FEBRUARY | REVIEW
Seasonal
cheer
Access’ Tom Hall and Stuart Wood camp out with
organisers and suppliers to get the stories from
some of the UK’s most high-profile Christmas
and New Year’s Eve events
Words: Stuart Wood
BOURNEMOUTH CHRISTMAS
MARKET
Bournemouth Christmas Market
suppliers list
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Organiser: Seventa Events
Structures: Mar-Key Group
Engineering/power: C.E.S Ltd
Toilets: Luxury Little Rooms
Cash: County EPOS
Event theming/furniture:
Innovative Hire
We caught-up with Seventa Events
and Innovative Hire’s founder and
director Simon Brooks to discuss
one of the UK’s most ambitious
Christmas markets
Bournemouth has seen huge
investment in recent years,
including a £60,000,000 flagship
Hilton Hotel, a £50,000,000
five-level entertainment complex
(BH2) and millions of pounds
invested into public areas by the
Council. Recent news includes
multiple large developments
of retail, office and property
complexes alongside new hotels
and businesses. All of which
is evidence of Bournemouth’s
growing international reputation.
As a result, Bournemouth,
Christchurch and Poole Council
saw a huge opportunity to expand
and improve on the Christmas
offerings in the town centre.
“As a local events company
we wanted to see the Christmas
Market improve significantly,
says Brooks. “And in line with
this expansion, we seized the
opportunity to create something
special for both local residents to
be proud of and for the general
public to enjoy.”
Seventa Events took over the
five-year contract of Bournemouth
Christmas Market in 2017 and
with the introduction of an
impressive new market, Christmas
Tree Wonderland, Santa’s Grotto
and entertainment features
throughout, Bournemouth bucked
the UK trend by increasing its
Christmas footfall by nearly 50%
year on year. “For 2019, we also
re-designed our custom-built stage
to include a 5mx3m LED screen
for local business advertising and
to accommodate our 49 day
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