other Midland towns and cities featured in the top 30 included Dudley at number 11 , Derby was number 16, Nottingham made it in at 26 and Walsall was number 28.

In the worst night out section Birmingham was ranked at number four - below London at number one, Coventry number two and Southend-on-Sea at number three.

The ranking covered the number of bars and clubs per 100,000 people, pubs per 100,000 people, average pint of a beer cost, safety and safety and anxiety about being mugged or robbed or assaulted. Here’s what the people of Birmingham told us about the findings:

Phil says: “To be ranked one of the worst places in the UK to have a night out I think is absolute codswallop. Birmingham is alive with vibrant venues, whether it’s daytime venues for food and drink - evening venues for food and drink - we’re a five star Michelin city.

“We’ve got amazing chefs here - celebrity chefs, now that have chosen to go on a lot of the TV programmes. We’ve got all sorts of cultures and diversity with food. It’s very safe. It’s pretty clean - you know, it could be a little bit cleaner. But there’s so much here and it’s a beautiful city.

“Look at it. We have so much history and architecture and it’s growing all the time. And I think with our new tram link as well connecting up each side of the city, why would people not want to come here and have a great safe night out where there’s lots to do?”

Andrew says: “Birmingham’s nightlife is incredible. I think there’s something for everybody. The LGBTQ plus community is catered for.

“There’s so many bars from so many different places. I’ve never had a bad night out in Birmingham. I’ve been to London, Manchester, Liverpool - and Birmingham is the best. I think it’s affordable. I think it’s safe. I think it’s fun. And I think anybody who doesn’t rate Birmingham needs to go again.”

Kharie says: “I think that’s so crazy. Like I’ve lived here all my life. And that there’s something for everyone. Like I’m massively into house, so obviously having Digbeth and having various places there is just so convenient.

“When you’ve got Broad Street, which has everything - probably mainly for my 18 year olds, but then you’ve got the Chinese Quarter. You know, there’s just so much for everybody like - Albert’s Schloss is right they just want to go to a bar or Brindleyplace - like I could just sell it for days.

“There’s so much here so I don’t know why it would be considered the worst. You know, I think it’s reasonably priced. There’s something for everybody - it’s in close proximity if I wanted to walk to you know, Chinese Quarter now, I could, Everything is so close that I love it here for a night out. I couldn’t fault it. So I don’t agree with that at all.”