BID Events 2021

Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID is working alongside Staffordshire University to bring a digital games event unlike anything previously staged in the UK, to the City Centre this summer.

‘Stoke ON TREND GamesJam 2021’ is a contest that will see hundreds of aspiring programmers and Games Developers – otherwise known as Jammers - come together to create playable games, each based around a key City Centre theme.

It seeks to bring together creative minds to generate new and exciting experiences, simultaneously celebrating the culture and heritage of Stoke-on-Trent City Centre, through the medium of video games.

In the week-long development stage of the competition, amateur, professional and hobbyist game creators can participate and collaborate, exploring the process of game development in every aspect, including programming, iterative design, narrative exploration and artistic expression, providing they are aged 16 and over, and a student at high school, college or university.

They will be given seven days, commencing 29 May, to knuckle down and create a game in teams of up to four, aligning to one of eight themes, each recognising and celebrating an element of the City Centre’s history and heritage, but which will remain a secret until the Jam starts, providing a fair and even challenge to all participants.

Once the week is up and games have been developed by the ‘Jammers’, they will be made available to play on smartphones via QR codes located in the City Centre in the corresponding themes’ location from 19 June to July 11.

Not only will local students and aspiring games programmer have the opportunity to showcase their work to a wider audience, there is also an incredible prize in it too for the creator of the game that receives the highest rating.

The winners will have the opportunity to work in a studio style environment at the Staffordshire University Games Institute for a six-week period over the summer of 2021. They will have access to the University’s commercial licenses and have the opportunity to turn their Stoke ON TREND GamesJam game into a commercially releasable game.

Your City Festival, returns in 2021 to ignite the streets of Stoke-on-Trent with the UK's hottest emerging talent.

Taking place on Saturday 24 July and Sunday 25 July, the festival boasts an impressive line-up of over acts spanning a plethora of diverse genres, and provides exposure to local artists, venues and music professionals that help to mould Stoke-on-Trent's musical culture.

Your City is dedicated to promoting local culture and showcasing the array of talented musicians and artists in the area, and Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID is ecstatic to be supporting such a fantastic event, highlighting the amazing music scene locally, and giving it the attention it deserves.

Weekend wristbands are available for purchase from £15 here.

The BID is bringing Friday Night Socials back to Piccadilly on select Fridays each month in summer, kick-starting on Friday 21 May, and the events are set to transform the area into a thriving hub for enjoying socialising and entertainment, in line with the hospitality sector reopening post-COVID.

Venues along the street will be throwing open their doors to offer an al-fresco dining and drinking location whilst customers can also enjoy the music of the finest local DJs with a stage area located at both the north and south points of the street, providing a chilled-out atmosphere.

Other dates for the Friday Night Socials are:

• Friday 25th June

• Friday 23rd July

• Friday 20th August

Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID is excited to bring to the City Centre a brand-new festival celebrating our wonderful world and one which seeks to ask and address those questions about how we can all start making sustainable choices today for a better world tomorrow.

Although scaled down from original plans owing to uncertainty around COVID, Better World Festival will bring together speakers, activists, pioneers, charities, community groups and everyone with an interest in creating positive change in this weekend event which will see an extensive line-up spanning world music, activities, dance performances, workshops, meditation sessions, talks and more, designed to inspire new ways of thinking.

With three music stages, a kidzone, two marquees hosting an exciting programme of activities, bar areas and markets, you're bound to take something away from this special festival and be inspired.

After an incredible weekend of activity in 2019 which saw 15,000 taking in awe-inspiring performances and mesmerising feats, Appetite’s flagship family-friendly festival ‘The Big Feast’ is back for 2021 and will again animate the City Centre and help to create a welcoming and engaging destination for all to enjoy this August Bank Holiday, supported by Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID.

The Big Feast is a free arts festival offering something new to discover around every corner from dance shows, live music, brass bands – but not as you’ve seen them before, poetry slams, immersive performances, graffiti workshops, puppetry, extreme juggling and so much more!

A packed programme, choc-ful of all sorts of events from the Potteries, across the UK and around the world, will be unveiled later in the year.

In addition, we have supported Appetite in bringing a programme of Seasonal Specials to the City Centre which have included a number of illuminated art installtions; Windows of Wander, Three Counties Cubes, Shimmer Tree and CHORUS.

A number of artistic events and projects have been funded by the BID through our CREATE Fund which allocates up to £3,000 to each successful applicant that meets the criteria of increasing footfall to the area and enhance and improve the experience of those visiting the BID area.

In the last year, we’ve seen Airspace Gallery bring ESTATE by world-famous artist Jimmy Cauty, to our City Centre. The interactive, multi-media touring artwork enjoyed its launch in our city and was comprised of four concrete tower blocks built at 1:24 scale with meticulously crafted derelict interiors and displayed in a 40ft shipping container as part of the immersive and thought-provoking art experience. 

In addition, Every Other Seat was a pop-up art exhibition by Dust Rising that took place in City Centre in September 2020. It saw an impressive display of incredible artist-designed chairs, each symbolising the importance of artists and performers to the wellbeing of a city, and acting as a symbolic reminder for the loss of the familiar and vibrant, cultural richness that theatre and art brings to our lives, after COVID-19. There was also a performative element during the event that saw artists walking out with the seats, performing spoken word and suggesting the need to review what and where we might expect performance and the arts to take place in the future.

Coming up in 2021, we’ll be seeing more events and projects take place thanks to the CREATE Fund, including:

will be taking place throughout the year that have been funded by the BID’s CREATE Fund. These include:

• Stoke 2000; Kicking off in spring, visitors will be able to follow and enjoy an art trail of 50 bottle-ovens and other relatable products in the City Centre, all of which are made by the creative industry from recycled wooden pallets, celebrating Stoke-on-Trent’s cultural and industrial heritage

• Totem Stoke – Coming later this year, Totem will bring to the City Centre a mixed-arts and culture event that challenges a wide range of local artists - including musicians, poets, painters, producers, film makers and more - to create new pieces responding to one another and their pre-existing bodies of work

• Potboiler Theatre City Centre Walking Tour – Potboiler Theatre will be bringing a self-led audio trail to the streets where visitors can participate by scanning QR codes on a trail of intriguing signage dotted around the City Centre which allow the listener to take in stories about the City Centre alongside beautiful composition.

On the back of the success of our Piccadilly Spooktacular Halloween event back in 2019 which saw thousands of families descend on the City Centre for an evening of free fiendish fun, including appearances from creepy characters, contortionists and fire eaters, we’re thrilled to be bringing it back for 2021.

The whole of Piccadilly will again be transformed into a scene from the Night of the Living Dead for an evening of terrifying thrills for all the family, this time with even more entertainment!

Pumpkin decorating, ghoulish games, circus performances, scare actors, live music and sweets and treats galore will be on the line-up and of course, fancy dress is encouraged.

The BID will deliver an entire programme of seasonal events designed to encourage families to explore the City Centre during November and December. The programme will include appearances from special guests from favourite CBeebies TV shows, a ‘Seasonal Steampunk Shindig’ on Upper Market Square, and Salvation Army Band performances during busy shopping periods on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings, as well as a ‘Not-so-secret Santa’ gift giving initiative where Street Ambassadors hand out presents to shoppers at random to make their day.