Businesses working together to create a vibrant city centre

SHEFFIELD BRICKTROPOLIS

Sheffield Bricktropolis is a two-week LEGO festival featuring an immersive visitor trail and a host of interactive LEGO-experiences. Bricktropolis typically attracts over 25,000 visitors. Our fourth Bricktropolis returns in August 2024. www.sheffieldbricktropolis.com

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STYLE SHEFFIELD

Style Sheffield's Fashion Week sees high street retailers, independent, vintage and luxury brands take part in a high energy week of events and a large format cat walk finale. Attracting several thousand participants, our next Fashion Week is planned Spring 2024.

CLIFFHANGER

The outdoor climbing festival Cliffhanger is always free and accessible to all, attracting over 40,000 people each year. Sheffield BID supported Cliffhanger from 2016 until 2022. Photo credit: Sam McQueen

FESTIVE SPARKLE

At Christmas Sheffield BID creates a magical experience for families to enjoy. Our illuminated Santa Claus and Brearley Bear light up the city centre, creating festive photo opportunities and lots of memories.

SANTA'S STUDY

Our earlier Santa’s Post Office attracted 15,000 visitors each Christmas and has more recently been updated to Santa's Study, a magical experience for the whole family.

CHRISTMAS CROONERS

Our Christmas Crooners help visitors enjoy the sounds of Christmas with festive harmonies and family favourites. Our Crooners are hosted by different venues and our original Nordic animated reindeer Eccy and Totsy will be joined by several new festive friends in 2023.

THE SHEFFIELD CHRISTMAS TRAIL

Over 10,000 families participate in The Sheffield Christmas Trail featuring Brearley Bear. From the Lost Christmas List to the Reindeer roundup, each festive season brings a new Brearley adventure for young families. Now entering its sixth year, our family mascot Brearley Bear will be back for Christmas 2023. www.sheffieldchristmastrail.com

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POP-UP ACTIVITIES

Our pop-up seasonal activities animate the city centre. They surprise and delight visitors at different times of the year, helping to create memorable days out.

BREARLEY BEAR'S ANNUAL EASTER HUNT

Brearley Bear’s Easter Egg Hunt is a free, family friendly activity that let's children solve clues to find the hidden eggs. Little Eggsplorers who find all the eggs receive a very special choctastic prize. www.brearleybear.co.uk

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SEASONAL COLOUR

In the summertime, Sheffield BID deckchairs brighten up areas in the city centre.

UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2022

To capitalise on the Women's Euro 2022, with several matches played at Bramall Lane (including a semi-final), we helped fund the city centre Fan Zone. Four fan parties generated a total of 20,000 visitors.

THE BEARS OF SHEFFIELD

The Bears of Sheffield sculpture trail took place in summer 2021 with Sheffield BID as the headline sponsor, attracting an estimated 100,000 visitors.

EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE

It was a big celebration right here in Sheffield when the hugely anticipated film - produced by Sheffield-based Warp Films, directed by Sheffield-born Jonathan Butterell, and adapted from Sheffield Theatres’ massively successful stage production turned West-End smash hit – finally launched. We helped fund an exclusive costume and props display which opened to the public.

CASTLEGATE FESTIVAL

In 2022 we helped fund the Castlegate Festival in collaboration with a range of partners. Following the relocation of the city market to The Moor in 2013, this area became a bit neglected for a while. Since then several major developments have started breathing life back into Castlegate, which is now making a comeback.

VISIBLE PRESENCE

We are at the heart of the city, located on the high street to support local businesses and visitors. Our visitor hub acts as a live city guide, regularly transforming to represent seasonal events in the cultural and retail calendar, connecting people with local businesses, promoting what’s on in the city centre, highlighting where to shop, eat and visit.

SHEFFIELD GIFT CARD

Sheffield BID launched the Sheffield Gift Card in 2017, the first of its kind for a major city in England. Now in its fifth year, a new digital version of the card is soon to launch in 2023. www.sheffieldgiftcard.co.uk

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SEASONAL AND RETAIL CAMPAIGNS

We harness user-generated content to increase engagement and drive conversions as part of our seasonal and leisure campaigns. www.sheffieldcitycentre.com is packed with information from independent and high street shops, bars, cafés, restaurants and nightlife to the latest shows and entertainment. This website is a comprehensive, up-to-the minute guide to everything that people need to know about making the most of their time in Sheffield.

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INDEPENDENT GUIDE

We continue to support independent business with edition three of our popular guide to all that's independent and unique in Sheffield city centre. Check out the guide here (opens in a new window).

