admin, Author at Millennium Point

While it is an unprecedented and challenging time, we believe it’s never been a more important time to recognise how Birmingham and the wider region is attracting a diverse number of emerging event types.

Millennium Point is a city-centre event and conference venue. We’ve seen lots of different events take place within our building, from educational seminars to live music performances and everything in between. Our versatility as an events space is something that we’ve always taken pride in and as we kick off a new decade, we are seeing more variety than ever in our bookings.

Here, we take a look at some of the bookings from 2019 which brought something new to the table, making the most of our facilities and spaces in creative and dynamic ways.

A Podcasting Convention for fans, by fans
PodUK, a convention around podcasting created for fans, by fans, was a 1-day event we held in February 2019. This event saw over 200 visitors across our spaces on level 1, level 2 and our 354-seat Auditorium with giant screen. Our auditorium was used for high profile live readings from podcasting favourites and live panel discussions while our spaces on leve1 1 and level 2 were used for interviews, Q&As and workshop areas. Our favourite bit was bringing the live readings to life in our auditorium with lighting, staging and audio mixing by our AV team.

Live cast reading in Auditorium (Credit: PodUK)

This was the clients first time delivering this event and we worked with them to bring their vision to life. Podcasts have grown in popularity over the past decade and are now as commonplace as radio and live streaming music and video. Not only are we expecting to see more live events around this popular element of culture, but we also believe that we will start to see more first time organisers come forward with confidence to bring their passions to life through these sorts of events. An all-digital PodUK is back this year bigger and better and we look forward to their return to Millennium Point in the future, check it out here.

A Boxing Weigh-in
Now, hear us out. Weigh-ins are nothing new to boxing but when we hosted Frank Warren & Queensberry Promotions Midlands Mayhem Press Conference & Weigh-in: in November of 2019, it demonstrated that more and more promoters are looking for outside-of-the-box type venues for their events. Our Auditorium was used for both the final press conference and the weigh-in for this high profile boxing event which took at the brilliant Utilita Arena Birmingham. The press conference saw high profile journalists from BT Sport, Sky Sport, BBC and more attending, with both events being broadcast live to fans.

Boxing weigh-in on the stage in Auditorium

If one of your tasks while being home is planning a press event, then head over to our events pages for more ideas on this event type.

Hackathons are here, and they’re awesome for the region
As a region, the West Midlands is a hotbed for digital and tech. We’re home to Silicon Canal, a community and ecosystem for local digital and tech; a thriving place for games development with legendary companies such as Rare (Golden Eye 007) and Core Design (Tomb Raider); and a host for more and more hackathons. Hackathons are invention marathons, bringing together digital and tech individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds and skill levels to “hack” problems, usually posed by businesses or real-world events like Covid-19 (read more about that here).

Opening ceremony in Auditorium ((Image Credit: HacktheMidlands))

HacktheMidlands: is the name given to a 24-hour “invention marathon” hosted at Millennium Point annually. Created by students at the University of Birmingham, it brings together over 200 participants from across the region to teach and support each other while developing a range of digital and tech solutions to problems posed by businesses through challenges. After 24-hours they reconvene to share a host of inventions from apps and websites to video games and useable tech.

From a logistical point of view, our Atrium was the main space for activity with our level 1 and level 2 spaces serving as breakout areas for activities and workshops, Our Auditorium was used for larger-scale segments of the event including an opening, closing and award ceremonies.

Groups of programmers on Atrium (Image Credit: HacktheMidlands)

Additionally, participates brought well over 200 laptops, PCs and smart devices most of which need a power supply and to be connected to our high-speed wifi. Hackathons are a great example of an emerging event type that is having a positive impact on the growth and development of the digital and tech industry as well as on businesses in general who engage with them. You can read more about hosting them here.

Esports tournaments are big business for the region
Here at Millennium Point, we’re a big fan of eSports. Esports are multiplayer video games played at a professional competition level and are the younger sibling of mainstream sports. Aside from writing about how it’s positively impacting sports during the current pandemic, Millennium Point is also the proud host of one of the larger tournaments in the UK.

