Star City is a family leisure and entertainment complex in

Nechells Nechells () is a district ward in central Birmingham, England, whose population in 2011 was 33,957. It is also a ward (politics), ward within the Government of Birmingham, England#Districts, formal district of Ladywood. Nechells local government ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is located in the north east of the city very close to Junction 6 of the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...

('' Spaghetti Junction''), and Aston railway station.

Development

This former derelict industrial land was developed as part of a regeneration scheme for the Heartlands area and to change Birmingham's image for the 21st century. Its centrepiece is the 25-screen (formerly 30-screen)

Vue Vue or VUE may refer to: Places * Vue, Loire-Atlantique, a commune in France * The Vue, a skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina Arts, entertainment and media * Vue (band), a rock and roll band from San Francisco, California * Vue International, ...

cinema, at the time the largest cinema in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and originally opened as Warner Brothers Cinema. The construction was carried out by

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

based firm

Carillion Carillion plc was a British multinational construction and facilities management services company headquartered in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, prior to its liquidation in January 2018. Carillion was created in July 1999, following a ...

. The complex was formally opened in July 2000 by actors

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...

and

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...

to coincide with the UK premier of The Perfect Storm. With some of leisure space, it is one of the largest leisure complexes in the United Kingdom.

Attractions

A 22-lane

Megabowl Tenpin Ltd (stylized tenpin, and formerly known as Megabowl and Tenpin 10) is one of the largest ten-pin bowling brands in the United Kingdom, consisting of 55 bowling centres ranging from 12 to 36 lanes (depending on the size of the centre), ...

(now branded as 'Tenpin') bowling alley was revealed when Star City opened and has remained since. By the end of 2003, it was the largest leisure park in the country ahead of The Printworks in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and

The Mailbox Mailbox Birmingham, also known as The Mailbox, is a mixed-use development located within the city centre of Birmingham, England. It houses British luxury department store chain Harvey Nichols, and the BBC Birmingham studios. The scheme compr ...

in Birmingham city centre. A Goals soccer centre opened in 2007 with fourteen floodlit pitches situated on the roof. Goals also incorporates a Sports Bar which shows year round sporting events on both Sky and Terrestrial TV. The centre underwent a major redevelopment in 2008. England's first indoor 36 hole adventure mini golf course, 'Adventure Island Mini Golf', opened on 11 June 2008.

Reflecting the community

Star City is located in

where

ethnic minorities The term "minority group" has different meanings, depending on the context. According to common usage, it can be defined simply as a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half of a population. Usually a minority g ...

make up the majority of the area's population. As a result, the screening of

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

films by Vue's theatre at the site is seen as an attraction for visitors. Entertainment for the venue includes a visit made by the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

in 2005.

2019 violence

On 23 November 2019 at the

cinema, during a screening of '' Blue Story'', which depicts gang violence, a violent disturbance broke out. Some of those involved carried machetes. Seven

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of ...

officers were injured and a number of people were arrested. Following the incident, Vue banned all future screenings of the film from its cinemas.

References

External links

* {{coord, 52, 30, 18.58, N, 1, 51, 18.99, W, type:landmark, display=title Culture in Birmingham, West Midlands Buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands Shopping malls established in 2000