All events through the City Centre and High Streets Culture and Events Programme are free and open to all, so everyone can visit, explore and have fun in Bristol over the summer.

St Nick’s Night Market returns for its second iteration on 2 June from 5:30pm to 10pm. You can expect an amazing line up of traders, entertainment and performers, and multicultural food and drink from local producers and suppliers.

Don’t miss your chance to see Weekends of Wonder on 3 and 4 June. Invisible Circus are renowned for their imaginative and creative performances and this line-up of street artists and performers does not disappoint!

Included in the Festival of Nature’s 20^th anniversary, the Walking Forest will travel across the city centre on Saturday 17 June. Pop-up performances will take place in Broadmead, Old City, and King Street, with a chance to join in with free family activities and hands-on forestry crafts.

Join Bristol Cathedral on Sunday 18 June for Party on the Green. Bring a picnic and join communities from across Bristol for a day of live music, food and family friendly activities provided by some of Bristol’s best, including the SS Great Britain, Young Bristol and We The Curious.

Bristol’s Summer Film Takeover celebrates unique aspects of Bristol’s culture and identity through film, and marks a number of major milestones including 50 years of hip hop’s influence on Bristol’s culture, the 75th anniversary of Windrush, and 100 years of 16mm film. The first events in June include:

• Windrush 75: Stories Through Film, a specially curated programme of films screening on board the Vintage Mobile Cinema Bus in Broadmead from 22 to 24 June.
• A Wall is a Screen: Secrets of the Old City on 30 June. Join a guided evening walking tour exploring hidden architectural gems in Bristol’s Old City and enjoy a selection of short films projected onto nearby buildings along the way. 

Led by performers and comedians from Bristol Improv Theatre, two squabbling tour guides will take you on the Bristol Comedy History Walk, a hilarious guided tour through Old City and Broadmead, to reveal some of Bristol’s most humorous and surprising secrets.

St Nick’s Market is hosting local musicians from the Bristol Institute of Music Management (BIMM) in its Summer of Busking series on 24 June, 29 July and 26 August, from 12pm to 3pm. Musicians will perform acoustic sessions at the market for people to enjoy as they shop and dine al fresco.

Running from 15 to 17 July, the Circus Playground will be on College Green at this year’s Bristol Harbour festival. Cirque Bijou will once again be bringing tricks and trapeze, children’s entertainment and pop-up performances to delight the crowds.

Ockham’s razor will be taking over Broadmead on 29 July with two showings of their new outdoor performance PUBLIC. These events mark the return of this internationally renowned company to the Bristol with a show that reimagines public space as a space for creativity.

Markets continue to take place on our priority high streets, including:

• Brislington community market – monthly on 17 June and 22 July
• East Street market – first Saturday of the month
• Shirehampton market – first Thursday of the month
• Stockwood market – last Saturday of the month

People from Stockwood are invited to join Brave Bold Drama on 10 June in Stockwood Square for the final session to help create the Stockwood Sounds Audio Trail, a playful new community audio trail celebrating all things Stockwood.

Events running on Stapleton Road celebrate the diversity, communities, cultures and flavours of the area. Around The World in BS5 is an immersive walking tour running every Sunday in June giving people the chance to explore the high street, sample the foods and enjoy music, dance and other performances along the way.

Welcome to Stapleton Road events take place on Saturday 24 June and Thursday 27 July. Opening out onto the street, businesses will showcase what they do with special offers, tasters and displays. There will be music, children’s activities, face painting, arts and crafts.

The Friends of Horfield Library (FoHL) are planning events on Filton Avenue including a Growers and Makers Market on 10 June and on 15 July a summer fete ‘Celebrating Filton Avenue’ which will be a family friendly day with a samba band, local performers, craft activities and facepainting.

St George Community Association will run their Summer Fair at St George Community Centre on 18 June from 1pm to 4pm with fun activities for children, face painting, music and have plenty of stalls to browse from local traders.

With this diverse and packed programme of events running throughout the summer we continue to help support Bristol’s businesses and the recovery of the culture and events sector and hope to build on the successes of last year’s events, where we attracted over 75,000 additional visitors to the city centre and generated almost £1.4 million of additional spend in Bristol’s businesses, all from an investment of £310,000.

The City Centre and High Streets Recovery and Renewal programme is funded by Bristol City Council and the West of England’s Combined Authority’s Love our High Streets project.

It was great to attend the UKREiiF, the UK’s Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum, in Leeds on 16 and 17 May. Now in its second year, with a third planned, REiiF is becoming an important event in the calendar for property developers and investors to come together to discuss trends, innovation, and shape the future direction of the industry.  The forum covers how the public and private sectors can work together to deal with the challenges we face, such as providing the homes we need and responding to the climate and ecological emergencies.

The public sector has an increasingly strong presence at this event. As well as UK locations setting out their stalls for investment, leaders from across the political spectrum were taking a leading part in discussions.