VSFighting is an annual competition that welcomes over 550 competitors, including 50 internationally renowned players and several world champions to duke it out in Beat ‘Em Up games such as Tekken World Tour, Super Smash Brothers and Dragon Ball Fighter z in a legendary three-day event.

More than 500 games consoles including PS4, XBOX ONE, Nintendo Switch and PC plus peripherals are set-up and connected to our high-speed wi-fi all across our Atrium, Platform, Auditorium, Concourse and Connect. Tournaments and friendly matches were hosted throughout the building while high-profile matches took place in our Auditorium, complete with multiple camera set-ups, AV and space for shoutcasters to commentate on the matches. Tournaments within the event were also streamed live from Millennium Point to fans across the globe on Twitch.

VS Fighting esports tournament live streams from Millennium Point to thousands of people online. (Image Credit: Ryke Charles Photography)

Similar to the fantastic ESL One at Utilita Birmingham Arena, VS Fighting at Millennium Point brings a whole new audience and culture to the region which provides a boost to tourism and a great way of putting Birmingham on the world map for this rapidly expanding industry.

Celebrate emerging events and support the industry
That’s our list! What other emerging events can you think of that are bringing the region to a whole new level? We’re looking forward to the future when we can safely open our doors and welcome back these amazing events into our venue for you to enjoy once again. It’s never too early to plan, get in touch with us now on [email protected] and let’s start planning your next event together.

Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint.

Millennium Point is a landmark public building and multi-award-winning events venue in the Eastside of Birmingham City centre. Profits from our commercial activity are invested by the Millennium Point Charitable Trust into projects, events and initiatives which support the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands.

Experts at Birmingham City University believe an £11.27bn investment in construction and a series of strategic decisions around the new home building can kick start the UK’s economic recovery and deliver a £33bn return for the Government.

Experienced regional economist Dr Steve McCabe and construction expert Mike Leonard have produced the Build Back Better: Covid-19 Economy Recovery Plan which features a blueprint for a safe return to construction, a set of recommendations to help stimulate demand for new homes and home improvement, and details on how to build essential infrastructure and train a new generation of skilled workers – acting as a catalyst for growth and delivering income for HMRC.

How would this work?

The plan, which follows a clear instruction from Prime Minister Boris Johnson that those in construction and manufacturing should now return to work, also calls on the Government to stand by its commitment to “do everything it takes” to fight the virus and support the UK economy, by investing £11.27bn in a wide-reaching programme, designed to create mass employment and produce a £33 billion return.

Authored by Birmingham City University’s Dr Steve McCabe, Associate Professor at the Institute for Design and Economic Acceleration and Mike Leonard, Visiting Professor of Manufacturing and Construction and founder of the Get Britain Building campaign, the hard-hitting and wide-ranging plan brings together all sectors of the construction industry for a solution-led approach.

What’s the proposed plan?

The full report can be downloaded here. Recommendations and observations in the plan include:

A phased return to work following specific guidelines can ensure the protection of construction sites during a pandemic
Small housebuilders, often highly efficient and providers of local employment and procurement must be given encouragement
Address fuel poverty through direct intervention by local authorities using local companies
Construction can offer long term skilled employment opportunities that can act as a catalyst in achieving inclusive economic growth
Provide incentives and highlight environmental benefits for consumers to replace inefficient and outdated gas boilers
30,000 new social houses built per year for the next three years will address living standards, mobility and some shortfall
Proposed Building Regulation changes should be delayed in light of exceptional circumstances posed by pandemic
Construction must be made more attractive as a career choice to young people through regional marketing campaigns

Of particular focus in Build Back Better: Covid-19 Economy Recovery Plan are SMEs, who dominate the sector, with a suggestion that UK Plc fully engages such businesses in order to build the infrastructure and new homes the UK needs, alongside investments to deal with fuel poverty and the upgrading of existing housing stock to meet the net-zero 2050 obligations.

