I think “Big Envy” is the right term. What I mean is the council, by which I mean the elected members of the council, have an obsession with BIG THINGS but lack the ability to see them through. They’re like children who want the biggest, fastest, most complex thing but when they actually get it they panic and freeze, or worse blame the thing rather than themselves.
This has been evident for a long time but it really came to a head with the Xmas Lights Switch-on yesterday where 20,000 people went to watch some pop stars sing at a free concert in the middle of the city, only the predicted capacity was 5,000 resulting in 60 injuries and an early cancellation. [It's since been clarified that they did plan for 20,000, but my point remains.] There are numerous reports (Birmingham Post, BBC News, BBC News again and the astonishing spectacle of the BBC’s Speak Your Branes being packed full of level headed commentary) and a couple of videos including this one:
Which when compared to the Council’s press release on the matter is rather illuminating:
The popularity of JLS brought Birmingham’s Christmas Lights Switch On concert to an early close as thousands flocked to the star studded event.
Due to safety concerns an emergency meeting was held and a joint decision was made between Birmingham City Council, BRMB, Millennium Point and the Emergency Services to cancel the event following JLS’s fantastic performance.
A combination of overnight weather conditions and the numbers at the event unfortunately meant that there was no option other than to cancel.
Now, it’s not a lie but it’s a very generous reading the truth. There’s no admission that maybe they messed up here. If anything they were the victims of their incredible success. Oh, and the weather. Because it never rains in this city.
The thing is, a free concert for 20,000 people isn’t actually that big. And this failure isn’t a Birmingham thing. Birmingham does big events all the time, run by organisations that are professionals at putting them on from the football clubs to the NEC. We’re actually quite awesome at doing big stuff when we get the right people to do it.
The Council, however, are not the right people to do this stuff. And I don’t think it has anything to do with their resources or even the abilities of the people who work there. The problem lies in the desire by the council leaders for Birmingham to “punch above it’s weight” and do huge spectacular things. Again, not a problem in itself were it not for their inability to do these things.
The Big City Plan is another case in point. In itself a good idea but in practice a bit of a mess that misses the fundamental points of Parkinson’s report and instead drives home a hodge-podge of disconnected developments unified under the leadership of, and let’s take the gloves off for a moment, a certifiable megalomaniac. I believe it would be possible for a government body to deliver something of the scale of the Big City Plan – just not this government body.
Shall I mention Digital Birmingham’s task to make Birmingham a leading digital city by 2010? I like Digital Birmingham as an organisation and think they do some very good work but landing them with this nonsense (what is a “digital city” anyway?) just gets in the way of that.
I could go on…
The reasoning for all these BIG projects is that they make Birmingham look good on the international stage – selling the “Birmingham Brand” as Debra Davies calls it in this otherwise bizarre article – to bring in investment and make us look like a good place to do business in. And maybe this works even if it doesn’t relate to the reality on the ground. I don’t do PR so I can’t judge the value of half-truths but I do have a sense of the damage they can cause as, I suspect, do the 60 people injured yesterday.
So what should they do?
First, the councilors should get some humility. Accept that they are human and, on the whole, barely qualified for the responsibility they give themselves. Start hiring some people who actually know how to do this stuff and give them the autonomy to do it properly. A good leader empowers and gets the hell out of the way.
And when sometime goes wrong, admit it was your fault and learn from the experience. Running a city is a complex and difficult thing and only an idiot (or publicity seeking nonentity) would expect everything to go smoothly. Have an honest discussion with the people who live here, not an argumentative defensive strategy to criticism.
But above all, start thinking small. As our leaders are so fond of saying, Birmingham was internationally known as the City Of A Thousand Trades. Not ONE BIG TRADE but thousands of little ones. We were great at that. Sure, we can do big well but we also do small very well indeed.
And there’s nothing wrong with small. People like small. It’s manageable and personable and creates the sense of a vibrant place where anyone can succeed. London does small very well indeed which is why people flock there. Birmingham needs to make more of it’s small.
Sure, tie it up with some big spectacular things, done properly by people who have a track record in such things, but please can we lose this obsession with big. It’s not clever, it’s not grown up and it’s not doing Birmingham any favours.
Small is the new black…
And you’re spot on. Do a lot of small things well, then the big will naturally follow.
Big is bust right now; think small and start building a better big.
Could go on…
Totally agree. ArtsFest and Gigbeth also spring to mind.
I think that BRMB have to take a lot of the blame for the lights fiasco. I always remember the lights being switched on by some second rate actor from Eastenders which was guaranteed to keep the crowd managable. A free concert with 13 acts and flimsy barriers is just asking for trouble. Birmingham likes to go for big because it ( the current inept leadership) thinks it is a World Class City, global city(?).
The general thrust of this I agree with – do more small stuff. And yesterday saw real evidence of the big envy that’s endemic across a range of directorates in the City.
