Nottingham’s Victoria Centre has marked the end of a successful summer, following the ending of its seasonal Victoria Beach event and conclusion of its popular Wall of Fame.
The Wall of Fame installation, launched to celebrate the centre’s 50th birthday, has clocked up a total of 28,081 photos throughout its seven month appearance, making it one of the most sought-after temporary attractions the centre has ever seen.
Introduced in early February as a brand new interactive installation that would put Nottingham residents front and centre, the wall invited visitors to take a picture using a mirrored selfie screen.
Faces were then printed out and placed on a grid on the wall, making up six unique mosaics which featured local landmarks including the Emett Clock, the Left Lion statue and the City Ground.
An average of 132 photos were taken each day, and included celebrities like LadBaby, James Morrison, Mathew Horne, Vicky McClure and Charity Shop Sue.
Over 9,000 people also enjoyed a trip to the centre’s seasonal event, the ‘Victoria Beach’, this summer, which sought to raise money for its new charity food bank partner, Hope Nottingham.
Shoppers did not have to venture far for this year’s UK staycation, as throughout August, the centre played host to the beach, situated on the upper mall, which featured ten-tonnes of sand, family-friendly games and pier-style arcade machines.
Victoria Beach was the latest in a series of temporary experiences in the centre, and saw 12,250 games of Pacman played, 1,650 sandcastles made and zero snacks stolen by seagulls.
Although free of charge to enter, a total of £1,092.98 was raised for the centre’s chosen charity, which will go towards the organisation’s life-changing services across the East and West of Nottingham.
Commenting on the centre’s summer of success, centre director, Nigel Wheatley, said:
“Summer holidays are a time for families to get together and enjoy special days out, so we’re delighted to have once again been able to play a part in helping them make some new memories with our Wall of Fame installation and Victoria Beach event.
“When we set out at the start of the year, we envisaged this would be a year of celebration – a year to mark the impact our shoppers have on us and a year to go even bigger and better with our experiences.
“This summer has really demonstrated just how the centre has become a community hub for so many people over the last 50 years, and we look forward to bringing some festive fun to the centre this year, as we continue to mark this huge milestone in the centre’s life – expect plenty of glitter and gold!”