What else do local experts say?

McCabe and Leonard – both based in the UK Midlands, an area KMPG has assessed as likely to be worst hit economically by the pandemic – also make strong recommendations to delay the introduction of non-safety related building regulations and provide a range of incentives to stimulate consumer demand, accelerate training and increase apprenticeship opportunities.

Mike Leonard, who is also CEO of Building Alliance, said, “History tells us that the construction industry is the tried and tested solution to drive economic recovery, not least due to the fact we manufacture the vast majority of building materials in the UK which provides resilience, skilled jobs and fast returns on investment. The upstream and downstream jobs in manufacturing, architecture, planning, engineering, distribution and construction, creates an unrivalled multiplier that can achieve inclusive growth, building back better and helping to rebalance our economy. Saving lives must remain our priority but we now have the signal to begin to safely unlock and begin the long path to economic recovery. Construction and the building materials manufacturers are now returning to work with the proper safeguards in place. We must now “Get Britain Building” and “Get Britain Working” delivering the scale of economic multiplier the county needs to bounce back stronger.”

Inward investment is key

Research carried out in 2018 by Birmingham City University and The Building Alliance calculated that building 300,000 homes a year using, as much as possible, British-made building materials and local builders, would generate an economic ‘uplift’ of more than £90 billion for the UK.

Dr Steve McCabe said, “Covid-19 has resulted in the loss of over 50,000 lives. The Government, quite rightly, locked the nation down to reduce the spread of the virus. However, recently published ONS (Office for National Statistics) data for GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in March clearly demonstrates that effectively closing down the economy through ‘lockdown’ has caused profound economic shock. It’s estimated that at least £2bn a day is being lost during the pandemic. The overall cost to the UK economy will exceed £300 billion and, depending on the speed of recovery, could be significantly higher. As and when it is safe to do so, a return in construction activity, as well as the building materials manufacturing supporting it, will underpin a fast and effective way to begin the process of recovery from what is the greatest shock to the UK’s economy in living memory.”

Millennium Point is the home of Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built-Environment. Additionally, we are proud partners collaborating on the Millennium Point Scholarship initiative which promotes STEM higher education in the region with a fully-funded scholarship each yeat at the faculty.

Scholarship 2020 Finalists (From Left to Right) Kallum Wright, Chloe Copeland, Shennice Talburt, Lauren Davies, Amber Kelsey.

Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint. Millennium Point is a landmark public building and multi-award-winning events venue in the Eastside of Birmingham City centre. Profits from our commercial activity are invested by the Millennium Point Charitable Trust into projects, events and initiatives which support the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and education in the West Midlands.

Millennium Point has been around since the turn of the century. Yet when asked “what is Millennium Point?” you will get a number of different answers depending on who you ask. That’s because since our building opened 18 years ago (19 technically but we won’t tell if you don’t!), not only were we the catalyst for regeneration in the eastside of Birmingham city centre, but we have been, done and seen a lot of different things as our time as a landmark public building, multi-award winning venue and charitable trust. To illustrate our point, here are five things you probably didn’t know about Millennium Point:

1. We are an Award-Winning Venue
Millennium Point is a multi-award winning venue, with 17 event spaces including a large 354-seat auditorium, formerly one of the first IMAX in the West Midlands region. We’re also a member of venues of excellence, HBAA certified and we are proud to have an amazing events team with over 40 years of experience combined.

2. We Mingle With Royalty
Millennium Point was officially unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll on 2nd July 2002. Following her visit, she said she had no doubt Millennium Point would be used to ‘inspire the next generation who will shape the technology and industry of tomorrow’ (you can find her full speech here).

More recently we were joined by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for our event on International Women’s Day in 2018 and were also visited by the Duchess of Cambridge during the launch of her national survey ‘Five Big Questions on the Under Fives’ in January of this year.

