Aston Villa won its first European trophy in over 40 years last night (Wednesday, May 20), and to celebrate, the club is holding an open-top bus victory parade through Birmingham city centre today (Thursday, May 21). We expected a sea of claret and blue throughout the city for this communal celebration.
It’s quite the quick turnaround for the UEFA Europa League winning squad following a 3-0 victory over SC Freiburg at Beşiktaş Park, Istanbul—who also defeated the likes of Feyenoord, Fenerbahçe, Bologna, Lille and Nottingham Forest along the way, immortalising their names in the club’s history books.
But with Villa facing Manchester City on Sunday for the final Premier League fixture of the season, Birmingham Pride also taking place in Birmingham over the weekend, and many players soon reporting to their international squads ahead of the FIFA World Cup, there wasn’t any other time.
When and where is the Aston Villa victory bus parade?
The parade will start on Branston Street in the Jewellery Quarter at approximately 4.30pm and cover a route of approximately 4.5km, taking in Sand Pits, Broad Street and Centenary Square, and last between 60 and 90 minutes. Get down early because it’s expected to get very busy well before the parade begins.
The parade is made up of three open-top buses—with the middle bus carrying the players! Screens will be positioned throughout the route, while the parade will also be streamed live on VillaTV, YouTube and the club’s social media channels. A trophy lift will also take place as the centrepiece of the parade.
Where can I watch the parade being streamed?
If you can’t get down to the parade, you can watch it right here:
What roads will be closed?
Parking bays are suspended from midnight until 10pm, while closures are expected to come into effect from approximately 10am until approximately 10pm, but may reopen, on the following roads:
- Branston Street
- Hall Street
- Warstone Lane
- Frederick Street
- Albion Street
- Powell Street
- Summer Hill Road
- Sand Pits
- Clement Street
- St Vincent Street
- Sheepcote Street
- Grosvenor Street West
- Ryland Street
- Broad Street
- Centenary Square
Side roads adjoining the closure area may also be affected.
How will the parade impact Birmingham bus and metro services?
Bus services within the city centre are expected to operate on diversion between 10am and 10pm. West Midlands Metro services are expected to be suspended between Edgbaston Village and Grand Central from 10amuntil the end of service.