But your post focuses on people rather culture which I’m surprised at. Sacking senior officials who indeed are experts in their jobs, won’t get us very far. Rather, the City could do with asking how as an organisation it has developed a culture whereby senior officers feel compelled to out-big each other. New people won’t change the culture, new structures might. Elected officials, other than those is the very senior posts, simply don’t hold the power you suggest over senior officers. The chief exec does – and he’s the key person who should be creating a culture within BCC that recognises and nurtures the ’small’.
But the city does need narratives with which to sell itself on the international stage. It needs investment because it has a lot of people who need jobs. We’ve given the Big City Plan too much credence I think. It’s really just a fancy powerpoint presentation to play in Dubai. An expensive one, but if it pays off then it can result in new investment and new jobs.
Oh and going around saying ‘Birmingham will be a leading Digital City by 2010′ is actually quite handy. In fact I’ve used that line in many a presentation before then going on to talk about how it’s a leading Digital City because the really interesting stuff happens outside the control of the city council. It’s a leading Digital City for its small digital stuff. It’s a leading Digital City because you’re in it. May I be the first to congratulate you on helping the city reach one of its key ‘big’ targets ;)
Actually (@catnip) I think Artsfest and Gigbeth (the latter wasn’t a city council event I thought?) are good models of how doing ‘big’ can work. Both events are the sum of lots of small parts, why not take time to point at them and celebrate them in a focused way.
@Joe – I’m not in a position to criticise BRMB as I don’t know their track record but I assume the council asked them to do it and so has a responsibility to make sure they’re suitable.
Pete, you’re so right. Traditionally, Brummies have revelled – and excelled – in being the underdog and personally, I’m fine with that. It’s embarrassing when our Council leaders try and make us something else. It’s like Birmingham is swanning around in a loud Hawaiian shirt but hasn’t seemed to notice that its contemporaries are all in understated tailored suits.
Whitby et al never seem to ask “is it best for Birmingham?” but instead, “is it better than Manchester/Liverpool/London?” Take the new library (which I appreciate is a whole ‘nother debate). None of the press releases explain why it will be a really good library… but they all explain how it’s designed by an internationally renowned Architect and will be really massive and funny-looking.
@Dave – Fair point but I’m looking at this from the outside so I see people rather than a culture. And I’m having a bit of an emotional rant on a Sunday night, not that that’s an excuse.
I would love ‘big’ to be replaced by ‘best’ or actually just ‘bloody good’ — a much more worthwhile and achievable aim in most things.
@Dave I agree with Jules that Artsfest & gigbeth have in the past had problems with overstretching the time/people/stuff available too thin in an effort to be big – it’s not a Council only problem, I don’t think.
I like the City of a Thousand Trades analogy. This whole outdoing Manchester thing is stupid. Manchester often wins the second city debate because it’s not the second city. Everyone likes the underdog (and is Manchester an underdog!)
But seriously, Birmingham doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody, by being itself it will succeed. It always has.
I don’t suppose any blame should be attributed to the herd mentality of the people that forced their way through the barriers? Of maybe ponder the bigger question of celebrity mania?
I suppose this just goes to show that one should, when organizing an event such as this, assume the worst about people rather than (as seems to have been the case) have an expectation that people will act even semi-sensibly.
Thank you Pete for drawing some views together after the debacle on Saturday. I’ve been too angry for rational thought yet so have shut up so far. You’ve pulled something really positive out of your reflections and I am most grateful.
Pete, that makes sense on so many levels. It’s a great and heartfelt post – thank you. What truly stands out for me is your case for celebrating excellence at all levels. If we get that right, we prosper, period. But I’m afraid I don’t see a whole lot of enthusiasm for that at Council level. You know what? I’m tired of grandiose too.
I note that people are putting the boot into BRMB for this, on this forum and elsewhere, which is slightly unfair. I must stress, by the way, that I have no current connection with BRMB. I think the other local stations must be feeling somewhat relieved it wasn’t their name on this fiasco. Schadenfreude comes to mind, and the thought of BRMB’s rivals rubbing their hands together with glee leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
BRMB deals with pop music; they pulled the line-up together. That’s their home territory. They have staged successful open air freebies many times without incident. However, it is NOT their job to handle security issues. Their role, if anything, is to reflect and support the council’s efforts around events like this. But this was a council event.
Like you say, it’s the focus of the event that caused the problems. I don’t want us to ever be parochial, and I don’t want us ever to react defensively. But do I wish that a Birmingham event like this had smacked less of “Me too! Look at us!” and been more… well… Birmingham.
A major factor in all this is budget against perceived public engagement. BRMB as a joint organiser will have bank rolled a large part of the event, which no doubt Birmingham City Council will be happy about and are in turn associated with ‘top’ artists. As well as using private money to support a public event, they’ll also get a BIG crowd and therefore be surely be perceived as the BEST. But they certainly wouldn’t want to ticket it, as it would then become exclusive and not for all of the people, as a council event should be.
Once upon a time Christmas lights switch-on was about lighting our streets with festive cheer but lets face it we all know it’s now a commercial event to stimulate early spending and council’s across the country are now in the pocket of the retailers.