3. Our Charitable Trust
The Millennium Point Charitable Trust is one of the only two-millennium projects still in existence today. Profits from our commercial activity as an award-winning venue and landmark public building are contributed to the Millennium Point Charitable Trust and over £5m has already been invested.

We plan to continue supporting and facilitating great projects, events and initiatives across the West Midlands that support the growth of Science, Tech, Engineering and Maths (STEM) and help the region thrive.

4. We’ve Featured in Various Films
Millennium Point is no stranger to the silver screen- As well as hosting the annual Birmingham Film Festival, we’ve also had our fair share of the spotlight being featured in various films, interviews and TV programmes, usually as a backdrop. One of our highlights includes being a Police Station in the first series of ‘Line of Duty’ back in 2012.

5. Our Annual Scholarship Programme
The Millennium Point Charitable Trust is proud to have supported five incredible and ambitious individuals by funding an undergraduate degree for each, through the annual Millennium Point Scholarship Programme.

The sixth individual was selected in March this year and is set to start her degree in September.

There you have it! We can’t wait to open our doors once again and welcome you back for a host of new and fabulous experiences.

Maximise the reach and impact of your event at Millennium Point by adding our live video streaming bolt-on to your events package.

We’re always looking for more opportunities to maximise the success of our client’s events here at our award-winning venue. Our latest bolt-on of live video streaming is designed to help you elevate your event through reaching new audiences in a way that’s both intuitive and flexible from as little as £1,100 + VAT.

Attendees are the lifeblood of any successful event, however, factors such as capacity, overheads and on-the-day traffic and poor weather can result in a drop of attendees. This brand-new live video streaming bolt-on package minimises these factors and offers professional and affordable live streaming services designed to ensure that your delegates can enjoy your event wherever they are.

This package will also assist in overcoming challenges that may arise with new social distancing guidelines, which will come into place in the near future while ensuring that you can protect the wellbeing of your attendees while delivering a stellar event experience.

How does it work?

Our experienced technical team will deliver the live stream where delegates can log-in and view via a secure link. Our team will work with you to ensure the content is optimised for a slick and professional experience for your delegates, include multi-screen functionality allowing simultaneous viewing of speakers and presentations. Streaming is suitable for events lasting up to 8-hours long and can be made available after the event for you to publish on your own video platforms. A full break down of the bolt-on, including terms and conditions, can be found on this page.

With our live streaming package, people can attend your event on the go.

How would my event benefit from a live video streaming bolt-on?

Adding a digital element to your event opens an abundance of opportunities that can benefit your overall goal and elevate your brand. Here are a few ways allowing people to attend your event virtually through our live video streaming package can benefit:

Adhere to social distancing guidelines while maximising your event potential and attendee experience
Widen the scope, impact and profit of your event by increasing the number of delegates beyond the physical capacity of the venue.
Reach a new audience who can engage with your event wherever they are around the globe.
Decrease no-shows to your event by providing the opportunity to access your event anywhere on the go.
Benefit from a lasting catalogue of your event which can be shared online after the fact.
Make your event more flexible, accessible and forward-thinking

VS Fighting esports tournament (above) live streams from Millennium Point to thousands of people online.

How do I add this bolt-on to my event package?

It’s easy, you can use our quick online form or get in touch with our friendly events team on 0121 202 2200.

Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint.

With the countdown to our 18th Birthday officially on, we take a look back on some of our key events and highlights over the years so far.

This week we are looking back at a festive celebration in 2004 and the opening of a unique attraction in 2005.

Hosting the Birmingham Christmas Lights Switch-On in 2004 proved that we had fully arrived in the eyes of Brummies across the city. Festive Switch-Ons are some of the biggest events in the calendar of any town or city and have a unique way of bringing the community together.

As a venue, our commitment to STEM has been at the backbone of all of our activity. Our offer to the city of Birmingham was boosted in 2005 with the introduction of the Planetarium at our tenants ThinkTank.

