Forum Birmingham is a music venue located in Dale End, Birmingham, West Midlands, England.
Venue
Live music at the venue dates back to 1964 when it first opened as the Top Rank Ballroom. By the 1980s and 1990s it was known as the Hummingbird.
In the late 1990s, the venue underwent refurbishment and, in 2000, reopened as the Birmingham Academy. In 2002, it was then rebranded as the Carling Academy Birmingham.
On 6 November 2008, it was announced that O2 had purchased naming rights for all Live Nation's AMG venues, in a £22.5 million sponsorship deal, lasting until 2013. As a result, in line with O2's branding, the venue became the O2 Academy Birmingham.[1]
In September 2009, the O2 Academy moved to the site of the former Dome II nightclub, located on Horsefair, Bristol Street.[2] The decision to move to a brand new venue was decided twofold. The Dale End venue was unsuitable for the needs of a modern music venue and the building complex it resided in, along with the Oasis Centre above, was scheduled for demolition as part of a project called Martineau Galleries.
The Used played the last Academy listed show at the old Dale End Academy location. However, due to the credit crunch and reduced investment in buy-to-let projects, the Martineau project was put on hold and the location continued as a music venue under the name Birmingham Ballroom from 2011 until January 2013.[3] It reopened as Forum Birmingham in 2021.[4]
References
- ^ Sweney, Mark (6 November 2008). "O2 to sponsor Academy music venues". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ "Carling Academy to move to The Dome". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
- ^ "The Ballroom Birmingham Closes". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
- ^ Anjum, Husna (3 September 2021). "First Look at Forum Birmingham Club opening tonight". Birmingham Live. Birmingham. Retrieved 25 October 2022.