Airline ticket Birmingham Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Culture

There are 13 museums on the south side between Eiserner Steg and Friedensbrücke, including:

The street itself, Schaumainkai, is partially closed to traffic on Saturdays for Frankfurt's largest flea market.

The roots of the modern Techno music style, of electronica can be traced back to Germany, and in particular, Frankfurt. It was here, in the early 1990's, that local DJs like Sven Väth and DJ DAG (of Dance 2 Trance) first played a harder, deeper style of acid house, that became hugely popular worldwide, during the next decade. One of the main venues of the early Trance music sound was the Omen nightclub, in the city. Accordingly, some of the early, and most influential Trance acts, e.g. Jam and Spoon, Dance 2 Trance, and Hardfloor, and record labels such as Harthouse and Eye Q were based in the city, in the early 1990s.

Transport

The city is accessed from around the world via the Frankfurt International Airport (Flughafen Frankfurt am Main) which is located 12 km (7 mi) from the city centre. The airport has three runways and serves 265 non-stop destinations. It ranks among the world's top ten airports and is the biggest cargo airport in Europe. Depending on whether total passengers or flights are used, it ranks as the second or third busiest in Europe alongside London Heathrow Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport in 2007 was 54.2 million. The airport can be reached by car or bus and has two train stations, one for regional and one for long-distance traffic. The S-Bahn lines S8 and S9 (direction "Frankfurt (Main) Hbf", "Offenbach Ost or "Hanau"), departing at the regional traffic station take 10-15 minutes from the airport to the Central Station and the city centre, the IC and ICE trains departing at the long-distance traffic station take as well 10-15 minutes.

Despite the name, Frankfurt Hahn Airport (Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn) is not located anywhere near Frankfurt but is instead situated approximately 120 km (75 mi) from the city in Lautzenhausen (Rhineland-Palatinate). This airport can only be reached by car or bus. An hourly bus service runs from Frankfurt Central Station, taking about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Last year over 4 Million Passengers used this airport in order to use Low Cost Airlines like Ryanair.

The streets of central Frankfurt are usually congested with cars during the rush hour. Some areas, especially around the shopping streets Zeil, are pedestrian-only streets. There are numerous car parks located throughout the city.

Frankfurt is a traffic hub of the German Autobahn system. The Frankfurter Kreuz is an Autobahn interchange close by the airport where the Autobahnen A 3 (Cologne-Würzburg) and A 5 (Basel-Hannover) meet. With approximately 320,000 cars daily it is the most heavily used interchange in Europe. The A 66 connects Frankfurt with Wiesbaden in the west and Fulda in the east. The A 661 starts in the south (Darmstadt), runs through the eastern part of Frankfurt and ends in the north (Bad Homburg). The A 648 is a very short Autobahn in the western part of Frankfurt.

Frankfurt Central Station (Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof or short Ffm Hbf) is the largest train station in Germany by number of platforms. Regarding daily passenger volume it ranks second together with Munich Central Central (350,000 each) after Hamburg Central Station (450,000). It is located between the Gallus and the Bahnhofsviertel, not far away from the Trade Fair and the financial district (Bankenviertel). It serves as a major hub for long-distance trains (ICE) and regional trains (all Rhine-Main S-Bahn lines, two U-Bahn lines, several tram and bus lines). Local trains are integrated in the Public transport system Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV), the second largest integrated public transport systems in the world. Only the Berlin integrated public transport system (VBB) is larger.

Frankfurt Airport Long Distance Station connects Frankfurt International Airport to the main rail network, most of the ICE services using the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line. It is one of two railway stations at the airport, the other is for local S-Bahn trains (lines S8 and S9), called Frankfurt Airport Regional Station.

The two major stations in the city centre are Hauptwache and Konstablerwache, both located on Frankfurts most famous shopping street, the Zeil.

The city has two underground railway systems: the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn, as well as an above-ground tram system known as Straßenbahn. Information about the U and S Bahn can be found on the RMV website.

Nine S-Bahn lines connect Frankfurt with the Rhine Main Region. All lines have a 30 minute service during the day but the majority of the routes are served by two lines thereby offering a 15 minute schedule. All lines, except line S7, run through the Frankfurt city tunnel and serve the stations Ostendstraße, Konstablerwache, Hauptwache, Taunusanlage and Frankfurt Central Station. When leaving the city the S-Bahn travels above ground. It provides access to the Frankfurt Trade Fair (S3-S6), the airport (S8, S9), the stadium (S7-S9) and nearby cities such as Wiesbaden, Mainz, Darmstadt, Rüsselsheim, Hanau, Offenbach am Main, Bad Homburg, Kronberg and smaller towns that are on the way.

The U-Bahn has seven lines serving the city centre and some larger suburbs. The trains that run on the line are in fact lightrails as many lines travel along a track in the middle of the street instead of underground further from the city centre. There is only one line (U4) that is completely underground. The minimum service interval is 2.5 minutes, although the usual pattern is that each line runs with a 7.5-10 minute frequency which combines to approx 3-5 minutes on the city centre sections served by more than one line.