2004: Christmas Lights Switch-On

The 2004 Christmas Lights Switch-On took place on Sunday, November 21st 2004. Families from across the city came to Millennium Point for the festivities, which included a funfair and BRMB ‘Party at the Point’ concert (and that was just the warm-up!)

The then Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Mike Nangle, was given the responsibility of getting Christmas underway with the switch on of the evening as crowds gathered.

After the big-switch-on, synchronised images of the lights around the city were beamed onto giant screens at Millennium Point, while revellers stuck around to celebrate.

2005: Planetarium opens at ThinkTank

Birmingham’s first Planetarium – and the UK’s first digital planetarium – opened to the public on Saturday December 17th 2005 as the new centrepiece of a £2 million upgrade for the award-winning Thinktank science museum at Millennium Point.

With seating for up to 70 visitors per show, the new Planetarium boasted a projection dome measuring 10 metres in diameter and gave Brummies a chance to find out all about the Universe from their doorstep.

At the time of opening the Chief Executive of Millennium Point and Thinktank Dr Nick Winterbotham said local people had been waiting for this kind of initiative since the world’s first Planetarium opened in 1923.

The attraction has continued to be at the cutting edge of technology throughout the years, and the new 4K planetarium system has brighter and sharper images than ever before, as well as crystal clear surround-sound. It remains the only one of its kind in the West Midlands.

Special events held at the planetarium over the years have included evening astronomy talks, solar observing and even theatrical productions.

Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint.

Fill in our quick survey below and you will be helping us to shape how we continue to operate while keeping our friends, visitors and clients safe.

We don’t have to tell you that the spread of COVID-19 has changed the way all of us think and feel about social interaction, none more so than in events and hospitality.

We have created a quick and easy survey on the link below which we are now asking you to fill in. Your answers will help shape new processes and protocols which we will implement into our business.

TAKE THE SURVEY

These processes and protocols will allow us to protect the welfare of everyone who enters our building, while still delivering the same outstanding experience and service that has made us a multi-award-winning venue and landmark public building in Birmingham City Centre.

We thank you for your time.

Disclaimer: The content of these photos in this blog were taken in May 2019, for further information on our response to Covid-19 please see here.

Whether you’re a scruffy-looking nerf herder from Tatooine or emperor of a fascist galactic government, it’s important to know how to organise a (Star)killer of an event. To celebrate Star Wars Day, here are five ways you can use Millennium Point’s award-winning venue as demonstrated by the good, the bad and the bantha fodder of a galaxy far, far away.

But first, a quick tip for a warm, welcoming reception
In cooking, they say the first bite is with the eye, and in the events and hospitality business that’s no different. Your event begins the moment your first delegate steps over that threshold so it’s important to make sure you impress them with the first “bite”. Having someone at the door to greet guests is a great way to make them feel welcome right from the off. Speak to one of our events team for more advice on this and check out our numerous packages for receptions.

It also means you can sniff out any rebel scum who may be trying to enter without registering to blow up your superweapons.

FN-2476 (above) won “Best Smile” four years running at the Sith Academy Awards

Workshops, Training and Away Days
When you’re running a fascist dictatorship that spans an entire galaxy, it’s important to keep your staff engaged and motivated. Their wellbeing is key to a strong galactic empire, lose them and you might find them breaking out a TIE fighter and escaping with fugitives to join your rivals.

At Millennium Point we have several spaces perfect for workshops, training days and away days but our client favourite must be Connect on level 2 of our landmark venue. Connect has four interconnected spaces so can be opened or segmented to suit the needs of the day.

Connect 1 and 2 can be opened into a spacious boardroom for up to 24 delegates, perfect for a motivational workshop. This space comes with slick projection facilities that will make you feel on the cutting edge of workshop delivery.

DN-7421 named Employee of the Month in Connect (Boardroom style)

Event space is the largest room in Connect and has ample space for more activity-based training and development. Whether it’s conducting pivotal competitor analysis…

The Rebellion has been consistently praised for their equal opportunities and diversity ethic.