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RESTAURANT WEEK

Each spring and autumn Sheffield BID brings its Restaurant Week formula (Dine Sheffield) back to the city centre to promote the vibrant food scene. www.dinesheffield.co.uk

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SHEFFIELD FREE WIFI

Sheffield BID successfully campaigned for free public WIFI back in 2016. Today, Sheffield Free WIFI is a family friendly service providing ultrafast Internet access across Sheffield city centre. www.sheffield-free-wifi.uk

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CLEAN TEAM

A free graffiti removal service is available to BID Levy Payers. We help with security reviews, graffiti-vandalism advice and assist with prevention measures.

BUSINESS CRIME PARTNERSHIP

The business crime radio network was upgraded to digital with state-of-the-art handsets thanks to funding from Sheffield BID.

ASB DETERRENTS

The BID operates several high-tech mobile cameras to monitor areas that experience higher incidences of anti-social behaviour.

ASB DETERRENTS

Body worn cameras, Knife wands and Smart Water initiatives have been introduced to disrupt ASB and criminality from alcohol-related disorder to knife-enabled crime.

HELP US HELP

Help us Help is a behaviour-change campaign supported by Sheffield BID to help those who are begging on our city centre streets.

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SECURITY TEAM

When the city closed because of Coronavirus, we introduced a temporary roaming BID security team to help monitor our levy payers’ premises and buildings 7 nights a week, 10pm to 6am.

PULSEPOINTS

Sheffield city centre has more outdoor defibrillators (13) than any other UK city thanks to Sheffield BID's PulsePoints initiative, in partnership with Westfield Health Charitable Trust and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

ROUGH SLEEPER PATROL

Through our partnership with South Yorkshire Police, we have access to a discretionary rough sleeper patrol to check on the welfare of individuals and limit the impact of vagrancy to retailers opening for business.

PURPLE FLAG

Since 2015 Sheffield BID has supported partners in maintaining Purple Flag status which recognises the city centre as a safe and entertaining night out. Sheffield retained its status in 2023 marking 11 years since the first accreditation.

BID SPRING CLEAN

Each year we join in Keep Britain Tidy's Great British Spring Clean with a small army of volunteers from local businesses.

EMERGENCY BLEED CONTROL CABINETS

In collaboration with partners, Sheffield BID has installed emergency bleed control cabinets across the city centre. This potentially life saving kit plays a vital role in extending the provision of equipment in the city centre, such as our PulsePoints defibrillator units.

PURPLE FLAG

Since 2015 Sheffield BID has supported partners in maintaining Purple Flag status which recognises the city centre as a safe and entertaining night out. Sheffield retained its status in 2023 marking 11 years since the first accreditation.

BEST BAR NONE

Sheffield's Best Bar None accreditation and awards scheme contributes to a reduction in alcohol related disorder and helps to boost the city's evening economy. We are an active partner in safe guarding this scheme. The last Best Bar None scheme was launched in April 2023.

BAG A TAGGER

Our ‘Bag A Tagger’ campaign encourages more people to come forward with information that could help with the identification, and potential prosecution, of individuals who are responsible for unsightly graffiti in the city centre. The campaign is delivered in partnership with Crimestoppers, an independent charity that gives people the power to speak up to stop crime. Through Crimestoppers people provide information anonymously which is then passed onto South Yorkshire Police.

ANTI DRINK SPIKING CAMPAIGN

Over fifty thousand anti-drink spiking protectors were provided to Sheffield bars and clubs to support a safer night out.

BUSINESS SOS

The #BusinessSOS campaign was founded by BIDs nationally in collaboration with industry bodies across retail, leisure and hospitality. This is a collective lobbying group, of which Sheffield BID is part of, calling on Government to implement more measures to alleviate the critical pressures that businesses, like households, have been facing since April 2022.

BUSINESS SUPPORT

Sheffield BID remains involved extensively in discussions around a Public Space Protection Order, PROTECT/Counter Terrorism, city centre evacuation and continency planning and is a regular contributor to 30+ forums, groups and working parties involved in the management and development of the city centre trading environment. Our role is to keep business interests at the forefront of tactical and operational planning. As an example we chair the business engagement group as part of the Future High Streets programme of works around Fargate.

BUSINESS SUPPORT

We attend various public sector meetings on behalf of businesses and run several working groups alongside including ... Peer Membership Board - personal leadership development attended by people who see opportunities rather than challenges. High Street Forum - developing and shaping the peer-to-peer support network within the retail and hospitality sector. Investor relations network - building a network of cross-sector inward investors, collaborating through targeted events with freeholders, leaseholders, property developers and land/property owners. We have also built up a substantial group of corporate sponsors who we can leverage funding from for different activities and events.

WELLNESS EVENTS

We put on a vibrant programme of events for city centre office workers to encourage more time spent in the city (not at home). From weekly exercise classes - BID Bootcamps - netwalking, Lunch & Learn and venue or product sampling and taster events to "exclusive offers", we are developing a strong level of engagement with those who work here in the city centre.