Bumper weekend announced for final Summer in the Square

As the summer holidays come to a close, Colmore BID is marking the end of its Summer in the Square programme with a bumper weekend to celebrate the Bank Holiday on 26-30 August.

After seven weeks of events, the colourful beach huts in Victoria Square will open for the final time with a special Bank Holiday Summer in the Square weekend. Coffee shops Java Roastery and Urban Coffee, Argentinian steak restaurant Gaucho, craft ale bar Purecraft Bar & Kitchen, and street food favourite Roastie Toastie will be in the beach huts, serving some of their most popular dishes as well as a range of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

There will also be live entertainment over the course of the weekend, provided by Luxury Live, so make sure to bring your dancing shoes. The huts will be open for an extended period of time, from 11am-6pm, Thursday through till Bank Holiday Monday.

Delivered by Colmore BID and developed in partnership with Retail BID and Birmingham City Council, Summer in the Square saw the creation of a new outdoor seating space for people to enjoy at any time during the summer months. The space was created to support the District’s hospitality venues, providing additional seating at a time when social distancing was enforced in venues due to the Covid pandemic.

Michele Wilby, CEO of Colmore BID, said: “Summer in the Square has been a success on a number of fronts, from providing extra seating for venues to serve food, to bringing back a sense of community to the District and its streets after what has been a truly awful 16 months for many of us.

“The project is a testament to the importance of collaboration, particularly during difficult times. Without the support of Birmingham City Council and Retail BID, Summer in the Square would not have happened. I would like to thank all our partners, suppliers and venues who have contributed to the creation and running of Summer in the Square.

“The beach huts were only ever a temporary installation, but Victoria Square will continue to be a hive of activity over the coming months with art installations, Christmas and then of course the Commonwealth Games in 2022. The second city may have had a quiet year, but we’re back with a full programme of events, ready to make up for lost time.

Leading global legal business, DWF returns as a headline supporter for the bank holiday weekend,

Jon Stevens, Managing Partner for DWF’s Birmingham office, said: “Summer in the Square is a brilliant event which showcases and reflects the fantastic food and hospitality scene in Birmingham. We are delighted to once again be involved in the event to show our support for Colmore BID and fellow businesses in the area.

“Birmingham is a highly exciting place to be for business at the moment with developments such as the arrival of the new Birmingham Health Innovation Campus, HS2 and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games fast approaching.

“The fast pace of the city has been reflected in a very busy year for our Birmingham office so far – it is a source of pride for us that our clients arrive at our offices having walked through the buzzing Colmore District and that we have so many thriving restaurants and bars close by.”