Frankfurt has 9 Straßenbahn (tram) lines, with trams arriving usually every 10 minutes. Many sections are served by two lines, combining to give a 5 minute frequency during rush-hour. The tram runs only above ground and serve more stops than the U-Bahn or the S-Bahn.

A number of bus lines complete the Frankfurt public transportation system. Night buses take over the service of the U-Bahn and Straßenbahn at 1:30 am to 3:30 am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Taxis can be found outside most S-Bahn or U-Bahn stations and major intersections. The normal way to obtain a taxi is to either call a taxi operator or go to a taxi rank. However, although not the norm, one can hail one on the street.

Deutsche Bahn also rent out bicycles to the public. One finds them at many major road intersections and railway stations. All one has to do is make a phone call to hire them for ?0.06/min or they can be hired per day for ?15,-. The bicycles are a bit heavy but they do have shock absorbers to ensure a smooth journey. The silver-red colour of the bikes with their unique frame make them easily visible and difficult to steal.

The public can now use a velotaxi which involves the operator using a tricycle with a sheltered passenger cab. There is room for two people and the service covers all of the city centre.

Frankfurt has also a network of modern cycle routes throughout city. Many of the long distance bike routes into town have dedicated cycle tracks. A number of city centre roads are "bicycle streets" where the cyclist has the right of way and where motorised vehicles are allowed access if they do not disrupt the cycle users.

Every first Sunday in the month there is a Critical Mass cycle event which starts at 2 pm at the Old Opera.

Economy and business

Frankfurt is one of the leading financial centres in Europe. According to an annual study (2007) by Cushman & Wakefield it is one of the top three cities for international companies in Europe, along with London and Paris. According to a ranking list (2001) produced by the University of Liverpool, Frankfurt is the richest city in Europe by GDP per capita. After Frankfurt are Karlsruhe, Paris and Munich . The Mercer Human Resource Consulting Worldwide Quality of Living Survey 2007 ranked Frankfurt at the seventh position of the cities with the highest quality of life worldwide. The only German city that did better was Düsseldorf at number six .

Frankfurt is commonly known as "the city of the banks". In 2006, six of the ten major German banks had their headquarters in the city, including the top four (Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Dresdner Bank and DZ Bank) . Other important banks are ING Diba, KfW, BHF Bank, Bankhaus Metzler, Delbrück Bethmann Maffei, DekaBank, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen and Frankfurter Sparkasse. More than 300 national and international banks are represented here .

The European Central Bank (Europäische Zentralbank) is one of the world's most important central banks, responsible for monetary policy covering the 15 member countries of the Eurozone. Since its foundation in 1998 the headquarters are located in downtown Frankfurt although plans have now been made for a move to a landscaped area on the site of the former wholesale market hall (Großmarkthalle) in the eastern part of the city.

The German Federal Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank) is an integral part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It was established in 1957.

With the stock exchange (Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) and XETRA, which belong to Deutsche Börse, Frankfurt has the second largest stock exchange in Europe after the London Stock Exchange. It is by far the largest stock exchange in Germany with over 90 percent turnover in the German market. In terms of market capitalization, Deutsche Börse is the largest stock exchange in the world.

Germany

Law

Many of the fundamental matters in administrative law remain in the jurisdiction of the states, though most states base their own laws in that area on the 1976 Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz (Administrative Proceedings Act) in important points of administrative law. The Oberverwaltungsgerichte are the highest levels in administrative jurisdiction concerning the state administrations, unless the question of law concerns federal law or state law identical to federal law. In such cases, final appeal to the Federal Administrative Court is possible.

Demographics

With over 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous country in the European Union. However, its fertility rate of 1.39 children per mother is one of the lowest in the world, and the federal statistics office estimates the population will shrink to between 69 and 74 million by 2050 (69 million assuming a net migration of +100,000 per year; 74 million assuming a net migration of +200,000 per year). Germany has a number of larger cities, the most populous being Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt and Stuttgart. By far the largest conurbation is the Rhine-Ruhr region, including Düsseldorf (the capital of NRW) and the cities of Cologne, Essen, Dortmund, Duisburg, and Bochum.

As of December 2004, about seven million foreign citizens were registered in Germany, and 19% of the country's residents were of foreign or partially foreign descent. The largest group (2.3 million) is from Turkey, and a majority of the rest are from European states such as Italy, Serbia, Greece, Poland, and Croatia. The United Nations Population Fund lists Germany as host to the third-highest number of international migrants worldwide, about 5% or 10 million of all 191 million migrants, or about 12% of the population of Germany. As a consequence of restrictions of Germany's formerly rather unrestricted laws on asylum and immigration, the number of immigrants seeking asylum or claiming German ethnicity (mostly from the former Soviet Union) has been declining steadily since 2000.