There was a time when the Christmas lights switch-on involved a celeb from the The Rep’s Christmas show or a Dame from one of the Pantos, that was the hard sell. But no one was causing a crush to see Mathew Kelly or the Snowman. Who is the lights switch-on really for? Do the Birmingham retailers see the teen market who attended Saturday’s event as big spenders? Taking a child to see the ‘magic’ of the lights is definitely a thing of Christmas Past.
Firstly, a great article and asks many questions about the mentality of Birmingham.
My opinion is that Birmingham is trying to out do those cities around us. Thinking of the Manchesters, Leeds and Liverpools.
I think it’s ludicrous that a Christmas Light switch on has such a huge billing… Who turns lights on in the middle of the day?
As for some comments on invigorating shoppers… Did they really think about the demographic they were appealing to with JLS? Having been involved with one of their gigs during the summer, teenagers go mad for these.. Teenagers don’t take you can’t go in to easily… Hence the problems…
It’s my humble opinion that it’s good the fences fell otherwise there would have been deaths and serious injuries.. Tie into that the launch of the Christmas market… Leads to chaos.
As with many people though, Birmingham can do big as it showed with the Half Marathon a few weeks ago and many free gigs in the past. Is Millennium Point really the right place though?
The council’s obsession with big, flagship tings rather than nurturing the small and beautiful that’s under their noses drives me slightly mad. Your post made me think of a conversation I had with Andrew Brightwell of Hashbrum about swimming pools – BCC is investing £60 million into a huge Olympic swimming pool that won’t actually be ready in time for the 2012 Olympics, but smaller historical pools such as Moseley Baths (that people actually care about and rally around) are left to flounder and fester. It’s very sad.
I know it sounds a tad old-fashioned but given that people in the council don’t read blogs like this but do still read old media why doesn’t someone compose a letter to the Birmingham Post articulating your concerns. It would be one of those signed-by-lots-of-people letters. Otherwise, the above is just a bit of an echo chamber.
I agree with everything said and have been saying much the same about “thinking small” to anyone who will listen for ages. There is not enough done at the grassroots – it all seems to be so called flagship, big budget projects.
I know for sure that not nearly enough is done to encourage the city’s writers not to mention artists, designer/makers, musicians,film makers, creatives generally etc.
Digbeth and Eastside should have some kind of special development area status and measures that encourage landlords to rent out their otherwise abandoned “landbanked” buildings at peppercorn rents to encourage Birmingham to become a city of a thousand digital trades.
Take the formerly run down area of Temple Bar, Dublin as the model – it was squatted or rented out at such peppercorn rents and became a place where young people could experiment/make mistakes/collaborate.
From out of this grew a major tourist atraction and income engine for the city. Birmingham can do the same but it has to lift its head up out of the clouds and really show some vision.
I lived in Birmingham for decades and have only just moved elsewhere. So, events like this shouldn’t bother me any more. But they do.
I agree with you, Pete, that the City Council is completely obsessed with big. It’s been the same for years.
Millions of pounds have been wasted on trying to convince people that we’re “a great European city” or “a global city” instead of simply allowing the city to speak for itself and to be seen for what it is: a post-industrial conurbation with a buzzing ethnic and cultural mix that should act as a powerhouse for creativity and enterprise. Despite the massive expenditure, these campaigns have always been spread too thinly over too many markets to have any useful effect.
Just look at the mediocrity of ArtsFest: it may be Europe or Britain’s or the world’s BIGGEST free arts event, but it still sucks.
Just look at Marketing Birmingham. A basically pointless exercise in generating press releases about how much press coverage their press releases are getting.
And look at the fiasco of the noise abatement nonsense in Digbeth. At one end of Eastside they’re trying to close down pubs that act as the seedbed for local music, local culture and local talent on an ongoing, day to day basis. At the other end they hire a whole bunch of extremely popular pop stars for a day and then expect only 5,000 people to turn up to see them. Their only excuse, I suppose,was that the event was held at Millenniumn Point – another white elephant on the sacrifical altar of bigness.
What’s to be done about it? How about ignoring the buggers and setting up an alternative co-operative of the talents to promote and foster smaller, more realistic initiatives that can survive without the dead hand (and deader brains) that come with Council involvement.
Nicky’s observation about the swimming baths mirrors the ludicrous situation where BCC are spending £12m on a park at Millenium Point for ?nobody whilst the lovely, historic Highgate Park is left to fester. Unfortunately, Highgate Park is surrounded by poor people and “The Whitby Memorial Park” sounds really, really impressive on ones C.V.!
Sorry. “one’s”.
Pete,
Given that comments such as the one above are repeating your ‘predicted capacity’ figure of 5000 which is now clearly an early mis-reporting I wonder if you should correct it.
Have done that Dave.
In doing so I noticed this from the debrief statement:
“In order to learn from Saturday’s events it is firstly proposed to have a structured multi-agency debrief and secondly to bring in an independent expert in event management and crowd control, to review the Safety Advisory Group’s processes and procedures and make recommendations for the future.”
Excellent.