Brummies on the city's inventions that changed the world

We asked people in Birmingham what they think are the city’s greatest gifts to the world – from food and music to industry and imagination.

Transcript

00:00Birmingham's influence reaches far beyond the city limits

00:05and the list of the contributions runs from the everyday to the extraordinary.

00:09Some people think first of chocolate and curry, others of cars and music,

00:13while plenty point back to the city's role in driving the industrial evolution.

00:17Ask around and you'll hear different priorities, but the theme is clear,

00:21the city has given more to the world than it often gets credit for.

00:24That's why we wanted to know which single contribution stands out most

00:28when Brummies think about their city's place on the map.

00:32Ozzy was also a great solo artist in his own right, but Sabbath is where it all started.

00:39Judas Priest was pretty damn good as well.

00:42Whoa. Culture. I go culture.

00:47With the libraries, the theatre, the central area is really well developed.

00:57That's one of Birmingham's strengths.

01:03Oh, it was a great gift. I like the restaurants, but that's not a gift to the world, is it really?

01:09I guess, well, it's got to be Cadbury, hasn't it?

01:12I don't like chocolate, but the world knows Cadbury.

01:15And all he did, he did the factories and all the history.

01:18Yeah, you've obviously got the Black Country Museum, you've got Cadbury World.

01:22There's lots of history in Birmingham. So I'd probably say it's the Black Country, isn't it?

01:27So what is the Black Country heritage? I think.

01:30Is that okay? Was that a rubbish answer?

01:32Absolutely brilliant. Black Country lad, I'm really happy that the Black Country is you, sir.

01:38So, which Birmingham invention or idea do you think has the most impact worldwide?

01:45I'll give you a suggestion. Yeah.

01:47The answers don't always agree, but they do sketch a picture of Birmingham's reach.

01:52For some, the pride is industrial, the factories, the engineering, the spark that lit the modern age.

01:58For others, it's cultural, the music scenes, the food traditions, the creativity that's travelled just as far as steel or machinery.

02:06And then their sport, with Birmingham at the heart of football's story through the very first league.

02:11Tying together, it shows how wide the city's legacy really is.

02:15But the harder question is which of these gifts has left the biggest mark on the world beyond Birmingham?

02:22Okay. Invention. I would say industrial revolution, I think.

02:27Having been to the Black Country Museum recently, it's all in my head.

02:31So, I think, yeah, industrial revolution and all things related, it's not a positive one, is it the mining and everything?

02:37But as a result of the mining came lots of the industrialised action.

02:41So, I'm going to go that. What are you going to go for?

02:43You're going to go chocolate. No, not the chocolate.

02:47Cadbury, he did the accommodation for his workers, didn't he? He was a bit kinder.

02:51So, I guess, treating your employees with a bit more respect is always a positive.