…or refining the accuracy of your Stormtroopers in the hope that one day they might shoot something.

No apples were harmed in this training session…

…unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for TK-447 though (left)

Concourse is a great break out space for secret plotting

Concourse, also on level 2, is great breakout space for when you’re having a break. It sits in a high footfall area and overlooks the future site of Curzon Street station opposite, the first international terminus to be built in the UK since the 19^th century!

“I thought we agreed it was you who would be bringing the biscuits” – Lord Vader

Party it up in Platform

Platform is our large open plan event space on level 1 of the building which sits underneath our giant auditorium. It’s a great versatile space that can cater for almost any event, from exhibitions to conferences, performances, quizzes and of course, parties!

His banter is also said to be top-notch after he’s knocked back a few Fuzzy Tauntauns

Lord Vader’s Wine & Cheese mixers are renowned throughout the galaxy.

Platform features multiple screens, optional staging and AV as well as a fully licenced bar which means an ideal setting if you’re missing those cantina vibes on Tatooine.

TN-217 makes a mean Death Star cocktail by the way

Sit back and watch the silver screen in Auditorium

Our 354-seat auditorium is equipped with dazzling AV and a giant 24m x 12m screen ideal for keynotes, presentations and big announcements.

It’s also a great space to treat your subordinates to a bit of downtown with a film featuring your best bits, a video game tournament or interactive games and performances.

Atrium makes the best backdrop for a photo

If there’s one thing the Galactic Empire can teach us, it’s the importance of looking good. Even when their plans are being consistently thwarted by a bunch of teenagers in a rust bucket, you can’t deny they look good failing.

Our Atrium on level 0 of our award-winning venue is not just a popular space for public exhibitions, galas and expos but also as a backdrop for the silver screen, the smaller screen and for photoshoots.

Acting as the central hive of activity in our landmark public building, Atrium has a fascinating open-air aesthetic that must be seen to be experienced.

1FN-117 was approached for a job by Louis Vuitton after this snap.

…and that concludes our list of five ways you can use Millennium Point’s event spaces! For more information on our 17 versatile venue spaces available head over to the venue section of the website.

Special thanks to Central Legion who joined us in 2019 to take these photos and delighted our visitors to the building on a very hot afternoon.

Stay safe, stay connected and May the 4^th be With You.

Note: This blog was written as a light-hearted article to commemorate Star Wars Day. Millennium Point does not condone the actions of the Galactic Empire nor has any affiliation with either side of the Galactic Civil War.

Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint.

With the countdown to our 18th Birthday officially on, we take a look back on some of our key events and highlights over the years so far.

This week we are looking back at our official opening ceremony and a visit from the only female speaker to ever serve in the House of Commons.

We are incredibly proud to have welcomed two of the most inspiring female figures in recent times, in the form of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second and Betty Boothroyd, to Millennium Point so early in our life.

These visits helped to set the tone for the years ahead, with more high-level visits to come and an ever-increasing focus on those people who really do make a difference.

2002: Official Opening & Unveiling by Her Majesty

Millennium Point was created as the regeneration of a 12-acre brownfield site and was designed by architects Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners, who also designed the redevelopment of London train stations; Euston and Waterloo.

It was originally developed in partnership between various public and private sector institutions, including Birmingham City Council and Birmingham City University and has now been England’s largest landmark millennium project outside of the capital since 1995.

Despite being in use since late September 2001, Millennium Point was officially unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday 2nd July 2002.

The Queen was visiting the West Midlands as part of her Golden Jubilee tour around Britain, and following the unveiling of Millennium Point, she expressed that she had no doubt Millennium Point would be used to ‘inspire the next generation who will shape the technology and industry of tomorrow’.

You can read her full speech here.

2003: Visited from Betty Boothroyd

We had the pleasure of hosting a visit from former West Bromwich MP, Betty Boothroyd, in 2003.

