Aerial Displays to Brighten Worcester This Summer
Worcester is about to get a vibrant splash of colour as summer aerial displays return to the city at the end of June!
In an effort by Worcester BID beloved bunting will be back in our city’s streets. These vivid bunting displays will feature the distinctive Worcester Colour Palette, created by The Colour Palette Company, celebrating the city’s rich heritage with hues named Elgar Bronze, Saucy Orange, Hive Gold, Cathedral Stone, Diglis Deep Blue, and Pear Black.
This colourful initiative ties in with the new artwork by local artist Estee Angeline at Foregate Street Station unveiled in March. This art project, spearheaded by The Art Society Worcester and its chairperson Maggie Keeble, involved a coalition of local partners, including Worcestershire’s Community Rail Partnership, Worcester BID, and The Colour Palette Company, with support from West Midlands Railways and the Community Rail Network.
Continuing the city’s seasonal eye-catching displays, Worcester BID is also set to install a stunning new exhibition on Friar Street and New Street. Building on the success of last year’s popular umbrella display, which garnered international attention, this year will see giant mesh spheres suspended from the wiring. The infrastructure that allows for these displays was first put up in 2021 via extensive work from the BID, allowing the street to be vibrantly activated for the first time. This infrastructure has allowed BID to add year-round festoon lighting, dazzling Christmas displays, and whimsical summer decorations like umbrellas, lampshades, watering cans, ladybirds, and topiary balls, making the street a hit with photographers and selfie-takers.
The new aerial displays will be installed in the city over three days and will be ready to dazzle residents and visitors alike just in time for summer.
Get ready, Worcester—our city streets are about to become more vibrant than ever! Who else is excited?
The latest news: Exciting Summer Events Coming to Worcester!
Worcester is set for a vibrant and exciting summer with a multitude of fantastic events!
Worcester BID is thrilled to partner with the Waddle of Worcester as the Community and Education Partner. This unique event will bring creatively designed penguin sculptures to the city and aims to foster local pride and community engagement, enhancing the vibrancy of Worcester while boosting footfall, dwell time, and spending in the city. As part of the initiative, Worcester BID will place baby penguin sculptures in business windows, integrating the trail with the business community and highlighting its commitment to educational and cultural initiatives. This effort will also support vital fundraising for St. Richard’s Hospice.
Additionally, Worcester BID is organising a summer window art trail across 50 city centre business windows, themed on the penguin trail. This will bring extra vibrancy to the city, support local businesses, and paint the town penguin!
Another highlight of the summer is the return of the historic Three Choirs Festival from July 27 to August 3. Known as one of the world’s oldest classical choral music festivals, this year’s event will explore the theme of the natural world, celebrating compositions inspired by Earth’s landscapes and seascapes. With performances from renowned musicians and choirs, as well as premieres of contemporary works, the festival is a cultural gem for Worcester, enriching the city’s artistic scene and boosting local tourism.
In an exciting collaboration, Worcester BID and the Three Choirs Festival will be introducing a music trail this summer. This interactive experience allows participants to explore the works of historic and contemporary composers featured at the festival by scanning QR codes on shields displayed in business windows. Participants can listen to music instantly or access detailed information about the artists and the full trail through a comprehensive Linktree. With 15 boards to discover, including three special gold ones, this trail brings the festival further into the city, promoting footfall and adding a unique dimension to Worcester’s cultural festivities.
This summer, Worcester promises a season filled with creativity! Stay tuned for more details in this special edition of Worcester Sounds.
The latest news: Safe Space Action Week A Success
This week Worcester BID took to Broad Street daily from 10 am to 4 pm, offering insights into Safe Space from the Worcester BID and Safe Space medic team. Residents and visitors were encouraged to drop by and engage.
Sam McCarthy, CEO of Worcester BID, said “We were delighted to witness the community actively engaging, asking questions about our services, and leaving more informed during the action week. We trust they’ll spread the word that Safe Space is free and available to all, especially to friends and family visiting Worcester at night.”
