St David’s, Wales’ leading shopping, dining and leisure destination, celebrates its tenth birthday on the 22nd October. Since opening its doors in 2009, the centre has attracted tens of millions of visitors and cemented Cardiff’s place as one of the best shopping cities in the UK.
As well as welcoming hundreds of brands into the heart of the city centre, many of which remain firsts for Wales, the centre has hosted some of the biggest shopping events in the UK. From its annual Student Night event and more recent Big Night Out, to its now famous Christmas Toy Appeal and charity campaigns such as We Loves The ‘Diff, it’s no surprise that to celebrate its birthday the centre will be pulling out all the stops.
Over ten days throughout the birthday month, St David’s has come to life with celebratory giveaways, activities and treats. The centre is also creating a gallery, showcasing the best of the city’s history, never seen before images from the centres build and highlights from the last ten years. The gallery has been curated with image and story submissions from the local community, and in partnership cult Cardiff brand I Loves The ‘Diff.
Speaking about the celebration gallery, Chris Amodeo from I Loves The ‘Diff, said: “Thanks to everyone that has contributed to the gallery! It’s been incredible to see snapshots of the years gone by. I find it fascinating to think about the lives and history of the local community – with all the trials and tribulations they would have entailed – that were played out on the very same spot that we now go about out our daily lives. Hopefully one day Cardiffians of the distant future will spare a thought for us too!”
St David’s Cardiff is also known for its visual installations – including Brŵs, the Great White Shark that made the centre home for the summer – and to mark ten years in the city centre will be no different. St David’s has installed giant birthday balloons and a three metre, ten tier birthday cake that depicts highlights from the last decade – more showstopping picture-perfect moments for shoppers to enjoy.
When the St David’s shopping centre opened its doors in 2009, it transformed over a third of the Cardiff city centre footprint into one of the UK’s leading retail districts and remains a top 10 UK shopping centre today, with footfall in Cardiff increasing by 46% over the last ten years. Since opening, the centre has debuted many leading brands in Wales for the first-time including Apple, John Lewis, All Saints, Bershka and The Ivy Collection – and with more exciting openings on the horizon, the centre is looking forward to the next ten years.
James Waugh, General Manager for St David’s Cardiff, said: “We are so excited to be celebrating our tenth birthday with the people of Cardiff and beyond. St David’s has transformed Cardiff into one of the busiest shopping cities in the UK and the team are extremely proud of what has been achieved since opening the doors in 2009.
“From local residents submitting pictures and stories from the centre and surrounding areas, to joining us for ten days of music, giveaways, and all-important birthday cake – we’re looking forward to sharing our anniversary celebrations with everyone.”
