One month to go until Coventry City of Culture

Today marks one month to go until the start of Coventry City of Culture

Organisers are busy getting ready for the 12 months of celebrations - which start on the 15th May.

It won't be the signature event 'Coventry Moves' that takes place - which has been rescheduled for the 5th of June.

But there will be a 'moment' that people will be able to see from home.

The opening on 15 May will be followed by a significant festival of street art and artist-designed shop windows to welcome visitors as they start to return to the City Centre.

There will also be a range of events from partner organisations, including the Belgrade Theatre, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum and Warwick Arts Centre.

Coventry Moves on 5 June 2021 will kick-start a Summer of Surprises which will also feature events previously announced by the Trust.

This includes Tides Within Us, an outdoor experience in Charterhouse Heritage Park, a celebration of community radio and a major Sound Systems event showcasing Coventry’s rich cultural links with Kingston, Jamaica.

To mark City of Culture there's going to be a new Coventry edition of Monopoly.

Residents are being asked to suggest landmarks and charities to feature in the game.

George Shrimpton, from the makers of the new game, London-based Winner Moves UK, who are producing the game under licensing from Hasbro says:

“In this year of community we are delighted to be celebrating and honouring Coventry in this way.

“We have had clamours for a new game for quite some time and we feel this is the perfect time and year to produce this board and in this way.

"In 2002 there was a Coventry MONOPOLY game, which though hugely popular in its day, has been discontinued for many years.

This new version of the world’s most popular and famous board game will see the typical addresses from the original MONOPOLY game, replaced by leading landmarks from Coventry."

It'll feature more than 30 Coventry landmarks, including six charities on the board’s Community Chest squares and Community Chest cards.

It is expected that Coventry’s year as City of Culture will see an economic boost of £211 million with an additional 2.5 million visitors.

It is hoped that 80% of the city’s residents will engage with the programme three or more times across the year, and it will attract around 10,000 volunteers and create more than 900 jobs.

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