Safe Space is a vehicle that typically operates in the nighttime economy on a Friday and Saturday night between the hours of 10 pm and 4 am. The dedicated team provide free, no judgment, medical and welfare support to all. Safe Space has now assisted with 451 cases, ranging from medical traumas to getting someone home safely and has received great feedback from those who have used it and their families.
On Monday Safe Space showcased alongside Neighbourhood Matters, a West Mercia Police initiative and knife collection points manned by West Mercia SNTs as part of the national police force programme, Operation Sceptre. Last year Operation Sceptre year removed 9,737 knives from our streets across England and Wales – something partners are hoping to emulate this year with intensified action and coordinated education on knife crime across forces.
This week of outreach aligned with national action weeks, Dementia Action Week & Mental Health Awareness Week. The presence of Safe Space in the daytime trade aimed to support the city’s day traders and visitors with any medical or welfare needs, but also to shine a light on work surrounding the city’s efforts in becoming more accessible to those with disabilities such as dementia.
A variety of events and activities were also hosted at The Hive this week to raise awareness and decrease the stigma around dementia.
More information regarding accessibility in the city can be found via Accessible (https://www.accessable.co.uk/worcester-city-council), a free online platform that details accessibility guides and venues in the area.
Worcester News Article: Independents make us tick
Worcester’s independents are the heartbeat of our city and should be celebrated! With a whopping 67% of businesses flying the independent flag, it’s no wonder we’re making waves. Recently, The Telegraph even ranked us as the ninth-best city in the UK, and it’s not hard to see why.
The city’s ranking was determined by various factors, including its rich culture and heritage, where Worcester proudly secured fourth place. This cultural tapestry is woven by the multitude of independent businesses that line its streets, offering everything from artisanal crafts to culinary delights. We’ve got a bit of everything here and our independent businesses play a big part in that. They bring a unique offering to our streets, whether you’re after a quirky gift or a cosy café to unwind in.
But beyond their offerings, independent businesses play a crucial role in supporting our community. When you choose to shop locally, you’re not just making a transaction; you’re investing in the prosperity of our city. Many of our indie heroes are deeply committed to giving back, whether through fundraisers or collaborations with other local businesses to support community initiatives.
We caught up with a few of our Worcester BID member indie retailers to hear what they love about doing business in Worcester and why they chose the city to trade in.
Anja Potze, proprietor of Anja Potze Fine Jewellery nestled on the historic Tudor Street of Friar Street, extolled Worcester’s virtues, stating, ‘With its vibrant history, fantastic transport, and infrastructure, Worcester is a fantastic location for my business to thrive.’ Anja has recently celebrated 30 years of business and we look forward to 30 more on Friar Street!
And then there’s the talented team at Trio, which offers high-quality beauty treatments, from manicures to dermaplaning also situated on Friar Street, who emphasised the significance of community: “It was an easy choice for us to have this beautiful, historic city by the river as TRIO’s home. The community feel is one of the many reasons to visit and reside in Worcester, we wouldn’t be anywhere else!”
Julie Reilly, Owner of Perfections Bridal Studio echoed these sentiments, describing “Worcester is a beautiful location full of history, character, and a thriving business community”. Adding, “it’s a privilege to be located on Friar Street”.
So, here’s to Worcester’s independents who make our city a little more unique every day. Let’s remember to support these local businesses that make Worcester the unique and thriving place that it is. By choosing to shop local, we can all play a part in keeping our high street ticking for generations to come.
Take the Worcester Sounds x Three Choirs Festival Trail
This Worcester Sounds Trail is developed in partnership between Worcester BID and Three Choirs Festival.
The Three Choirs Festival is a week-long programme of world-class music-making, featuring choral and orchestral concerts, solo and chamber music recitals, talks, cathedral services, theatre, exhibitions, and walks, rotating each summer between the beautiful English cathedral cities of Gloucester, Hereford, and Worcester. This year we are lucky to have the festival in Worcester.
