Joe Lycett to put Birmingham in the spotlight in new guest editing role at the Observer

Joe Lycett is guest editing this weekend’s Observer New Review - shining a spotlight on his home city of Birmingham

In addition to having a dig at the council cuts and providing an insider’s guide to our amazing food and drink scene, music and arts - Joe is celebrating all our allotments in the Sunday (April 14) edition of the magazine in the national broadsheet.

Did you know that Biringham has the largest number of these in the whole of the UK - more than any other local authority! Well Joe’s popped down to meet locals at Dads Lane Allotments to discover just how green fingered us Brummies are for his latest job.

Get a bespoke headline round-up from Birmingham, as well as breaking news updates, when you sign up to BirminghamWorld’s free emails He’s even designed the front cover himself - it’s a picture of Bullring Bull with a ‘reduced to clear’ sign hanging around its neck (that’s the dig at the council cuts we mentioned earlier). Here’s a look at all of the highlights that the Observer’s PR team have flagged with Joe Lycett as guest editor of Observer New Review this Sunday (14 April) features:

• Joe Lycett interviewing musician Robbie Williams about his first solo art exhibition, Pride and Self-Prejudice, currently in Amsterdam;

• an insider's guide to Birmingham from food and drink recommendations to stage, music and visual arts;

• an essay from journalist and cultural critic Nathalie Olah who reflects on the state of Birmingham since the council’s city-wide cuts were announced last month;

• Q&A with comedian Munya Chawawa and Katherine Ryan sharing her cultural highlights;

• plus, a green-fingered feature about the people and stories at Dads Lane Allotment in Moseley, celebrating the fact that Birmingham has the largest provision of allotments of any Local Authority in the UK.

Joe Lycett says: “When I was asked to be the guest editor for this edition of the New Review I was astonished. ‘What is that?’ I said to my PR manager whilst pouring Black Tower Pinot Noir into empty Châteauneuf-du-Pape bottles. But then after my high-intensity prescription antihistamines kicked in, I agreed. My issue is all about my home town of Birmingham including an exclusive cover painted by me. Don’t worry, things will be back to normal next week.”

Jane Ferguson, editor, the Observer New Review, says: “It’s been a real thrill to welcome Joe Lycett as guest editor of the Observer New Review. We hope that his infectious love of Birmingham, playful wit and fierce support of the arts in its many forms will be a treat for readers this Sunday. It’s an unmissable edition that is distinctly Joe!”

Previous guest editors of the Observer New Review include Jarvis Cocker, Edgar Wright, Steve McQueen and Kae Tempest.

Joe Lycett’s television work has won him a BAFTA, two Royal Television Society awards, plus Rose D’or and Grierson nominations. He has been performing stand-up comedy since 2007 and his work as an artist has been featured in the Royal Academy, Manchester Art Gallery, IKON, Birmingham Midlands Arts Centre and Wolverhampton Art Gallery. Late Night Lycett returns tonight (Friday 12 April) at 10pm on Channel 4.

The Observer New Review, part of the Observer newspaper in the UK, is published every Sunday and available to read online. It has a broad range covering everything from arts, books, politics and technology. The award-winning section has received a British Society of Magazine Editors Award and was twice-named supplement of the year runner-up at the British Press Awards.