From 13th-16th August, we delivered a four-day outdoor cinema event across two locations in Cambridge. On 13th and 14th August, four films were screened each day at Cambridge Station, next to the Clayton Hotel. On 15th and 16th August, the event moved to the University of Cambridge’s Downing Site, where a further four films were shown each day.
The family-friendly activation brought people from across Cambridge and beyond together for four afternoons of free entertainment, creating a fun and welcoming atmosphere across both locations.
Despite temperatures exceeding 30°C on both Thursday 13th and Friday 14th August, the event attracted strong audiences. More than 200 people attended on Thursday and around 250 visitors on Friday. The cooler weather over the weekend saw attendance increase significantly, with almost 600 people attending on Saturday and more than 600 on Sunday.
A particularly positive aspect of the event was seeing many attendees arriving with takeaways from local eateries across the city. This was encouraging to see and suggests that visitors were spending time in the city before making their way to the screenings. We also partnered with local businesses to create special offers that could be used throughout the four-day event. These offers were promoted through the Cambridge BID website, our social media channels and on screen during the breaks between films, helping to further connect the event with the wider city centre.
Throughout the four-day event, we worked with Store Checkers to gather feedback from attendees. This helped us understand what worked well, the impact the event had and where there may be opportunities to improve for future events.
Overall, the feedback was extremely positive and demonstrated that the outdoor cinema has become a valued part of Cambridge’s summer events calendar. Visitors praised the convenient and accessible locations, their close proximity to the city centre, the comfortable seating and welcoming atmosphere. The strong appeal to families and children was also highlighted, alongside the fact that the event was free to attend.
Store Checkers surveys also provided some encouraging data about the event’s wider impact:
64% of visitors said they came to Cambridge specifically for the screenings, demonstrating that the event attracted people into the city rather than solely entertaining those who were already there.
44% of visitors from outside the county extended their stay to include an overnight visit.
64% of visitors spent money in the city while attending the film screenings.
99% of those surveyed said they would attend the event again.
The event was also supported by a social media campaign across our channels, helping to raise awareness and generate engagement before and during the event.
Our social media activity included:
8 posts, including one collaborative post with the University of Cambridge.
More than 200K views across our social media channels.
357 shares across the posts.
1.8K likes in total.
The success of Screens in the City demonstrates the value of delivering accessible, free and family-friendly events in Cambridge. Strong attendance across all four days, positive visitor feedback and the evidence of visitors spending time and money in the city highlight the event’s contribution not only to the summer events programme but also to the wider city centre economy. The overwhelmingly positive response, combined with the 99% intention to return, provides a strong foundation for building on the event in future years. We would like to thank CB1 Community, University of Cambridge Downing Site, our local business partners and everyone involved in delivering the event, as well as the visitors who helped make Screens in the City such a success.
