30 Oct Summer Festival 2023 Report
This year Hammersmith BID hosted its 16th Summer Festival, which attracted over 44,000 people to our events in Lyric Square. We hosted a varied programme of free events that included entertainment on the Big Screen, live music, activities for London Climate Action Week (LCAW) and more, which attracted an audience of local residents and workers to spend more time in Hammersmith. In total, over half a million people visited Lyric Square while our Big Screen was present from Monday 26 June to Saturday 22 July.
Big Screen & Livat sponsorship
This year, we were thrilled to have Livat Hammersmith (Ingka) sponsor our Big Screen and as a partner for several of our events. The Big Screen was situated in Lyric Square for just under four weeks, and screened Wimbledon every day, three film nights – drawing in 817 attendees – and the beginning of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
London Climate Action Week
From Saturday 24 June to Sunday 2 July, we partnered with Hammersmith & Fulham Council and Livat to celebrate London Climate Action Week (LCAW). A variety of different stalls filled Lyric Square on Tuesday 27 June including the LBHF Team, TIER e-scooters, Dr Bike & Bike Marking (21 bikes serviced and marked), a Biodiversity Bee Workshop and Wildflower Planting (attended by 100+ people) and IKEA’s Circular Hub. Keeping the momentum going, on Wednesday 28 June, we hosted a Community Litter Pick, where we invited residents to help us clean up Hammersmith for 90 minutes. We targeted areas such as Hammersmith Grove Parklets, St Paul’s Green and Talgarth Road.
To wrap up LCAW, we hosted our first Clothes Swap across two days, Thursday 29 and Friday 30 June. Located in the Sook Space, we invited people to swap their old items of clothing for something new to their wardrobe. The incentive is to reduce textile waste and slow down fast fashion. In total, 420 items were donated/swapped and 112.07kg of landfill space was saved.
Return of Picnic in the Square and Wellness Wednesdays
Our regular events Picnic in the Square and Wellness Wednesdays returned, with free classes from Lumi Power Yoga and Jetts Hammersmith. Our surveys showed that 56% of Picnic in the Square attendees and 53% of Wellness Wednesday attendees were local employees. In addition to creating a community space with giant picnic tables and benches laid out, Picnic in the Square supports local businesses, encouraging people to pick up lunch at a local eatery. Overall, 93% of attendees agreed it changed their perception of Hammersmith to ‘much better than they thought’.
Lunchtime Concerts at St Paul’s
We know from feedback in past surveys that Hammersmith residents love live music, and from Tuesday 1 to Thursday 3 August we hosted lunchtime concerts on St Paul’s Green. For three days, Hammersmith was treated to free live music played by world-class musicians. Residents (55%), Employees (21%) and (11%) enjoyed a programme of different genres including classical, contemporary and jazz.
Audience feedback
Our team of stewards surveyed attendees for feedback, and we are pleased that most people said they strongly agreed with the statement ‘This event makes Hammersmith feel vibrant’ at each event. We also discovered that the majority of attendees reported having bought or intending to buy something, showing the wider benefits of the festival for the businesses in Hammersmith.
You can read our full report detailing all our Summer Festival activities for 2023 here.