When it comes to entertainment destinations in the UK, you might immediately think of London or Birmingham. However, while both cities undoubtedly have a vibrant and impressive entertainment scene, you’re missing out if you avoid smaller cities. From better venues to more detailed cultural events, there are many reasons to check out even small towns on your next trip.
In this article, we’ll explore how smaller towns can rival cities such as Birmingham with their entertainment offerings.
Better venues
Big cities have name-brand appeal, but they often lack when it comes to the visitor experience. That’s because larger, more urban locations naturally have more pollution, traffic and often more crime than smaller cities. Small towns offer a lot of charm and ambience. They are often quaint and unique in a way that larger cities typically aren’t. This is a huge benefit to the entertainment industry as peaceful, appealing venues are often deciding factors in where to host large events.
Also, sometimes smaller venues are better poised to handle a diverse array of events in the way that larger, more genre-dedicated venues are not. They are often more easily manageable and adaptable, hosting anything from UK slots to dog shows with ease.
Best cultural experiences
The unique culture, sights and sounds in smaller cities are often more concentrated than in big cities, even if this means that the smaller city is somewhat less diverse overall. Sometimes the ties that a community has to a specific culture, with its own traditions and norms, make it a better choice for entertainment events than larger locales.
Castle Combe in Wiltshire, for example, is an ideal choice for historical events focused on medieval culture and architecture. Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, on the other hand, features an impressive range of music festivals all year round. Despite its rather remote location, the city attracts popular musical acts as a result. Both towns are just a few examples of the ways that smaller locations can compete with larger locations for entertainment offerings.
Bigger names
If you want to compare with the big cities, what can you do to build a name for yourself in the entertainment industry? Hiring big names is a great place to start. This might initially sound unfeasible for small towns, but the key is to specialize. Smaller areas might not have the funds to pull large acts in different genres all year long in the way that some bigger cities can. They can certainly pull a few big names instead, however, as long as they’re selective. Choose celebrities that align with your city, whether this translates to chefs, authors, musical artists or anything in between.
By building an entertainment niche, small cities can rival big cities in certain areas. Leaning in to what makes your smaller city special is a good way to carve your place among larger regions. Don’t worry so much about attracting huge headlining artists and world tours every year, but rather about bringing to town celebrities who matter to your population. Take Cheltenham, for example. In addition to the music festivals that we discussed above, the town is also home to the Cheltenham Festival, a world-class horse jumping and racing competition.
Easy connectivity
Because of their somewhat remote locations (compared to bigger cities and the urban sprawl that comes with them), small cities are often ideal choices for large festivals that require a lot of space. This is only true of locations that are easy to access, however, with tiny, remote towns less likely to host impressive events simply because they are hard to access. Small cities in search of world-class entertainment offerings should look to their infrastructure and ensure that it is easily accessible by motorists, and can sustain big events with lots of visitors.
Let us know what you think
What do you think about the entertainment opportunities offered by small cities? From good venues to a strong culture and everything in between, there are many ways that smaller areas can rival larger cities in terms of entertainment. If we didn’t discuss your town, don’t worry! This doesn’t mean that it isn’t worthy of exciting events. Let us know what you think of the above examples!
Article by Paul Evans.
