A new Amplify Town Hall Exhibition, supported by Central BID, has opened in Victoria Square to celebrate the history of Birmingham’s oldest events venue.
For the first time, it allows the public to experience highlights from the Town Hall’s 191-year history of musical, political and social influence. Central BID’s team installed display boards ahead of the exhibition’s opening on Tuesday(February 17). It will run until the end of March.
Its heritage has been preserved as part of B:Music and Birmingham Music Archive’s Amplify project with volunteers.
Last summer, Home | B:Music – the charity responsible for Town Hall and Symphony Hall – partnered with Birmingham Music Archive to create a comprehensive new archive preserving the Grade I listed venue’s remarkable legacy. This was also supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Saintbury Trust.
With help from a public call-out for treasured items and memories, 2,700 items have now been digitised. It has safeguarding programmes, tickets, posters and photographs that might otherwise have been lost.
Highlights include materials from Black Sabbath’s debut performance at Birmingham Town Hall in April 1970 and a 1949 poster signed by civil rights activist Paul Robeson.
The Victoria Square exhibition presents a snapshot of this installation. There is also a permanent installation inside Town Hall, alongside a digital archive- developed with Birmingham Open Media. Visitors can scan a QR code on-site to explore the full digital archive, dating back over 200 years.
Amplify also raised money to protect the Town Hall for the future. It has allowed significant refurbishment works to take place, improving accessibility, comfort and environmental sustainability of the Town Hall.
Celebrities supporting Amplify include acclaimed author Lee Child, Joan Armatrading, Joe Lycett, Roger Taylor of Duran Duran, and Toyah Willcox.
Reacher creator, Lee Child, said: “I spent hundreds of ecstatic hours in Birmingham Town Hall, with everyone from Led Zeppelin to Captain Beefheart to Nigel Kennedy to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. It was a huge part of my life. Let’s make it a huge part of the future, too.”
Upgrades include installing two new passenger lifts in the main foyer, improving its energy efficiency, reupholstering all of the 416 circle-level seats, replacing carpet and a full refurbishment of eight dressing rooms.
A new backstage accessible lift, a new front-of-house access ramp and a heating and cooling upgrade in the foyer should be complete in March. The new lift will accommodate modern wheelchair sizes and weights, reinforcing Town Hall’s commitment to inclusivity for performers and audiences alike.
Rachel Cranny, Head of Development and Impact for B:Music, said: “The Amplify Town Hall campaign represents a defining new chapter for one of the UK’s most historic performance venues. By bringing together essential conservation works, community-driven heritage activity and digital innovation, we are ensuring Town Hall is ready to serve the next generation of artists and audiences.
“We’re incredibly grateful to Central BID for their support in making this outdoor exhibition possible. As the Victoria Square display marks the final public moment of the campaign, Amplify Town Hall leaves a powerful and lasting legacy- safeguarding Birmingham’s rich musical and civic history while opening the doors wider than ever before.”
The Amplify Town Hall exhibition runs from Tuesday 17 February until the end of March in Victoria Square, Birmingham.