Christianity is the largest religious denomination in Germany with 53 million adherents (64%). The second largest religion is Islam with 3.3 million adherents (4%) followed by Buddhism and Judaism, both with around 200,000 adherents (ca. 0.25%). Hinduism has some 90,000 adherents (0.1%). All other religious communities in Germany have fewer than 50,000 (or less than 0.05%) adherents. About 24.4 million Germans (29.6%) have no registered religious denomination.

Protestantism is concentrated in the north and east and Roman Catholicism is concentrated in the south and west. Both denominations comprise about 31% of the population each. The current Pope, Benedict XVI, was born in Bavaria. Non-religious people, including atheists and agnostics amount to 29.6% of the population, and are especially numerous in the former East Germany and major metropolitan areas.

Of the 3.3 million Muslims most are Sunnis and Alevites from Turkey, but there are a small number of Shiites. 1.7% of the country's overall population declares themselves Orthodox Christians, Serbs and Greeks being the most numerous. Germany has Western Europe's third-largest Jewish population. In 2004, twice as many Jews from former Soviet republics settled in Germany as in Israel, bringing the total Jewish population to more than 200,000, compared to 30,000 prior to German reunification. Large cities with significant Jewish populations include Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. Around 250,000 active Buddhists live in Germany; 50% of them are Asian immigrants.

According to the Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 47% of German citizens responded "I believe there is a God", whereas 25% answered "I believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 25% said "I do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".

German is the official and predominantly spoken language in Germany. It is one of 23 official languages in the European Union, and one of the three working languages of the European Commission, along with English and French. Recognized native minority languages in Germany are Danish, Sorbian, Romany and Frisian. They are officially protected by the ECRML. Most used immigrant languages are Turkish, Polish, the Balkan languages and Russian.

The standard German is a West Germanic language and is closely related to and classified alongside English, Dutch and Swedish. Most German vocabulary is derived from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family. Significant minorities of words derived from Latin, Greek, and a smaller amount from French, and most recently English (known as Denglisch). German is written using the Latin alphabet. In addition to the 26 standard letters, German has three vowels with Umlaut, namely ä, ö and ü, as well as the Eszett or scharfes S (sharp s) ß.

German dialects are distinguished from varieties of standard German. The German dialects are the traditional local varieties and are traced back to the different German tribes. Many of them are hardly understandable to someone who knows only standard German, since they often differ from standard German in lexicon, phonology and syntax.

Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 100 million native speakers and also about 80 million non-native speakers. German is the main language of about 90 million people (18%) in the EU. 67% of the German citizens claim to be able to communicate in at least one foreign language, 27% in at least two languages other than their own.

Economy

Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, the third largest by nominal GDP in the world, and ranked fifth by GDP (PPP) . Growth in 2007 was 2.4% and is predicted to retain this level in the following years. Since the age of industrialisation the country has been motor, innovator and beneficiary of an ever more globalized economy. The export of goods "Made in Germany" is one of the main factors of the country's wealth. Germany is the world's top exporter with $1.133 trillion exported in 2006 (Eurozone countries are included) and generates a trade surplus of ?165 billion . The service sector contributes around 70% to the total GDP, the industry 29.1% and agriculture 0.9%. Most of the country's products are in engineering, especially in automobiles, machinery, metals, and chemical goods. Germany is the leading producer of wind turbines and solar power technology in the world. The largest, annual, international trade fairs and congresses are held in several German cities such as Hanover, Frankfurt and Berlin.

Among the world's largest stock market signed companies measured by revenue, the Fortune Global 500, 37 companies are headquartered in Germany. The ten biggest are Daimler, Volkswagen, Allianz (the most profitable company), Siemens, Deutsche Bank (2nd most profitable company), E.ON, Deutsche Post, Deutsche Telekom, Metro and BASF. Among the largest employers are also Deutsche Post, Robert Bosch and Edeka. Well known global brands are Mercedes Benz, SAP, BMW, adidas, Audi, Porsche and Nivea.

Germany is a strong advocate of closer European economic and political integration, and its commercial policies are increasingly determined by agreements among European Union (EU) members and EU single market legislation. Germany uses the common European currency, the euro, and its monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. After the German reunification in 1990, the standard of living and annual income remains significantly higher in the western half of the country. The modernisation and integration of the eastern German economy continues to be a long-term process scheduled to the year 2019, with annual transfers from west to east amounting to roughly $80 billion. The overall unemployment rate has constantly fallen since 2005 and reached a 14-year-Low in November 2007 with 8.1%. The percentage is ranging from 6.7% in former Western Germany to 13.4% in former Eastern Germany. The former government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder launched a comprehensive set of reforms of labour market and welfare-related institutions. The current government runs a restrictive fiscal policy and has cut regular jobs in the public sector aiming a balanced federal budget in 2008.

