You may have spotted that the city centre is looking a little more lively recently…
There’s pop up bars with street food, interactive sculptures, outdoor ping-pong tables, and more – and they’re all part of a summer of sporty fun!
It’s a collaboration between Make It York, THOR’s Tipi and First Bus York, to bring a summer of fun activities to the city.
And after spending long periods of time inside over the past 16 months, it will be great to enjoy the outdoors and (hopefully) some sunshine with friends and family.
Ashley Young, senior marketing and communications manager at Make It York said: “With the Euros, Olympics, Wimbledon all taking place this summer, and the Rugby League World Cup coming to York later in the year, the ‘Summer of Sport’ theme takes inspiration from these events and celebrates us all as ‘winners’, as we come out of what has been a difficult year.”
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There are six interactive sports-themed sculptures installed across the city centre, which offers fun photo opportunities for residents and visitors alike to get involved in.
Explore the trail to find the winner’s podium, a racing car, weights and more – don’t forget to share your selfies on social media using the hashtag #SummerinYork!
Trail sponsors include York BID, Middletons Hotel, First Bus York, York City Knights and St Peter’s York.
THOR’s Tipi has returned to Parliament Street offering tropical-inspired drinks, cosy evenings and weekend DJ sets.
There will also be a variety of York-based food vendors on Parliament Street serving tasty treats such as burgers, gyozas and more.
Sense of community
Amanda Monaghan, director of THOR’s Tipi said: “We’ve loved being involved in the planning for ‘York Summer of Sport’. We’ve worked with many different local artists and businesses on the activities and the sense of community has been brilliant.”
The colourful new outdoor seating will also remain across the city to provide spaces for people to buy food and drink from local businesses and soak up the atmosphere of the city with friends and family.
The new YO1 Beach Club – a brand-new family-friendly space located in Tower Gardens designed to be a fun and safe urban oasis – is now in full swing.
Enjoy watching the world go by from the sand and escape from the bustle of the city – complete with deckchairs, beach huts, ice creams and barbecue food.
Continuing with the sporty theme, outdoor ping-pong tables have been set up on Parliament Street that are free to play, and there’s two urban running routes that have been devised to take in all the best city centre sights.
There’s also free yoga classes at THOR’s Tipi each week in partnership with Emperor’s Gym. The classes will run each Wednesday (7:30am – 8:30am) and Friday (8:30am – 9:30am) with pre-booking required by email to [email protected]
The activities will run until 5 September.
A ‘Summer of Sport’ map bringing together all the city centre activity is available for download from the Visit York website. A new hub has also been created on the Visit York website bringing together activities from local businesses. Find it here.
The ‘Summer of Sport’ activity is being delivered in partnership with First Bus York as part of its ongoing support for local business and community initiatives to bring people back to the city and to promote sustainable travel.
So your summer is officially set – what are you waiting for?