Celebrating Portsmouth's 100 Years of City Status
From 5 – 10 May, thousands of people came together in the heart of the city to celebrate 100 years of Portsmouth’s city status as part of a brand-new festival, Guildhall Squared.
The Guildhall Squared Arts Festival saw a giant festival tent in Guildhall Square come to life with a wide variety of performances, events, activities, workshops and exhibitions that appealed to people from all corners and generations of the city.
Presented by The Guildhall Trust, the charity that operates Portsmouth Guildhall, and supported by Portsmouth City Council, Guildhall Squared reflected on the past, present and future of the city, inviting everyone to be a part of the story.
The opening day of events saw a participatory workshop with DrumNation Tribe, a dance showcase with University of Portsmouth and a talk about ‘When The Beatles came to Town’ with Curator of the Guildhall’s Portsmouth Music Experience, Nigel Grundy, before an open mic night that threw open the stage to local voices, musicians and poets.
Day two opened with a historic photo walk and collage making poetry session, before a day filled with circus skills workshops for families and an evening of house music in a DJ night presented by the city’s Cryptum Records.
The next day, Portsmouth Museums led drop-in craft sessions that encouraged people to think of an inspirational character from the city and create a small doll that will become part of a growing project to share stories that have shaped Portsmouth over the last Century, plus a lunchtime busking session with Mark Handley. The evening’s session, Pulse! A celebration of hip-hop music presented by Word of Mouth offered street dance, graffiti and skate jams.
Friday offered play-along family theatre sessions with Pie-Rat Island, a lunchtime busking session with local band, Jay’s Refrain and a hands-on workshop with City Arts Portsmouth to create eco-friendly structures from clay that will provide essential habitats for wildlife. Funk Format led inclusive sessions on a range of street dance styles and a comedy night hosted by Stitches Comedy Club featured Portsmouth born comedians Ola Labib, Duncan Adam, and Nathan Eagle along with Joe Wells and headliner act, The Noise Next Door.
The penultimate day featured performances by the Milton Glee choir, Spinnaker and Solent City Chorus’, a Love Southsea Makers Market, a silent disco with karaoke, plus a marching display from The Band of HM Royal Marines School of Music.
The Guildhall Squared festival ended on a high with a fun-filled family Bangla-Mela, presented by Portsmouth’s Bangladesh Welfare Association. An afternoon of live entertainment and a cultural show offered a joy-filled event with food stalls, clothing, mendhi and family activities.
Many events were free of charge or offered at a low cost to ensure as many people as possible could get involved in the Centenary celebrations.
Arts Development & Partnerships Co-ordinator for The Guildhall Trust, Rupert Rowbotham said “It has been wonderful to see so many of the city’s organisations come together in creating Guildhall Squared and deliver such a diverse range of spectacular events and activities. And the community has responded fantastically – I don’t think I’ve seen an event so full of variety or one which has attracted such a wide range of people!”
Chief Executive Officer of The Guildhall Trust, Andy Grays said “As one of the city’s key landmarks, it was important that the Guildhall should play a central role in celebrating our Centenary year and bringing people together. While inside the Guildhall we welcomed the city’s Sing 100 events produced by University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Cathedral and Music in Portsmouth, it was fantastic to also bring the outside of the venue to life and create a festival atmosphere in Guildhall Square, offering a diverse range of activity that people could engage with and enjoy!”
Portsmouth 100 Celebrations at Portsmouth Guildhall will continue this summer with a special BBC Friday Night is Music Night concert on 5th June featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra with sea songs, swashbucklers and silver screen magic in a live recording for BBC Radio 3.
Plus, the return of the spectacular Summer Concerts in Guildhall Square featuring Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra will be part of a Centenary Concert Series from 17th -19th July. Tickets for a night of iconic film music with The Best of Williams & Zimmer, followed by a Smash Hits – The 80s party are on sale now, with more information about a Pompey Summer Sounds afternoon coming soon!
See here for details of all events that are taking place across the city for Portsmouth 100!