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The last few weeks have seen a real spotlight on young people and talent at Â鶹ԼÅÄ Birmingham.

On Saturday night I, along with 10,000 people, attended the electrifying – a world class lineup of  music talent headlined by global superstar Mary J Blige (pictured).

I might have been one of the oldies there but you couldn’t help but notice the young and diverse crowd who packed out the arena – it shouldn’t be a surprise really – Birmingham being one of the youngest and most diverse cities in Europe. Here they were, out in force, rubbing shoulders with one another. Loving every moment of a memorable evening.

It was a reminder of the magic that can happen when the Â鶹ԼÅÄ goes out to meet its audience – whether it’s the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Proms at he Royal Albert Hall, in Blackpool or 1Xtra in Birmingham – our audiences value being up close and personal with the parts of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ they love.

The concert was more than just a one off. The Radio 1Xtra Live team spent a month in the run up to the event running a programme of events, workshops and activities across the city aimed at engaging the young and diverse audiences on our doorstep.

Ranging from street-dance, poetry, master-classes, to careers workshops and broadcasts from the Â鶹ԼÅÄ’s radio studios at , we’ve seen new audiences engage with the Â鶹ԼÅÄ in Birmingham.

We’ve reached out far and wide - from Aston, Digbeth, Nechells, to Handsworth and Longbridge. We have linked up with partners here in the city – Beatfreeks, MAIA Creatives, Punch Records, BCU, Bournville College and Blastbeat to name just a few. We were able to showcase the tremendous work they do supporting young people in Birmingham and hope that this is just the beginning of us working together as we build and develop Â鶹ԼÅÄ Birmingham as a centre of excellence for skills, talent and people.

It’s the kind of partnership work we can expect more of when our teams move to Â鶹ԼÅÄ Birmingham alongside the 200 plus roles coming into the Mailbox in 2015, including the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Academy.

1Xtra wasn’t the only show in town last week.  The at the NEC - the biggest of its kind in the country - saw some 80,000 young people attend this three day extravaganza.

Â鶹ԼÅÄ West Midlands and the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Academy hosted the main stage to showcase an assortment of Â鶹ԼÅÄ treats and experiences. Strictly, Citizen Khan, Â鶹ԼÅÄ News, Â鶹ԼÅÄ Sport, 5 Live, Midlands Today, Newsround, 1Xtra, and Asian Network were all there along with performance artists from across the Midlands.

Peter Salmon, Â鶹ԼÅÄ Director of England, and I hosted the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Experience – an exhibition giving the public an insight into innovative new broadcasting techniques and a chance to see some of the new technology that audiences will have at their fingertips in the not too distant future.

It was an incredible few days and a reminder of how the work of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Academy can really make a difference when it moves to The Mailbox next year. Their entry-level talent teams are already with us in the Mailbox and leading work with apprentices and new talent.

Director-General, Tony Hall, has made it his mission to increase the number of apprentices, with Birmingham as their base. The numbers are swelling: 177 of them have begun their training in anything from production and journalism to technology and business.

Tony Hall visited the Mailbox last month to meet the first batch of technology apprentices and saw at first-hand how their energy and enthusiasm is beginning to make a real difference to our operation here in Birmingham. There’s plenty more to come.

has also recently been appointed to lead the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Academy from Birmingham. Joe’s appointment is a real coup - he is leaving his position as Director of Â鶹ԼÅÄ Children’s and joining us in January to kick start the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Academy’s operation in Brum.

I know Joe well from our time at MediaCity in Salford and his track record in developing new talent, training and diversity is exemplary. Salford’s loss is most certainly Birmingham’s gain as he returns to his native Midlands and joins our quest to put Â鶹ԼÅÄ Birmingham back on the map.

Last week also saw the launch of - a terrific collaboration between The Space and the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Writersroom who have put on a series of events to encourage people to create online content. We have also appointed a new creative lead for the Digital Innovation Unit, Stefan Shaw, who will be based at Fazeley Studios in Digbeth. We look forward to embedding his team within our new Â鶹ԼÅÄ Birmingham operation.

We’ve made good and strong progress over the last six months. There remains a lot to do but I’m heartened by the partners who have embraced the opportunity to work with us as we build and nurture a stronger presence in the city and region. New talent will play a big part of our future operation and I believe that if we can capture the unique demographic of this city – we really have a chance to make Birmingham an exciting place to build a career.

Tommy Nagra is Head of Business Development, Â鶹ԼÅÄ Birmingham