Bristol is recognised as a leader in climate action, committing to our One City Climate Strategy and One City Ecological Emergency Strategy. As a city we are willing to share the benefit of our experience to support efforts nationally and internationally to achieve net zero in a fair and just way. In my keynote, opening address at the Beyond Net Zero stage, I highlighted how our Bristol City Leap Partnership plans to deliver £630 million of clean energy investment by 2028, creating over 1,000 jobs and saving over 150,000 tonnes of emissions.

But more needs to be done. During my time at COP27, it was highlighted that a global transformation to a low-carbon economy is expected to require investments of at least $4-6 trillion a year. My attendance was as part of the Cities Climate Investment Commission (3Ci), where we advocated for what is needed to ensure successful public-private collaboration and unlock the private finance needed for a just transition of cities to net zero. Accessing this private funding is a crucial step on our journey.

I also had the opportunity at REIIF to celebrate the progress we have made as a city to continue to progress towards delivering 1,000 affordable new homes every year. In 2021/22, our city built 474 new homes, as part of the 2,563 new homes delivered, the most in more than a decade. I also emphasised the role cities have to play as agents of change. 

The majority of the world’s population now lives in urban environments – so change in cities can be significant in scale and happen at pace, as long as it is just. I see a role for a national plan for key infrastructure in cities, that gives central government an agenda to follow that supports cities and gives them a long horizon to plan for, whilst giving them the freedom they need to be fully responsive to the needs of their citizens.

A seminar on the opportunity at Temple Quarter attracted much interest. The landmark project, one of Europe’s biggest regeneration schemes, will unlock 10,000 new homes and 22,000 new jobs, alongside huge investment into Bristol’s economy. I’m grateful to the team, and those working under the banner of the Western Gateway and other partners, who were flying the flag at the event for Bristol and the west, for their contributions to what I consider to have been a successful few days.

It’s well established that local government across our country is facing a cost of operating crisis that is affecting all areas of local authority work. The systematic defunding of the local government sector by successive governments over thirteen years has left all councils facing increasing demand without the financing necessary to do all the things we used to do.

In February, we set another balanced budget for the seventh consecutive year of this administration, no easy feat considering the challenges. We have continued to protect all of Bristol’s libraries and children centres, prioritised support for low-income families by continuing to fully fund the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and Local Crisis Prevention Fund, and set aside the funding needed to continue our ambitious home building programme.

We continue to tackle the big issues facing our city head on, and reduce pressure on the frontline services that fellow Bristolians rely upon wherever we can — including thanks to the £1 million that we have saved by reducing the number of council directors.

With every year, however, the impact of delivering on our priorities becomes increasingly challenging. This year’s council budget was set against the backdrop of the national cost of living crisis, made worse by the national mini Budget, which has driven up the costs of goods, services, and energy. Coupled with rising demand for the services that we deliver and lower government funding than we need, the council’s budget gap over the coming five years was estimated to be over £30 million. This led us to set out a number of areas where we would look to save money and increase income whilst continuing to protect frontline services as much as possible.

Whilst this has meant that we have needed to review how services are delivered across all areas. Our plans also include over £11 million of actions to change the way the council operates, further improve efficiency, and deliver even greater value for money in how the council is run. A large part of these savings, nearly a quarter, will be achieved by further reducing the number of buildings used by our staff, following on from a January cabinet decision to sell six sites.

After many months of work to explore the various options to reduce office space without negatively impacting frontline services, we are now in a position to take the next steps and begin delivering these much needed work.

This approach will see us move out of a number of sites across Bristol. City Hall will continue to be the council’s main office with other buildings retained in the north, south, and east of our city to provide space for officers to work closely with people in those communities. These local offices of course sit alongside the network of libraries and children’s centres that we are proud to have protected across Bristol, which help connect residents with services.

Final decisions on which buildings will be retained are yet to be made, but we have made a commitment to keep the Citizen Service Point on Temple Street despite other council officers moving from this office space later this year.

As this project develops we will be in touch with people affected by any planned closures to let them know what changes are being delivered and where they can continue to access the services they need.

When Bristol achieved Living Wage City recognition in 2019, it showed how serious we are about addressing low pay and in-work poverty.  

Three years on and we have received Living Wage City status for a further three years, enabling us to continue our work to encourage employers in Bristol to pay a good wage. 

Our first three years of being a Living Wage City have seen us exceed our targets. The aim was to double the number of real Living Wage accredited employers headquartered in Bristol from 62 to 125, but we were able to achieve 140 accreditations. In 2019, there were just under 20,000 people in Bristol working with accredited real Living Wage employers, now we have around 43,000. As part of our city’s efforts to increase people’s pay, approximately 4,000 people have had a pay rise, uplifting them to the real Living Wage or higher. This is an increase nearly three times higher than expected. 

With no signs of the national cost of living crisis ending, earning a wage that is based on the actual cost of living has never been more important. While the real Living Wage will not solve the crisis, providing employees with a wage based on living costs can help provide security and stability for workers. 

Research by the Living Wage Foundation in late 2022 highlighted our concerns that low paid workers are more likely to be in financial hardship now than at any point over the past few years. These people are likely to be skipping meals regularly for financial reasons, are unable to heat their homes and may be seeking a pay-day loan to cover essentials. 

