Bath retail and hospitality businesses are set to benefit from a programme of entertainment, events and activities to celebrate the reopening of the city this summer after more than a year of Covid-related lockdowns and restrictions.
Staged by Bath Business Improvement District (Bath BID), Summer Sundays will encourage visitors into the city centre to soak up the festive atmosphere with free entertainment and activities.
Taking place throughout June, July and August, they will run alongside the return of many of Bath’s greatly missed festivals and events, bringing welcome footfall for the city’s recently reopened restaurants, cafés and bars.
Pop-up performances will range from Jane Austen dancers to the city’s Jamma de Samba band and dancers while on some Sundays there will be free face painting and a balloon artist.
Bath BID will also be holding free family-friendly arts and crafts workshops at 15 Cheap Street on some Summer Sundays.
The highlight for June will be on Sunday 27 when Bath BID will stage a Welcome Back to Bath Day, with activity across the city centre to celebrate its reopening.
The BID’s welcome ambassadors will welcome people into the city centre, handing out maps and answering questions.
There will be pop-up performances around the city centre, and on-street entertainment courtesy of Bath Fringe Festival as part of its Bedlam Fair.
Visitors will also be able to enjoy Bath & North East Somerset Council’s first Summer Sunday event of the year at Parade Gardens with children’s entertainment, food, drink and live music on the last Sunday of every month.
Alongside Bath BID’s free entertainment and activities, visitors can enjoy an array of festivals and events that will be taking place across the city on Sundays.
These include Bath Fringe Festival, which is on until June 13, with SparkFest, which celebrates creative work from Bath Spa University’s School of Music and Performing Arts, running until June 19.
Pub in the Park, which combines food, drink and music, takes place from June 18 to 20, while another foodie event, the Fantastic Food Festival, is at The Rec from July 16 to 18.
The Bath Festival Finale Weekend will be returning to The Rec on August 7 and 8, offering a festival atmosphere for all the family.
Bath BID chief executive Allison Herbert said: “We are so pleased to see the city reopening and welcoming people back, and are keen to encourage people to spend time in the city over the summer months.
“Our Summer Sundays initiative is designed to showcase Bath as a vibrant, family-friendly city with lots to enjoy, and we are keen to include as many events and special offers as possible, to ensure there is something for everyone.”
Find out more at welcometobath.co.uk/summer-sundays
The Summer Sundays take place following Bath receiving funding from national tourism agency VisitEngland to help promote the city as an ideal place for staycations this spring and summer.
With traditional foreign holidays likely to shunned by many people this year to due Covid restrictions, VisitEngland is heavily marketing a range of UK destinations under the strapline Escape the Everyday.
Bath’s destination marketing organisation (DMO) Visit Bath is working with tourism businesses in the city to create Escape the Everyday guides and content, including bookable product experiences available for the consumer to buy on their own destination website.