To celebrate we are hosting a musical trail with musical highlights that you can hear at the Festival which will take place in the city between July 27 and August 3.
When you find a board, scan the code to listen to some great music that will transport you straight to the festival. You can find some interesting extra information by each trail shield, or catch up below.
1️⃣Gustav Holst / The Cloud Messenger
🎵You are now listening to Gustav Holst, The Cloud Messenger
Gustav Holst was born in Cheltenham in 1874. He enjoyed writing music from a young age and his first big success as a composer came when he was just 18 years old. Nowadays he is best known for his musical work, The Planets, inspired by his love of astrology and horoscopes.
Composer Gustav Holst was fascinated by Indian culture, stories and language, and his piece The Cloud Messenger tells the story of a nature spirit who asks a cloud to take a message to his wife in the Himalayan Mountains. It is full of rich, colourful music – does it make you imagine being in a different country?
2️⃣Charles Villiers Stanford / The Blue Bird
🎵You are now listening to Charles Villiers Stanford, The Blue Bird
Charles Villiers Stanford was born in Ireland in 1852. His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but Stanford’s love of music made him determined to succeed as a musician and he became one of the most popular composers of his time. He made a lasting impact on British music by teaching and helping many young people who would become future great composers themselves.
The Blue Bird by Irish composer Charles Stanford is a beautiful song which sets the words of a poem by Mary Coleridge to music. It is written to be sung by a small group of singers using different voice parts. Listen out for the top voice part – the soprano – singing the word ‘blue’ over the top of the rest of the choir.
3️⃣Edward Elgar / Serenade for Strings
🎵You are now listening to Edward Elgar, Serenade for Strings
Edward Elgar was born in Lower Broadheath in 1857. He came from an ordinary family without much money, but by the end of his life he had been knighted, appointed Master of the King’s Musick, and is now thought of as one of the greatest ever English composers. His music is much loved and is often played at important events and featured in films.
Edward Elgar’s Serenade for Strings was written before he was famous, but it is often performed at concerts and is very popular. It was Elgar’s favourite piece from everything that he wrote. Listen out for the romantic violin tune singing out over the top of the gentle music from the other string instruments.
4️⃣Judith Weir / The Song Sung True
🎵You are now listening to Judith Weir, The Song Sung True
Judith Weir was born in Cambridge in 1954. She studied music and then went on to teach at several different universities, as well as writing music for many famous choirs and orchestras. She is Master of the King’s Music and wrote pieces for King Charles’ coronation in 2023, as well as for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
O Sweet Spontaneous Earth by Judith Weir sets the words of three poems to music, describing what it feels like to live on our planet, like the Earth bringing forth new life every spring and the stars shining in the sky above us while we sleep. There isn’t a recording, so here is one of Judith’s other pieces to give you an idea of what her music sounds like.
5️⃣Sarah Nicolls / Skim II
🎵 You are now listening to Sarah Nicolls, Skim II
Sarah Nicolls plays the piano and writes her own music. She invented her piano herself and it is very different to a normal piano. It is 2.5m tall and inside out! This means that Sarah can use the strings and the inside of the piano to make music, as well as pressing the keys.
This piece by Sarah Nicolls, Skim II, is played on Sarah’s inside-out piano! Listen out for what sounds different to a normal piano in her calming, peaceful music.
6️⃣Bob Chilcott / The Angry Planet
🎵You are now listening to Bob Chilcott, The Angry Planet
Bob Chilcott was born in Plymouth in 1955 and has loved music since he was a little boy when he sang in the famous choir of King’s College, Cambridge. He works as a full-time composer and conductor, writing music that has been performed worldwide. He is particularly good at writing great music for children to sing.
