43 joyful photos of the 50th Birmingham St Patrick’s Day Parade in Digbeth

Tens of thousands of people turned out to celebrate one of Birmingham’s biggest community events - the St Patrick’s Day Parade.

It’s the fiftieth time the procession has been held in the city and the first time it’s been back in its traditional home of Digbeth since before the pandemic.

Now under the custodianship of the Birmingham Irish Association, the parade made its return as strong as ever with 20 floats and 20 walking groups, and, of course - a few tractors and pipes and drums.

The crowds were full of joy as the procession made its way along Bradford Street with green, white and gold flags waving amid a few leprechauns and Guinness hats.

And it wasn’t just Irish heritage that was celebrated at this world renowned event - there were Samba bands, members of the Chinese community and many more at the inclusive celebrations.

There was a special tribute to Shane MacGowan with a rendition of Dirty Old Town along the way and the ‘Peaky Blinders’ even turned out to join in the fun.

The Parade was followed by a host of events in bars across Digbeth, including the launch of Pairc Festival with Nathan Carter, bright green pints and live music at Norton’s, and live music at Hennessy’s, Cleary’s and other Irish bars across the district.

Here’s 43 joyful pictures of the 50th Birmingham St Patrick’s Day Parade: