The umbrella installation along Coppergate Walk was originally designed to draw visitors down during September 2017, but its popularity was such that two further themed Brollywalks were created for 2018. For the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan in May 2018, the sky was filled with union flag umbrellas, which not only created a beautiful scene above, but also created shadows on the pavement below. As visitors were watching the start of the wedding celebrations on the big screen in Coppergate, so the street was covered with dozens of silhouetted Union symbols below their feet.
Following on from this, and to co-incide with the Bloom! festival throughout the city, the patriotic umbrellas were replaced with giant floral umbrellas in a host of vibrant, bright colours. Originally planned to stay up for just a month, they remained in place for nearly three months - and even after they'd been taken down, visitors to the Coppergate Centre were still asking where they could see the 'umbrella street'.
The impact of the project for raising awareness of the Coppergate Centre cannot be underestimated. Hundreds of photos of the installations have been shared on social media, and footfall monitors show an increase in visitors when the umbrellas are in place.
