BIRMINGHAM City could revolutionise the way football ceremonies are held if their Big City Event at the National Indoor Arena proves successful.

Instead of a traditional player-of-the-season awards bash, which is aimed mainly at corporate guests and can get bogged down by long-winded speeches and auctions, they are giving theirs on May 16 a considerable makeover.

It will be more akin to a Brit Awards do and supporters are being encouraged to come along and watch from seats within the arena, at £20 and £15 for season ticket holders.

Brummie band Ocean Colour Scene are booked as the headline act who will play a 45-minute set after the trophies are handed out, X Factor star Treyc Cohen is also performing and John Motson is lending a hand, too.

“We wanted to make it more inclusive and move away from the traditional image an end-of-season awards dinner has,” explains Blues head of commercial operations Kevin Smith.

“We kind of stole the idea from the Brit and MOBO events where you still have the corporate guests on the floor area at tables, but also fans who come in as well just to watch the presentations and music.

“We want to make it exciting, punchy and something that is not elitist and will not drag on for hours and hours.

“Our audio visual team are working extremely hard to put content together that should keep people entertained in between the formal parts of the evening and the performances.