City centre to host free activities and events this summer

An exciting summer of arts and culture events will animate the city centre and bring Bristol’s communities together again as we move out of the pandemic.

Following its launch in April, the City Centre and High Streets Recovery and Renewal Culture and Events programme is providing funding to support five free events and activities in the city centre throughout the summer. 

On Sunday 5 June, College Green will host the Big Jubilee Lunch, a day of family friendly activities bringing the diverse communities of Bristol together to celebrate.
The free event is suitable for all ages and includes live music (curated by St George’s Bristol), food, games and activities. Donations will be collected for local food charities to help end food poverty.

Local events and street parties are being planned across Bristol for the Jubilee weekend from 2 to 5 June. 

Image: Little Amal at COP26. Credit: The Walk Productions.

In recognition of refugee week and Bristol as a City of Sanctuary, Little Amal, the 3.5m tall puppet of a young Syrian refugee child, will be in the city centre on Friday 24 June. 

The puppet, whose name means 'hope' in Arabic, has walked 8,000km from Turkey, travelling across eight countries. Her journey and the events created along the way intend to focus people’s attention on the plight and urgent needs of young refugees caught in conflict.

Working in partnership with Bristol Old Vic, people are invited to come and give Little Amal a Bristolian welcome and memory. Join the festivities between 4pm and 6pm as she walks around King Street, Corn Street and the fountains, and wave Amal off as she sets sail aboard a Bristol ferry for her onward journey. 

A new market is planned for the city centre, taking place on the third Sunday of each month between June and October. Starting on Sunday 19 June the Better Sundays at Broadmead market will be host to a range of traders offering local, sustainable and ethical food and goods, complimenting Broadmead’s businesses, adding diversity and encouraging new business start-ups to take up a market stall.

As well as entertainment and activities for all ages, there will be a wide selection of stalls offering plants and flowers, and range of sustainable food stalls, upcycled products including clothing and homewares. 

Better Sundays at Broadmead intends to build on Bristol’s Gold Sustainable Food City status and Bristol Eating Better Award, a free award for food businesses that sell healthier food options and promote sustainability. 

St Nick’s Night Market returns for its second iteration, taking place on Friday 1 July. Located at St Nicholas Market (St Nick’s), the event will be spread across St Nicholas Street, Corn Street, Exchange Avenue and All Saints Lane, bringing the Old City to life. 

From 5pm to 10pm visitors will be able to enjoy a wide selection of stalls selling food and drinks from local producers and suppliers. There will be a variety of entertainment and multicultural food offered throughout the evening.

Councillor Craig Cheney, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet member for Finance, Governance and Performance, said: “Our events look to provide a warm, family friendly environment to welcome people back into the city centre. This is an important and exciting opportunity to engage people across Bristol and the wider area to showcase what Bristol has to offer. 

“Through our grant programmes we are supporting the recovery of the arts and culture sector and also businesses across the city who have been severely impacted by the pandemic over the last couple of years. By encouraging people to visit the city centre, we hope to see the area and businesses benefit from an increase footfall and remind people of the breadth and diversity of our independent businesses that Bristol is renowned for.”

The city centre’s first headline cultural project commission for 2022/23, awarded to the Natural History Consortium, is due to take place in August. The summer commission will create a canopy installation in Broadmead, inspired by and celebrating trees, creating an immersive experience with striking visuals, sounds, smells and activities, to attract and engage residents and visitors into the city centre. 

Savita Willmott, Chief Executive of The Natural History Consortium, said: “We’re so excited to bring this cultural project to Broadmead this summer and invite people to join us to celebrate trees as well as contribute their ideas on how we can all work together as a city to double our canopy in the coming years. Our charity works with partners across the city to bring environmental themes to life and inspire Actions for Nature, and this is a brilliant opportunity to really put Bristol’s commitment to our trees and woodlands on the map.”

Bristol-based organisations can apply for funding through the City Centre Culture and Events Grant. Grants of between £15,000 and £50,000 are available to Bristol-based organisations looking to run events or cultural activities across four locations in the city centre: Old City, King Street, Park Street and Queen’s Road and Broadmead.

Tenders for the next city centre headline cultural project commission for 2022/23, worth £100,000 will open in July. Further information can be found on the council’s City Centre and High Streets Culture and Events Grant scheme webpage.