In 2002 Germany was the world's fifth largest consumer of energy, and two-thirds of its primary energy was imported. In the same year, Germany was Europe's largest consumer of electricity; electricity consumption that year totalled 512.9 billion kilowatt-hours. Government policy emphasizes conservation and the development of renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, biomass, hydro, and geothermal. As a result of energy-saving measures, energy efficiency (the amount of energy required to produce a unit of gross domestic product) has been improving since the beginning of the 1970s. The government has set the goal of meeting half the country's energy demands from renewable sources by 2050. In 2000 the government and the German nuclear power industry agreed to phase out all nuclear power plants by 2021. However, renewable energy is playing a more modest role in energy consumption. In 2006 energy consumption was met by the following sources: oil (35.7%) , coal, including lignite (23.9%) , natural gas (22.8%) , nuclear (12.6%) , hydro and wind power (1.3%) , and other (3.7%).

By its central position in Europe, Germany is an important transportation hub. This is reflected in its dense and modern transportation networks. Probably most famous is the extensive motorway (Autobahn) network that ranks worldwide third largest in its total length and features lack of blanket speed limits on the majority of routes.

Germany has established a polycentric network of high-speed trains. The InterCityExpress or ICE is predominantly serving major German cities and destinations in neighbouring countries. The train speed varies from 160 km/h to 300 km/h and is the most advanced service category of the Deutsche Bahn. Connections are offered in either 30-minute, hourly or bi-hourly intervals.

Science

Germany has been the home of some of the most prominent researchers in various scientific fields. The Nobel Prize has been awarded to 98 German laureates. The work of Albert Einstein and Max Planck was crucial to the foundation of modern physics, which Werner Heisenberg and Max Born developed further. They were preceded by physicists such as Hermann von Helmholtz, Joseph von Fraunhofer, and Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X-rays, an accomplishment that made him the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. In Germany and many other countries X-rays are called "Röntgenstrahlen" (Röntgen-rays). Heinrich Rudolf Hertz's work in the domain of electromagnetic radiation was pivotal to the development of modern telecommunication. Through his construction of the first laboratory at the University of Leipzig in 1879, Wilhelm Wundt is credited with the establishment of psychology as an independent empirical science. Alexander von Humboldt's work as a natural scientist and explorer was foundational to biogeography.

Numerous significant mathematicians were born in Germany, including Carl Friedrich Gauss, David Hilbert, Bernhard Riemann, Gottfried Leibniz, Karl Weierstrass and Hermann Weyl. Germany has been the home of many famous inventors and engineers, such as Johannes Gutenberg, who is credited with the invention of movable type printing in Europe; Hans Geiger, the creator of the Geiger counter; and Konrad Zuse, who built the first fully automatic digital computer. German inventors, engineers and industrialists such as Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, Otto Lilienthal, Gottlieb Daimler, Rudolf Diesel, Hugo Junkers and Karl Benz helped shape modern automotive and air transportation technology.

Important research institutions in Germany are the Max Planck Society, the Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft and the Fraunhofer Society. They are independently or externally connected to the university system and contribute to a considerable extent to the scientific output. The prestigious award Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize is granted to ten scientists and academics every year. With a maximum of ?2.5 million per award it is one of highest endowed research prizes in the world.

Responsibility for educational oversight in Germany lies primarily with the federal states individually whilst the government only has a minor role. Optional kindergarten education is provided for all children between three and six years old, after which school attendance is compulsory for at least ten years. Primary education usually lasts for four years and public schools are not stratified at this stage. In contrast, secondary education includes four types of schools based on a pupil's ability as determined by teacher recommendations: the Gymnasium includes the most gifted children and prepares students for university studies and attendance lasts eight or nine years depending on the state; the Realschule has a broader range of emphasis for intermediary students and lasts six years; the Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education, and the Gesamtschule or comprehensive school combines the three approaches.

The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, assesses the skills of 15-year olds in OECD countries and a number of partner countries. In 2006, German schoolchildren improved their position on previous years, being ranked (statistically) significantly above average (rank 13) in science skills and statistically not significantly above or below average on mathematical skills (rank 20) and reading skills (rank 18). The socio-economic gradient was very high in Germany, the pupils' performance in Germany being more dependent on the socio-economic factors than in most other countries.

To enter a university, high school students are required to take the Abitur examination, similar to A-levels; however, students possessing a diploma from a vocational school may also apply to enter. A special system of apprenticeship called Duale Ausbildung allows pupils in vocational training to learn in a company as well as in a state-run school. Most German universities are state-owned and charge for tuition fees ranging from ?50-500 per semester from each student.

Birmingham

Education

Most of Birmingham's state schools are community schools run directly by Birmingham City Council in its role as local education authority (LEA). However, there are a large number of voluntary aided schools within the state system. King Edward's School is perhaps the most prestigious independent school in the city. The seven schools of The King Edward VI Foundation are known nationally for setting very high academic standards and all the schools consistently achieve top positions in national league tables.