Clearly earning less than the real Living Wage is harder now than ever before which is why our work in Bristol to encourage our city’s employers to pay a fair wage is so vital.  

In January 2019, the City Office launched our shared One City plan, setting out how city partners would work together to create a fair, healthy and sustainable city. Bristol Living Wage City became a part of this vision in January 2020. 

Major organisations across our city came together to form a Bristol Living Wage City action group, which has been integral to our city’s success. Key founding partners who are still leading the initiative alongside Bristol City Council today include Business West, University of Bristol, the Great Western Credit Union, TUC South West, and ACH. 

New members have regularly joined the group, picking up the work of other founding members during three years of hard work and challenging times. The University of the West of England, Hargreaves Lansdown, and We the Curious are now established key members of the group. 

Our Bristol Living Wage action group is the perfect example of how we can successfully work together as One City. We have a strong partnership and clear strategy and action plan to continue this work through the next three years. Renewing Bristol’s commitment to becoming a Living Wage City is both a call to action and a clear way forward to achieving a fair and inclusive economy for all in Bristol.  

The action group are proud, and rightly so, of their achievements over the last three years, hitting all their targets and making good inroads into traditionally low paid industries, such as cleaning, childcare, retail and hospitality, with 29 per cent of accredited employers headquartered in Bristol from these employment sectors.  

The action group meets every two months to review the approach and monitor progress against targets. The group annually review our city’s journey and ambitions, working together to co-design a new action plan for the next three years.  

Looking forward up to December 2025, our action group has five key aims: 

• Targeting large and iconic employers in Bristol 
• Engaging low-pay sectors 
• Supporting small and medium enterprise to commit to the real Living Wage 
• Raising awareness of the real Living Wage movement across the city, with a focus on target sectors and peer to peer support 
• Developing and sharing practical guidance on the real Living Wage to employers and employees 

Our action group will work hard to reach our new targets of an additional 120 accredited employers headquartered in our city. This would lead to an additional 1,200 employees’ salaries being uplifted to at least the real Living Wage. 

The national cost of living crisis threatens to significantly impact living standards, making the campaign for the real Living Wage even more important. Bristol has a strong vision for its future as a city that has a vibrant and successful economy, where everyone has the opportunity to both contribute to and benefit from economic growth. A city that is fair and inclusive. Bristol Living Wage City is fundamental platform for delivering this vision. 

If you are interested in becoming an accredited real Living Wage employer visit the Living Wage Foundation website to find out more or contact our Living Wage team at livingwage@bristol.gov.uk 

Bristol residents never cease to amaze me with their dedication to helping others and making a difference to other people’s lives. I would like to start with a thank you to all of the unsung heroes who volunteer their time to support so many people and activities across our city.

There are lots of ways to give back to your local community, and volunteering is one of the most rewarding. Often the questions I get asked are about where to begin, how to support others, or even if it’s worth doing.

As we look forward to this year’s Volunteers’ Week (1-7 June), I want to share my volunteering experience and why I recommend everyone gets involved.

My five reasons to volunteer:

1. Make a difference – helping someone who needs it and giving back to the people in your local community is an incredibly rewarding experience
2. Build new relationships – making new connections with people can be incredibly rewarding. You’ll get the chance to meet a variety of people from different backgrounds who you might not usually get the chance to speak to
3. Expand your skill set – developing new skills is great for your personal and work life. Volunteering can help you add achievements you might need to your CV and increase your career opportunities
4. Boost your confidence – doing something new or continuing to develop a skill you already have can increase your self-confidence.
5. Great for your own wellbeing – it’s not selfish to say that doing something good makes you feel good. Supporting those around you or helping with the success of an event will bring a smile to your face and help you feel great!

How can you volunteer?

From Monday 8 May, to mark His Majesty The King’s Coronation, thousands of organisations across the country are getting together to help people give back to their local communities with The Big Help Out. No matter what you are good at, there will be something that will suit you. The idea is for people to spare as little as an hour or as much as a day. Even doing something small can make a big difference.

To find local volunteering opportunities, you can visit the Can Do Bristol website. You will find a range of options from volunteering at festivals, helping to train young sea cadets, supporting people with dementia, and lots more. You can sign up for regular volunteering slots or one-off events, and people looking for volunteers can also contact you directly. If you’re looking for volunteers to support your event or organisation you can also advertise for free on the Can Do Bristol website.

Marking Volunteers’ Week 2023

I firstly want to say a huge thank you to anyone who already volunteers in Bristol, whether you do this through Can Do Bristol, with local community organisations or by just helping out friends or family.

We are once again working closely with Voscur and Black South West Network to give a big city thank you and put a spotlight on some of the amazing work Bristol’s volunteers have been doing. More details on this will be available closer to Volunteers’ Week.

As we have done for previous years, we are running our Wall of Thanks on the Can Do Bristol website where you can submit messages of thanks and appreciation to volunteers or community organisations that have helped you. You can submit these here: The Wall of Thanks 2023 – Can Do Bristol

If you are an organisation and you’ve received support from volunteers over the past year, as well as posting messages on the Wall of Thanks, you can visit the Volunteers’ Week website and find out how else you can say thank you.