Members of the public are being invited to contribute towards a landmark new art project in Birmingham’s Southside district that will put the city’s Gay Village on the map as part of the Big City Plan.

The Gay Village gateway project will see a large rhinestone-encrusted rhinoceros sculpture installed on the corner of Bromsgrove Street and Hurst Street to signify to visitors that they have reached the Gay Village.

The horned animal was selected as it symbolises strength and was originally a symbol of the gay rights movement in the United States, while the use of rhinestones reflects Birmingham’s rich jewellery-making history. The artists commissioned to construct the sculpture are now asking members of the public to contribute towards a ‘heart’ that will live inside the finished article containing music, photos, videos and stories.

Those wishing to contribute are asked to upload their videos, songs and images via Facebook and Birmingham’s LGBT dedicated Rhino online blog, where visitors can also track the construction of the piece, while Twitter users can submit 140-character entries using the hashtag #rhinestonerhino.

The new leader of the Conservatives in Reading is to be Tim Harris, it was announced this week. Cllr Harris, a 41 year old software salesman, was elected without contest as group leader on Reading Council.

Openly-gay, he is well-known for his prominent LGBT campaigning, which recently included successfully facilitating a £10,000 grant to kick-start a Reading LGBT centre.

The councillor, who takes part in triathlons in his spare time, said he would bring “energy” to his new role.

He said, “I am delighted to have been elected unopposed and am really pleased with the officer team. The energy, knowledge and innovation within the Conservative group is awesome, so I will be working hard to fully embrace this for the people of Reading.”

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The National Trust is teaming up with SHOUT, Birmingham’s Festival of Queer Culture, to explore the city’s hidden gay past. The Back to Backs, in the heart of Birmingham’s gay district, will host performances from award-winning company Women & Theatre which uncover the lost histories of Birmingham’s queer people from the 1850s to the 1970s. Gay Birmingham, Back to Back will run from 17-19 and 22-26 November.

SHOUT Festival Producer, David Viney comments, ‘We are really excited by these upcoming performances. It is vitally important that LGBT people take their place in Birmingham’s history. Not only will they throw light on what life was like for everyday LGBT people in the past, but also bring back to the public consciousness one of Birmingham’s most famous gay sons.’

Meet Charles, a manual labourer from the 1840s, committed to All Saints Asylum for ‘committing unnatural acts’. Meet Fred ‘Freda’ Barnes a Saltley-born butcher’s boy turned music hall megastar of the 1920s; flamboyant, disgraced and forgotten. In the 1940s meet Annette, wife and mother, as she looks back on meeting the love of her life in wartime, inner-city Birmingham. And finally, meet Leila, a young woman from 2011 searching to find evidence of ‘someone like her’ in the 1970s. What can she piece together from the snippets she finds in the old tailor’s shop?

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SHOUT Festival is thrilled to be hosting a one off special club night/performance event – celebrating the famous JUG night club; one of Birmingham’s pioneering gay venues as part of a weekend of events celebrating queer history in Birmingham.

The JUG, a nightclub spanning the late 70s to the mid 90s which was renowned for its water garden, plastic patio furniture and its owner, the inimitable Laurie Williams.

Famous acts from the clubs heyday will be making special appearances, including the Wincey Willis Fan Club, Rebel Red, Tilly, High and Mighty and a specially commissioned Water Garden Ballet! Join us as we recreate its unique atmosphere through live performance and pay homage to this legendary club. So take your shoes off the sofas, leave your inhibitions at the door and for one last time “Let’s get back to disco!”.

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'Just a Ball Game?' have announced that Bradford City will become the third Professional Football Club to sign to the government ‘CHARTER’ taking action against homophobia and transphobia in sport, after they confirmed they will be publicly signing up to the charter prior to their home fixture against Plymouth Argyle on December 10th 2011.

This will form part of a whole day of action addressing homophobia and transphobia in football by the CWU at Valley Parade and Bradford City will become the first UK Professional Football Club (under Football League ruling and acceptance) to allow literature addressing anti-gay issues and LGBT issues to be distributed at a game.

The CWU have been campaigning for over 3 years for strong action to be taken and its National Equality Officer Linda Roy said "The CWU have been campaigning for a long time on rising awareness on homophobia in sport and we are very pleased that Bradford City FC have agreed to host our Day of Action."