Sutton Coldfield College merged with North Birmingham College in 2003 and Josiah Mason College in 2006 to form one of the largest further education colleges in the country. Matthew Boulton College is also located in the city and in 2005, the Eastside branch of the college was completed and opened. Joseph Chamberlain College is the only sixth form college in Birmingham and Solihull to have been awarded both Beacon Status and an overall OFSTED grade 1 (Outstanding).

Birmingham is home to three universities and two university colleges: Aston University, the University of Birmingham, Birmingham City University, Newman University College and University College Birmingham. The Birmingham Conservatoire and Birmingham School of Acting, both now part of Birmingham City University, offer higher education in specific arts subjects. BCU opened the New Technology Institute facility in the Eastside area in 2006.

Crime and policing

West Midlands Police serves Birmingham and the West Midlands county. The headquarters are located at Lloyd House in the city centre of Birmingham. Birmingham has been the location for many high profile incidents such as the 31 January 2007 Birmingham raid, New Year Murders and more historically, the Birmingham pub bombings.

Crime figures for 2006/ 2007 showed that Birmingham was above the English average in all fields. Of the eight major cities in the country (Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham, Birmingham and Bristol), Birmingham has the lowest crime rate.

In an attempt to reduce crime in the city, a Crime and Disorder Partnership has been established in the city, the largest of its kind in the country. The partnerships work in developing five neighbourhood based community safety projects in Birmingham was recognised when it was awarded first prize at the European Community Safety Awards in December 2004. Crime rates are particularly high in areas such as Aston, Handsworth, Small Heath and Bordesley Green.

Sport

The city has played an important part in the history of sport. It was the first city to be named National City of Sport by the Sports Council. It is home to two of the country's oldest professional football teams: Aston Villa (1874) and Birmingham City (1875). Aston Villa won club football's most coveted prize, the European Cup, in 1982. The Birmingham derby is an event in which the two football clubs play against each other. Aston Villa have won 41 matches as opposed to Birmingham City's 36 match wins.

Birmingham was the host for the first ever Cricket World Cup of either gender, a Women's Cricket World Cup in 1973. England beat Australia in the finals.

Birmingham is home to Warwickshire County Cricket Club, whose Edgbaston ground also hosts test matches. The venue was the scene of the highest ever score by a batsman, when Brian Lara scored 501 not out for Warwickshire. International track and field meetings take place at Alexander Stadium, the home of Birchfield Harriers which has many international athletes amongst its members. The National Indoor Arena (NIA), opened in 1991, is a major indoor athletics venue, hosting the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships and 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships as well as many WWE wrestling events.

The first ever game of lawn tennis was played by Major Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera in Edgbaston between 1859 and 1865 and ATP international tennis is still played at Edgbaston's Priory Club. Birmingham also has a professional Rugby Union side, Moseley RFC, who play at Billesley Common, and there is professional basketball team, Birmingham Panthers, as well as professional boxing, hockey, skateboarding, stock-car racing, greyhound racing and speedway in the city.

Food & drink

Birmingham based breweries included Ansells, Davenports and Mitchells & Butlers. Aston Manor Brewery is currently the only brewery of any significant size. Many fine Victorian pubs and bars can still be found across the city. The oldest inn in Birmingham is the Old Crown in Deritend (circa 1450). The city has a plethora of nightclubs and bars, notably along Broad Street.

The Wing Yip food empire first began in the city and now has its headquarters in the Chinese Quarter. The Balti was invented in the city, which has received much acclaim for the 'Balti Belt' or 'Balti Triangle'. The city boasts two Michelin starred restaurants: Simpson's and Jessica's, both in Edgbaston.

Culture and arts

Birmingham has had a vibrant and varied musical history over the last century. In the 1960s, the "Brum Beat" era featured blues and early progressive rock bands. And in the 1980s the reggae boy band Musical youth lived in the nechells part of Birmingham. The city is often described as the birthplace of heavy metal music, with Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and most of Led Zeppelin being local. Then later on during the 80's bands such as Napalm Death, joined the Birmingham heavy metal scene. In the 1970s members of The Move and The Idle Race formed the Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. The 1970s also saw the rise of reggae and ska in the city with such bands as UB40. Seminal 1980s pop band Duran Duran are also from Birmingham.Birmingham was also home to the music family Woodroffe. Most bands in Birmingham shopped at Woodroffe´s Musical Instruments, and Jezz Woodroffe played keyboards for Black Sabbath. Jon Woodroffe then started in 1997 Fat Man Studios, which soon became the No1 recording studio in Birmingham.

Jazz is popular in the city, and the annual Birmingham International Jazz Festival is the largest of its kind in the UK. Venues for the festival are also located out of Birmingham in Solihull. It was first held in 1984.