Affectionately known across the nation as ‘madame speaker’, Betty Boothroyd was one of the most successful upholders of standard in the House of Commons.

She is the only female to have served as a Speaker in the Commons as is one of only two living, former Speakers.

Betty visited Millennium Point after retiring from that role and being invited by the University Of The First Age, who arranged a televised link between Betty and children and young adults in South Africa, who she discussed politics with.

She then delivered a powerful speech encouraging young people in attendance at Millennium Point to think about politics and how it affects the world around them.

Betty received an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law award and was named the millennium’s first Life Peer before also being appointed the Order of Merit, which is one of Britain’s highest honours gifted by Her Majesty The Queen.

Her reputation of being tough yet very charming led to a more accessible parliament to the public and we are honoured to have hosted such a truly loved icon here at Millennium Point.

Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint.

Give your colleagues something to look forward with a Christmas party at Millennium Point. We have three packages available for up to 354 guests*, from exquisite fine dining to the private cinematic experience, there’s so much our award-winning venue can offer this festive season from as little as £35 per person!

Your party will come with your own private, fully licenced bar a dedicated events manager and welcoming staff to take care of things and keep the good vibes going while you sit back and enjoy.

Our Platform space on level 1 of our landmark venue is the stage for your winter wonderland, now all that’s left is you!

Get the VIP treatment with our Christmas Banquet package from £39.50 pp + VAT

Celebrate in style when you choose our Christmas Banquet package. Give your guests the VIP treatment with a red-carpet reception with a complimentary glass of fizz. You’ll then be seated ready to dine on an exquisite three-course banquet on tables adorned with centrepieces and novelties to keep you entertained. Round off your perfect evening with your own private DJ and dancefloor.

Get the Party vibes flowing with our Christmas Party package from £35.00 pp + VAT

Choose our Christmas Party package and amp up the feel-good festive vibes. You and your guests will again be treated to the VIP experience with a red-carpet reception and complimentary glass of fizz on arrival. You will then be treated to a succulent hot fork buffet while you mingle before we turn up the party vibes with your own private DJ and dancefloor.

Get Festive Cinematic Experience with our Festive Film Package from £37.50pp + VAT

Ditch the traditional Christmas crackers and paper hats and go for a festive party experience with a twist with our Festive Film and Food package exclusive to Millennium Point. Choose one of several festive favourites or bring your own for you and your guests to enjoy an exclusive cinematic experience on our giant screen. You and your guests will be treated to a glass of fizz on arrival and succulent bowl food served by our welcoming staff before heading up to our impressive auditorium.

Convenience and flexibility

Our multi-award-winning venue is conveniently located on the Eastside of Birmingham City centre and just a short walk from the most popular hotels, bars and clubs in the city.

All our packages are flexible to suit your needs. Our catering packages are suitable for any dietary requirements. Our award-winning events team have over 40 years’ experience in the business, which means a no-fuss, enjoyable event experience for you and your guests.

That’s not all, by booking your Christmas party with Millennium Point you are also widening your CSR by giving back to the local communities. A percentage of your booking will go towards the Millennium Point Charitable Trust who contribute over £5 million annually to the growth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) in the West Midlands.

Get in touch with our events team today for your no-strings quick quote today. Go on, give yourself something to look forward to!

Find more interesting content from Millennium Point over at our news section, or follow us for daily updates on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with @MillenniumPoint.

Students from the University of Birmingham spearheaded a fully online, people-focused hackathon, Hack Quarantine, which brought people together virtually from across the globe to use their skills to help combat the issues the world is facing with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wait, what’s a hackathon?
It’s not about hacking into a system. A hackathon is an invention marathon bringing together people of all backgrounds and skill levels to build a project related to technology in a short space of time. It’s “hacking” a problem or a challenge together while learning from peers and the process itself.

Millennium Point has previously hosted several hackathons in our award-winning venue including HacktheMidlands, supported through our charitable trust.

HacktheMidlands opening ceremony in Millennium Point’s 354 seat Auditorium

What happened?
Taking place between 23^rd March and 16^th April, Hack Quarantine brought together more than 3,500 skilled learners and workers globally across science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The event was organised by local computer science students primarily from the University of Birmingham. Participants signed up via the developer’s blog and received updates, socialised and mentored each other primarily through Discord, a popular voice and messaging platform (VoIP) initially designed for online multiplayer gaming.

Participants from 153 countries joined forces in groups of up to four to create a variety of projects from apps to software that tackled obstacles across four “tracks”:

Supporting people quarantined or at risk
Tech and Health
Remote working
Improving awareness and behaviour

More than 250 projects and 130 demo videos were submitted to the Hack Quarantine team who awarded the best in each track among other accolades.

In addition to the hack itself, the team also delivered over 70 talks, workshops, games and even a pose party over streaming platform Twitch to educate and entertain participants throughout the marathon event. Initially watched by over 45,000 people, all of this has been archived and can be viewed over on their YouTube.

Who was behind it?
The event was organised by Birmingham resident and Leeds undergraduate Jacklyn Biggin and a University of Birmingham second-year undergraduate Will Russell.

The event was organised by local Birmingham students Will Russell (Left) and Jacklyn Biggin (Right)

“It was an incredible experience”, comments Will Russell, co-event organiser.

“With in-person hackathons postponed all over the world, we wanted to create an online community for people to continue to learn, build and share during this pressing time. We recognised there were a lot of problems surrounding COVID-19 and wanted to help the community build solutions to tackle them.”

Jacklyn and Will were supported by a team comprised primarily of students including PhD student and founder of local hackathon, HacktheMidlands, Tom Goodman and fifth year undergraduate and regional coordinator for oSTEM incorporated, Avery Cunningham both of whom joined the team as Science Leads.

Additionally, the global event was developed and delivered in partnership with more than 50 STEM organisations from across the world.

Will comments: “It was an inexplicable feeling seeing people from all over the world come together for a common cause. We really didn’t know what to expect with very little time to plan but were overwhelmed by the response from people and organisations and the sheer quality of submissions – it was incredible!”

West Midlands is a hotbed for STEM talent

Birmingham and the West Midlands is a hotbed for STEM talent. A joint deep dive report by Birmingham City University and the Regional Observatory surmised that Digital Technology alone will bring £2.2 billion to the West Midlands economy by 2025. A figure supported in no small way by the growth of an emerging youth market like the budding talent behind Hack Quarantine.

Young people are the driving force behind digital tech in the West Midlands (Image Credit: HacktheMidlands)

“We received incredible support and participants from a number of organisations and institutions in the West Midlands.” Comments Science Lead at Hack Quarantine and PhD student Tom Goodman. “These included HackTheMidlands, the BCS (through the Birmingham Branch), and the University of Birmingham.”

“One of the huge challenges we faced was getting people in STEM (beyond technology) involved in the event – unlike standard hackathons, we quickly realised a significant need to engage with scientists from across the spectrum.”

Organisations like HacktheMidlands, BrumSciComm, oSTEM incorporated and University of Birmingham’s own Institute of Microbiology and Infection supported the Hack Quarantine team in recruitment and promotion in the wider scientific community.

“Through the support of these fantastic local organisations, we were able to mobilise a swathe of motivated and driven scientists, programmers, engineers, and others, to get involved with the event. We really wouldn’t have been able to do quite so much without the supportive and motivated STEM community here in the West Midlands.”

What happens now?
All submissions can be found on the devblog which is now being used as a platform for governments and frontline organisations worldwide to utilise.

Any organisations wishing to use or build-upon the projects submitted as part of the hackathon can contact the organisers or developers directly through the website.

This blog was written as part of Millennium Point’s charitable objectives we’re publishing stories to highlight individuals and organisations who support the growth of Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) in the region. If you have a story you would like us to cover, please get in touch.

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