The Bullring shopping centre has long been a focal point of Birmingham city centre and, following its extensive redevelopment in 2003, has been restored as one of the midland's foremost shopping and entertainment complexes.

Opened in May 1964 by the Duke of Edinburgh, the original Birmingham Bull Ring centre was a combination of outdoor market stalls and Britain's first indoor shopping mall. Covering 23 acres and incorporating 140 units offering over 350,000 square feet of retail space the Bull Ring had an enormous bull mural added to the part of the complex that overlooked the vehicle entry.

In order to accommodate all the expected shoppers it was directly connected to New Street railway station and incorporated a 500-space multi-storey car park. Using American shopping malls as their model, the designers of the original Bull Ring intended to include air conditioning and piped music throughout the complex, to create an intimate atmosphere. However, the reality failed to live up to the hype and before long the design of the Bull Ring was condemned as a brutal example of 1960's concrete box architecture. It didn't help that escalators and lifts regularly broke down and high retail rents scared away many would-be traders.

As early as 1980 plans for the Bull Ring's re-development was put forward to Birmingham council. After much discussion involving city residents the original 1960s Bull Ring development was demolished in 2000, to be replaced by a shiny new contemporary retail development in 2003.

On the day of its official opening the new Bullring shopping centre attracted an estimated 275,000 shoppers, all keen to see what was on offer in the bright new surroundings. One of the most prominent features of the redevelopment is the award-winning futuristic building that houses Selfridges, which is clad in 15,000 shiny aluminium discs.

Indeed, the Bullring shopping centre is now such an impressive retail centre that out-of-town visitors are choosing to make a weekend of it. There is no shortage of luxury hotels in the city centre and when it comes to budget hotels in Birmingham, the area is better served than most. Many are within reasonable walking distance of the shopping complex and the city's entertainment heart.

However, much more than Selfridges awaits eager shoppers at the new Bullring; major retailers such as Apple, Currys digital, Debenhams, Elle and Nike are just a sample of the 160 household names that occupy over 26 football pitches worth of shops, restaurants and boutiques in the complex.

At the end of the first year almost 36.5million people visited the Bullring, making it the most visited UK shopping area outside of London's West End and justifying the £530million cost of construction.

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