The internationally-renowned City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's home venue is Symphony Hall. There is a City Organist; since 1834 only seven men have held this position. The current holder, Thomas Trotter, has been in post since 1983. Weekly recitals have been given since the organ in Birmingham Town Hall was opened but are now held in St. Philip's Cathedral, until the Town Hall organ opens in October 2007, following restoration. The Birmingham Royal Ballet resides in the city as does the world's oldest vocational dance school, Elmhurst School for Dance.

The Birmingham Triennial Music Festivals took place from 1784 to 1912. Music was specially composed, conducted or performed by Mendelssohn, Gounod, Sullivan, Dvo?ák, Bantock and Edward Elgar, who wrote four of his most famous choral pieces for Birmingham. Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius had its début performance there in 1900. Composers born in the city include Albert William Ketèlbey and Andrew Glover.

Birmingham's other city-centre music venues include The National Indoor Arena, which was opened in 1991, the CBSO Centre, opened in 1997, and the Adrian Boult Hall, which was built along with Paradise Forum and Birmingham Central Library, at Birmingham Conservatoire.

Among the many theatres in Birmingham, the largest are the Alexandra ("the Alex"), The Rep, the Hippodrome and the Old Rep. The Crescent Theatre and Old Joint Stock Theatre are other city centre theatres. Outside of the city centre are the Drum Arts Centre (on the site of the former Aston Hippodrome) and mac. The Fierce! festival collaborates with The Rep to present an annual series of performances from local and national companies.

Literary figures associated with Birmingham include Samuel Johnson who stayed in Birmingham for a short period with Birmingham Central Library holding two thousand volumes of his work. Author Arthur Conan Doyle worked in the Aston area of Birmingham whilst poet Louis MacNeice lived in Birmingham for six years. Washington Irving produced several of his most famous literary works whilst staying in Birmingham such as Bracebridge Hall and The Humorists, A Medley which are based on Aston Hall. Other authors who were born in or have resided in Birmingham include David Lodge, Jonathan Coe and J. R. R. Tolkien, who is said to have been inspired by areas and buildings in the city. Influential poets associated with Birmingham include Roi Kwabena, who was the city's sixth poet laureate, and Benjamin Zephaniah, who was born in the city.

United Kingdom

Demography

The Roman Catholic Church is the second largest denomination of Christianity in the UK. After the Protestant Reformation, strict laws were passed against Catholics; these were removed by the Catholic Emancipation laws in 1829. There are separate Catholic hierarchies for England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Other large Christian groups include the Methodists (founded by John Wesley in London) and the Baptists. There are also growing Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, many of which have flourished with immigration from around the Commonwealth and beyond. Pentecostal churches are now third after the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church in terms of church attendance.

Muslims in the United Kingdom are believed to number 1.8 million. Mosques are present in most regions: The biggest groups are of Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi origin. More recently, refugees from Somalia, Northern Cyprus, the Balkans and Arab countries have increased Britain's Muslim population. The 2006 controversy over the burqa, brought up in comments by politician Jack Straw, reflects a split between some Britons questioning Muslim integration with British society, and others who believe that wearing the veil is compatible with it, in Britain.

Religions of Indian origin, such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism are followed in Britain. As of the 2001 census, there are about 560,000 Hindus and 340,000 Sikhs. Buddhism is practised by about 150,000 people. It is likely that these figures have increased since 2001. One non-governmental organisation estimates that there are 800,000 Hindus in the UK. Leicester houses one of the world's few Jain temples that are outside of India.

There are approximately 270,000 Jews in Britain, according to the 2001 census.

The United Kingdom has a large and growing atheist and agnostic population with 13,626,000 (23.2% of the UK population) either claiming no religion or not answering the question on religion at the 2001 census.

Economy

The UK economy is made up (in descending order of size) of the economies of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The British started the Industrial Revolution, and, like most industrialising countries at the time, initially concentrated on heavy industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining, steel production, and textiles. The empire created an overseas market for British products, allowing the United Kingdom to dominate international trade in the 19th century. However, as other nations industrialised, coupled with economic decline after two world wars, the United Kingdom began to lose its competitive advantage and heavy industry declined, by degrees, throughout the 20th century. The British service sector, however, has grown substantially, and now makes up about 73% of GDP.

The service sector of the United Kingdom is dominated by financial services, especially in banking and insurance. London is the world's largest financial centre with the London Stock Exchange, the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, and the Lloyd's of London insurance market all based in the City of London. It has the largest concentration of foreign bank branches in the world. In the past decade, a rival financial centre in London has grown in the Docklands area, with HSBC and Barclays Bank relocating their head offices there. Many multinational companies that are not primarily UK-based have chosen to site their European or rest-of-world headquarters in London: an example is the US financial services firm Citigroup. The Scottish capital, Edinburgh, has one of the large financial centres of Europe.

