15 July 2011 was the first anniversary of Birmingham not winning the title of City of Culture 2013. An odd thing to celebrate maybe, but Radar Magazine used it as an opportunity to get a load of people to talk about the creative or cultural experience that had most impressed them over the past year.
I could’ve mentioned any number of things, but in the end I gave a nod to Birmingham Opera Company‘s really-very-excellent-indeed Othello.
Others went for the 4am Project at Birmingham Central Library, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Lundahl & Seitl at Fierce Festival, Companis, Flatpack Festival and the Soweto Kinch Quartet.
I can’t find a copy online – if there’s one floating about then please add a link in the comments.
Actually, speaking of CoC 2013, have the plans for the “six-week Autumn Festival which will have the significance of the Edinburgh festival and Paris Autumn Festival” been officially binned? I remember statements to the effect that it was going to happen regardless of whether Birmingham got the title or not, so strong were the arguments in favour of going ahead.
Still, as has been pointed out, there are quite a few festivals happening in October already.
As the feature introduction explained, a popular response (and official council line I think) to Birmingham not winning the City of Culture 2013 title back in July 2010 was:
“We’re a city of culture, whether we have a title or not”.
The feature set out to prove this statement as accurate (though we all know it is anyway), via twenty or so vastly different creative or cultural highlights from June 2010 to June 2011 inclusive, as chosen by a selection of people working in the creative or cultural industries.
The feature (for the one-year anniversary of Radar) was never about celebrating Birmingham *not* winning the City of Culture 2013 title but about acknowledging and commending the hard work that goes into making the city a hub of creativity, whether Phil Redmond and gang decides to give us a shiny new name badge or not.
Hope that clears up any confusion as to how it all came about…