Hammerson creates ‘Late Night’ entertainment venue in a UK first

To celebrate Pride this year Hammerson has transformed Bullring into a 'late night' venue.

The transformation, which is the first of its kind in the UK, reflects Hammerson's wider strategy to enliven its assets by introducing new concepts, brands, partnerships, and market-firsts to excite and engage new audiences and drive new revenue streams.

As part of Birmingham Pride Weekend, Bullring hosted 'Late Night Out', an after-hours event from 9pm until midnight on Friday, 26th May 2024. The UK-first event was hosted by Gaydio and fronted by RuPaul's Drag Race UK star, Ginny Lemon with DJ sets by Girls Aloud's Nadine Coyle and LGBT royalty Jodie Harsh.

Bullring, which celebrates its 20th birthday this year, is a landmark in the heart of Birmingham city centre and the go-to city centre destination. Welcoming 39 million visitors a year, Hammerson continues to reposition Bullring as a lifestyle and social destination in the heart of the city.

Kriss Herbert, Content Director, Gaydio, the world's biggest LGBTQ+ radio station, said: "We were proud to be able to support and promote 'Late Night Out' as Hammerson transformed Bullring into an evening entertainment venue ahead of Birmingham's Pride celebrations. This event was all about celebrating the diversity of Birmingham, promoting inclusivity and providing a safe space for the city's LGBTQ+ community. Music and entertainment have always brought different groups of people together and Gaydio will always be the soundtrack to our LGBTQ+ listeners. The event took this concept and spun it on its head in a fun and magical way."

The 'Late Night Out' event is another example of the exciting activations and new partnerships Hammerson has introduced to the iconic destination, including:

• Commonwealth Games - Official provider for Birmingham 2022. Exclusively powered the Games' fleet of Electric Vehicles (EV), provided a home for the Merchandise Store and hosted the fireworks display from on the Rotunda for The Opening Ceremony.
• Birmingham Weekender - A two-day cultural festival with 100 events from music to arts and crafts every August Bank Holiday at Bullring. Last years' event increased the footfall at Bullring by 11%.
• TOCA Social, Sandbox VR and Lane 7 - New social and entertainment concepts will be bringing new audiences and engagement to Bullring, all due to open later this year.
• Fast & Furious, Mission Impossible - In a one-day event, Fast & Furious gave Bullring customers a first look at the supercars featured in the newly released 10th film, making new use of the Bullring's natural event space. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise filmed scenes at Bullring for 'Mission Impossible 7', out July 2023, to put the destination on the global stage again.

Across the portfolio, Hammerson continues to focus on reinvigorating its assets and changing the way customers engage with its spaces across their urban city centre destinations. This has driven footfall, increased sales for brands and created Instagrammable moments to reach a global audience. Outside the recent success of its Pride event at Bullring, other notable events include:

• Skatepark with Red Bull at Cabot Circus, Bristol - Repurposing one floor of the car park over half term, Hammerson introduced a new skate park featuring Red Bull's Curb Kings' contest, skate lessons for kids whilst Team GB skater, Alex Decunha, created viral social content. Footfall leapt 19.6% and sales climbed 18% for the centre's restaurant operators.
• Charity Super.Mkt at Brent Cross, London and Oracle, Reading - Hammerson and Hemmingway Design created the UK's first ever charity department concept. The store has completed residencies at Brent Cross and The Oracle and has raised over £670k for charity through selling over 65,000 items. The concept has appealed to a new and diverse audience increasing footfall by over 7% at Brent Cross.
• Supercar Weekend at Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin - The carpark was brought to life with supercar test driving, a vintage car showcase, food, beverage and entertainment - increasing footfall by 46%
• Les Cabanons at Terrasses du Port, Marseille - The introduction of outdoor family entertainment helped to drive new revenue streams. A skate track, concerts, live street art and pop-up food stalls increased all helped to drive footfall up by 18% on the opening Saturday, whilst website visitors increased 10%.

Harry Badham, Chief Development & Asset Repositioning Officer, said "In line with our strategic focus, we continue to reposition and repurpose our assets. Thinking differently and challenging the status quo to create new and exciting ways of using our spaces and driving footfall and revenue streams."

Sarah Tinsley, Director of Marketing & Placemaking, Hammerson said: "Turning Bullring into a late-night venue is a game-changer for the UK industry. Few landlords have dared to tap into the night-time economy in this way, but we're being bolder and braver in our approach as we continue to see the positive impact across our portfolio of introducing market-firsts. We are focused on capturing new audiences, supporting our brand partners and changing the way people engage and perceive our vibrant destinations. With Birmingham being Europe's youngest city, Bullring is the perfect place to test-bed our latest concepts."

ENDS

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.