London is a major centre for international business and commerce and is the leader of the three "command centres" for the global economy (along with New York City and Tokyo). In recent years, the UK economy has been managed in accordance with principles of market liberalisation and low taxation and regulation. Based on market exchange rates, the United Kingdom is the fifth largest economy in the world, and the second largest in Europe after Germany.

Tourism is very important to the British economy. With over 27 million tourists a year, the United Kingdom is ranked as the sixth major tourist destination in the world.

The British manufacturing sector, however, has greatly diminished, relative to the economy as a whole, since World War II. It is still a significant part of the economy, but only accounted for one-sixth of national output in 2003. The British motor industry is a significant part of this sector, although it has diminished with the collapse of MG Rover and most of the industry is foreign owned. Civil and defence aircraft production is led by the United Kingdom's largest aerospace firm, BAE Systems, and the continental European firm EADS, the owner of Airbus. Rolls-Royce holds a major share of the global aerospace engines market. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry is strong in the UK, with the world's second and sixth largest pharmaceutical firms (GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, respectively)[100] being based in the UK.

The creative industries accounted for 7.3% GVA in 2004 and grew at an average of 5% per annum between 1997 and 2004.[101]

The United Kingdom's agriculture sector accounts for only 0.9% of the country's GDP.[102]

The UK has a small coal reserve along with significant natural gas, and oil reserves.

Government involvement throughout the economy is exercised by the Chancellor of the Exchequer (currently Alistair Darling) who heads HM Treasury, but the Prime Minister (currently The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP), is First Lord of the Treasury; the Chancellor of the Exchequer is the Second Lord of the Treasury. However since 1997, the Bank of England, headed by the Governor of the Bank of England, has control of interest rates and other monetary policy.

As of 2007, United Kingdom's government debt rose to 43.3% of GDP.[103]

The currency of the UK is the pound sterling, represented by the symbol £. The Bank of England is the central bank, responsible for issuing currency. Banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland retain the right to issue their own notes, subject to retaining enough Bank of England notes in reserve to cover the issue. The UK chose not to join the euro at the currency's launch, and the British Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, has ruled out membership for the foreseeable future, saying that the decision not to join had been right for Britain and for Europe.[104] The government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair had pledged to hold a public referendum for deciding membership should "five economic tests" be met. In 2005, more than half (55%) of the UK were against adopting the currency, while 30% were in favour.[105]

Education

Each country of the United Kingdom has a separate education system, with power over education matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland being devolved. Overall, the UK's official literacy rate (99%[106]) is normal by developed country standards. The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks the UK's education as the 14th best in the world, being significantly higher than the OECD average. However, fewer citizens of the UK are able to speak a foreign language than in any other EU country except Ireland. This has caused fear that the poor language skills in the UK will have a negative effect on business, and has led to calls for languages to be given priority in education.[107][108]

The Secretary of State for Education and Skills is responsible to the UK Parliament for education in England, though the day to day administration and funding of state schools is the responsibility of Local Education Authorities. Universal state education in England and Wales was introduced for primary level in 1870 and secondary level in 1900. [109] Education is mandatory from ages five to sixteen (15 if born in late July or August). The majority of children are educated in state-sector schools, only a small proportion of which select on the grounds of academic ability. Despite a fall in actual numbers, the proportion of children in England attending private schools has risen to over 7%[110]. Just over half of students at the leading universities of Cambridge and Oxford had attended state schools.[111] State schools which are allowed to select pupils according to intelligence and academic ability can achieve comparable results to the most selective private schools: out of the top ten performing schools in terms of GCSE results in 2006 two were state-run grammar schools. England has some of the top universities in the world with Cambridge, Oxford, and London ranked amongst the top 20 in the 2007 THES - QS World University Rankings.[112]

In Scotland, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning is responsible to the Scottish Parliament for education, with day to day administration and funding of state schools being the responsibility of Local Authorities. Scotland first legislated for universal provision of education in 1696. The proportion of children in Scotland attending private schools is just over 4% though it has been rising slowly in recent years.[113] Scottish students who attend Scottish universities pay neither tuition fees nor graduate endowment charges as the fees were abolished in 2001 and the graduate endowment scheme was abolished in 2008.[114]

The National Assembly for Wales has responsibility for education in Wales. A significant number of students in Wales are educated either wholly or largely through the medium of Welsh and lessons in the language are compulsory for all until the age of 16. There are plans to increase the provision of Welsh Medium schools as part of the policy of having a fully bi-lingual Wales.

The Northern Ireland Assembly is responsible for education in Northern Ireland though responsibility at a local level is administered by 5 Education and Library Boards covering different geographical areas.

