Coventry City of Culture: Assembly gardens to returnpublished at 09:01 British Summer Time 16 September 2021
A popular 1,000-seat venue is to return to Coventry from the spring to host music, comedy and arts performances as part of the City of Culture festival.
More than 80,000 tickets have so far been snapped up for events at the Assembly Festival Garden, on derelict land near the council house in the city centre.
As well as theatre, circus and music acts, the gardens have hosted live outdoor screenings including the BBC's Last Night of the Proms and Ed Sheeran's recent performance in the city.
It has also played host to series of community events including Pride and Motofest.
Performances at the venue, on the site of the demolished former Civic Centre buildings, will end on 30 September, but will now return in the spring, said the City of Culture Trust.
A petition calling on organisers to keep the site open has attracted more than 1,500 signatures.
Quote MessageWe originally intended the garden to be in the city for this summer only, but we’ve had such great feedback and have welcomed so many visitors that we’ve decided, with our partners at Assembly Festival, to bring it back in 2022. With the ongoing support of our principal partners including Coventry City Council and Coventry University, we are very much looking forward to helping make new memories when it returns next year.
Martin Sutherland, Chief Executive of Coventry City of Culture Trust