Bob Chilcott’s piece, The Angry Planet, uses animals’ voices to tell us how humans hurt our world and how we need to love and care for our environment. In this part of the piece, an otter sings about swimming in a river, rolling and rippling through the water. Listen to the joy and flashes of light shown in the music.
7️⃣Cameron Biles-Liddell / Yr Afon Yn Awyr
🎵You are now listening to Cameron Biles-Liddell, Yr Afon Yn Awyr
Cameron Biles-Liddell plays the piano and writes his own music. He was inspired to become a musician by his Grandad who used to be an opera singer in London. Cameron loves Wales, the place where he lives, and tries to paint pictures of nature and the Welsh countryside in much of the music that he writes.
Cameron Biles-Liddell’s piece Yr Afon Yn Awyr – The River in the Sky – is a musical picture of the water in the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales, where the canal flows over the top of the River Dee. Listen out for the splashing of the water as it flows over the aqueduct and on through Wales and beyond.
8️⃣Hans Zimmer / Interstellar
🎵You are now listening to Hans Zimmer, Interstellar
Hans Zimmer was born in Germany in 1957. He writes music for films and is one of Hollywood’s most successful composers, winning an Oscar for the music he wrote for Disney’s film, The Lion King. Hans never enjoyed music lessons when he was growing up so taught himself how to play, but says that he could always hear music in his head.
The incredible music for the hit film Interstellar was written by Hans Zimmer, who thinks of it as one of the best pieces he has ever written. In this thrilling clip, you can hear the organ playing. The intense, epic music builds suspense and keeps you on the edge of your seat as you listen.
9️⃣Paul Mealor / Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal
🎵You are now listening to Paul Mealor, Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal
Paul Mealor was born in 1975 in Wales and now teaches young people at University how to write music. His music first became famous when he wrote a piece performed at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding, and he has since written pieces performed at King Charles’ Coronation in 2023.
Ringed with the Azure World (Four Madrigals on Birds) is a piece which composer Paul Mealor has written for this year’s Three Choirs Festival and will be performed for the first time in Worcester Cathedral this summer. It sets the words of four poems describing an eagle, a swan, a nightingale and a bluebird. There isn’t a recording of this piece yet as it is brand new, but here is one of Paul’s other pieces to give you an idea of what his music sounds like, Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal.
🔟Nathan James Dearden / Moral and Interludes
🎵You are now listening to Nathan James Dearden, Moral and Interludes
Nathan James Dearden was born in 1992 in Wales, he composes his own music, as well as conducting choirs like the National Youth Choir of Wales. His music has been performed by many famous choirs and orchestras in this country and all over the world, in concerts and on the radio.
Messages is a piece which composer Nathan James Dearden has written for this year’s Three Choirs Festival. It sets the words of a series of messages from throughout history. There isn’t a recording of this piece yet as it is brand new, but here is one of Nathan’s other pieces to give you an idea of what his music sounds like.
1️⃣1️⃣Francesco Scarlatti / Kyrie
🎵You are now listening to Francesco Scarlatti, Kyrie
Composer Francesco Scarlatti was born in Sicily in 1666. Both his younger brother and his nephew also wrote music. He played the violin in the royal court in Naples and later travelled around Europe, living in both London and Dublin, where he probably worked in orchestras playing music in theatres.
Composer Francesco Scarlatti’s beautiful composition, Kyrie, is very unusual as it was written for 16 different voice parts to sing all at once, which is a lot more voices than most pieces are written for! How many of the different voice parts can you count as you listen?
1️⃣2️⃣Sarah Kirkland Snider / Mass For The Endangered
🎵You are now listening to Sarah Kirkland Snider, Mass for the Endangered
Sarah Kirkland Snider was born in America in 1973. Her family weren’t musical, and when she was little she used to knock on the doors of her neighbours’ houses and ask to play their pianos as she didn’t have one. She worked as a lawyer before deciding to write music full-time instead.
Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered is written as a prayer for endangered animals and their under-threat habitats. The beautiful music asks us to take care of the world we share with so many other animals. Listen out for the rippling sound of the harp underneath the voices singing.
1️⃣3️⃣Cecilia McDowall / Shipping Forecast
🎵You are now listening to Cecilia McDowall, Shipping Forecast
Cecilia McDowall was born in London in 1951. She writes her own music, performed by many famous choirs and orchestras in this country and all over the world in both concerts and on the radio. She has been asked to write special pieces of music by many different people and organisations, including the Scott Polar Research Institute.
Shipping Forecast by composer Cecilia McDowall is a piece of music all about the sea, setting the words of poems and also snippets from the shipping forecast itself. This clip from the piece is very energetic and lively – you can hear how the music is always moving on, constantly in motion like the sea.
1️⃣4️⃣Michael Tippett / String Quartet No 2
🎵You are now listening to Michael Tippett, String Quartet No 2
Michael Tippett was born in 1905 and his music became well-known after the Second World War – he was a pacifist and was imprisoned for two months because he wouldn’t fight. His music became popular both in this country and in America, and he was influenced by jazz and blues as well as other classical music.
This string quartet by composer Michael Tippett is known for its lively, dancing rhythms, as well as its spiky tunes. It was written for two violins, a viola and a cello – can you pick out the different instruments when you listen?
1️⃣5️⃣Ralph Vaughan Williams / Prelude ‘49th Parallel’
🎵You are now listening to Ralph Vaughan Williams, Prelude ‘49th Parallel’
Composer Ralph Vaughan Williams was born in Gloucestershire in 1872. When he was little he learned to play the piano and the violin and loved English folk songs, which he collected and wrote down. Many people think that his pieces have a very ‘English’ sound because of these traditional tunes shining through his music. He wrote many famous, well-loved works, such as The Lark Ascending.
Prelude ‘49th Parallel’ was written by composer Ralph Vaughan Williams as music for a wartime film, 49th Parallel, about a German U-boat crew stranded in Canada. This piece is performed by a brass band, it sounds sad, yet full and warm.
The city is Purple: What does Purple Flag mean for Worcester
While Worcester may be clad in blue for its historic football team, its nighttime economy is undeniably purple. For the past two years, Worcester has proudly achieved the Purple Flag accreditation, with plans underway to secure a third consecutive year.
Presented by the Association of Town & City Management (ATCM), the Purple Flag is a prestigious international recognition that celebrates cities’ efforts in enriching their urban centres during evening hours. It’s not just a badge of honour; it’s a testament to Worcester’s commitment to creating vibrant and safe nighttime spaces that draw visitors, boost spending, and ease crime.
The success of this initiative in the city owes much to the collaborative efforts of Worcester BID, West Mercia Police, Worcester City Council, Worcester Street Pastors, and Worcestershire Regulatory Services. Recently, Worcester BID members, in conjunction with city partners, undertook a thorough evaluation of the nighttime economy’s amenities, ambience, and safety measures. From 5 PM to 5 AM, they scoured every corner of the city, identifying areas for enhancement and gauging the public’s perception of safety.
This proactive approach not only goes towards the lengthy application that allows Worcester to maintain its Purple Flag status but also fosters ongoing improvement and growth. Moreover, Purple Flag accreditation has been shown to attract more visitors, increase spending, and even stimulate investment in the city, making it an attractive destination for residents and newcomer businesses alike.
Crucially, the Purple Flag accreditation is more than just a symbolic gesture—it’s a catalyst for tangible change that takes place through findings from pre-assessments as well as the collaborative efforts and heightened awareness it brings. Worcester is not only curbing crime but also nurturing inclusive and secure spaces for all residents and visitors.
Worcester is now gearing up to renew its Purple Flag accreditation this summer. With each passing year, the city’s purple glow shines ever brighter, with the evolution of projects such as Safe Space, we are signalling an unwavering commitment to fostering a dynamic and safe nighttime environment for all.