Birmingham’s nightlife venues are preparing to go head-to-head as the shortlist for this year’s Best Bar None awards was announced. Now in its ninth year, the city-wide scheme is one of the biggest in the country and champions licensed premises that provide a safe and enjoyable night out.

Best Bar None, a national award scheme supported by the Home Office, assesses pubs, clubs and bars on criteria such as door and security policies, drugs issues, under-age drinking and what systems are in place to deal with alcohol-related crime.

The 37 venues which have been shortlisted for this year’s awards are set out below (in notes to editors).

The winners will be announced at the Birmingham Best Bar None awards ceremony at the ICC, on Broad Street, on 2 December 2015.

The public will also be able to vote for the Free Radio People’s Choice Awards, by visiting Free Radio’s website http://www.freeradio.co.uk/

Cllr Barbara Dring, Chair of the city council’s Licensing and Public Protection Committee, said: “The Best Bar None awards are like the Oscars for the licensing trade in Birmingham, these encourage venues to strive for high standards in all aspects of their business and this is reflected in the quality of entries we receive each year.

“The shortlisted venues have been visited to assess how they make sure their customers enjoy a great night in a safe environment. We also consider the contribution that premises make to their local community.”

Officers from the council’s licensing and trading standards teams, along with colleagues from West Midlands Fire Service and West Midlands Police have visited every venue to assess them.

The winners, who will be announced on 2 December 2015, have been selected by an independent judging panel.