Healthcare

Each country of the United Kingdom has a separate public healthcare system, with power over the provision of health services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland being devolved. Each system provides healthcare to their citizens that is free at the point of need (being funded from general taxation). Despite this similarity, considerable differences are now developing between the different systems.[115] A much smaller private medical system also exists. Various regulatory bodies are organised on a UK-wide basis such as the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council and non-governmental-based (e.g. Royal Colleges). Across the UK, there is a large number of medical schools and dental schools, and a considerable establishment for training nurses and professions allied to medicine, such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, clinical psychology and radiography. The UK and devolved governments take on both the role of suppliers of public healthcare and assessors of the quality of its delivery through groups organised directly by government departments, such as NICE and CHI.

Though the public health systems are commonly referred to as the NHS across the UK, in fact the National Health Service just covers England. The NHS was set up by the National Health Service Act 1946 and came into effect on July 5th 1948. The Secretary of State for Health is answerable to the UK Parliament for the running of the Department of Health and for the work of the NHS (in England). The NHS is one of the largest cohesive organisations of any type in the world employing over 1.3 million people.[116] Public sector healthcare delivery consists of primary (General Practice), secondary (district general hospital) and tertiary (teaching hospital) levels of service. There is considerable interaction and cross-flow between the various levels.

NHS Scotland provides public healthcare in Scotland with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing responsible to the Scottish Parliament for the its work. In 2006, the NHS in Scotland had around 158,000 staff including more than 47,500 nurses, midwives and health visitors and over 3,800 consultants. In addition, there were also more than 12,000 doctors, family practitioners and allied health professionals, including dentists, opticians and community pharmacists, who operate as independent contractors providing a range of services within the NHS in return for fees and allowances.[117]

NHS Wales was originally formed as part of the same NHS structure created by the National Health Service Act 1946 but powers over the NHS in Wales came under the Secretary of State for Wales in 1969[118]. In turn, responsibility for NHS Wales was passed to the Welsh Assembly and Executive under devolution in 1999. NHS Wales provides public healthcare in Wales and employs some 90,000 staff, making it Wales' biggest employer.[119]The Minister for Health and Social Services is the person within the Welsh Assembly Government who holds cabinet responsibilities for both health and social care in Wales.

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety provides healthcare in Northern Ireland.

Transport

The transport systems in the United Kingdom are the responsibility of each individual country. The English transport network is the responsibility of the UK Department for Transport (which also has responsibility for transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved.) In Scotland, the Scottish Government's Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department is responsible for the Scottish transport network with Transport Scotland being the Executive Agency that is accountable to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth.[120]

A radial road network of 46,904 kilometres (29,145 mi) of main roads is centred on London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, whilst, in Great Britain, a motorway network of 3,497 kilometres (2,173 mi) is centred on Birmingham, Manchester and London. There are a further 213,750 kilometres (132,818 mi) of paved roads.

The National Rail network of 16,116 km (10,072 miles) in Great Britain and 303 route km (189 route mi) in Northern Ireland carries over 18,000 passenger trains and 1,000 freight trains daily. Urban rail networks are well developed in London and other cities. There was once over 48,000 route km (30,000 route mi) of rail network in the UK, however most of this was reduced over a time period from 1955 to 1975, much of it after a report by a government advisor Richard Beeching in the mid 1960s (known as the Beeching Axe).

Heathrow Airport is the world's busiest international airport and, being an island country, the UK has a considerable number of sea ports.

Sport

Major sports originated in the United Kingdom, including football, rugby, cricket, tennis and golf.

Like many team sports, football is organised on a separate basis for each of the countries of the United Kingdom and each has its own Football Association, national team and league system,though a few clubs play outside their country's respective systems for a variety of historical and logistical reasons. Football was developed in the UK and is comfortably the most popular sport.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland compete as separate countries in international competition and, as a consequence, the UK does not compete as a single team in football events at the Olympic Games. Although there are proposals to have a UK team take part in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, which are to be held in London, the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football associations have declined to participate, fearing that it would undermine their independent status - a fear confirmed by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.[121] England has been the most successful of the home nations, winning the World Cup in 1966.

The English football league system includes hundreds of inter-linked leagues, consisting of thousands of divisions. The FA Premier League is at the top, followed by The Football League and then the Football Conference, where the structure starts to become regional and includes the Northern Premier League, the Southern League, the Isthmian League and more besides. The Premiership is the most-watched football league in the world and is particularly popular in Asia; in the People's Republic of China, matches attract television audiences between 100 million and 360 million, more than any other foreign sport.[122][123] England is home to world-renowned football clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal. English teams have been successful in European Competitions including some who have become European Cup/UEFA Champions League winners: Liverpool (five times), Manchester United (twice), Nottingham Forest (twice) and Aston Villa. More clubs from England have won the European Cup than any other country (four compared to three from Italy, Germany and the Netherlands). Moreover, England ranks second in the all time list of European club trophies won with 35, one behind Italy's 36. The European Cup competition itself was brought about due to the success of another English club, Wolverhampton Wanderers, against top European sides[124] in the 1950s. The 90,000 capacity Wembley Stadium is the principal sporting stadium of England