The Facilities team at Millennium Point is happy to announce the grand opening of the new security room. The new room expands the already strong security team in place, ready for the busy 2023 ahead.

The project was completed by AP Mitchell Group who have Divisions in the following disciplines Mechanical, Electrical, Facilities Management, Air Conditioning and Fire & Security. Also included on the project was D Stanley Associates, a project management and building services consultancy practice.

Upgrading without pausing on the safety of visitors

The project, which involved full upgrades of the control room and security equipment, was completed in 26 weeks. During this time, it was vital that there was no reduction in security. This was made achievable with keeping the original control room operational while the new one was being built. The new cameras were put online before the old ones were taken down. Alongside this, our friendly security team continuing their patrols and security was never compromised.

It was also important that the work carried out wouldn’t disrupt our customer’s events, our tenants, or visitors. The project involved lots of careful planning throughout with AP Mitchell Group being aware not to cause any inconvenience to any of the customers and staff . Regular meetings and communication were planned throughout the project duration involving David Stanley, The Project Team at AP Mitchell, and the Facilities team from Millennium Point.

Sleek and bespoke designed control room

The original control room, now 23 years old and becoming obsolete needed a refresh not just in tech but in design also. The whole new CCTV Security Control room was built including bespoke control furniture, a video wall comprising 8 x 44” LED 4K monitors, 2 x Operator control stations each workstation having 3 x 27” LED monitors each station having joystick controllers, allowing the security operators to control the system cameras.

New Video Management software system is now in place which is designed to simplify the control and management of otherwise disparate systems into a centralised graphical user interface. In addition to the streamlining system operations, the software will also increase situational awareness and accountability while reducing risks.

Camera upgrades and radio upgrades 

130 cameras were replaced both internally and externally throughout the whole building all sited in strategic locations. There are a mixture of static fixed cameras and full pan tilt zoom cameras. The cameras installed are the very latest in technology giving real time images, along with this, night vision and better-quality cameras  increase the quality of the area captured, allowing the security operators to have full CCTV coverage of the whole site. The cameras are all linked into a large network comprising of 11 individual data cabinets linked together with OM4 fibre optic cabling. Each data cabinet has individual data switches backed up with a UPS system.

New digital touch screen radios were also recommended and given to the security team. The radios are digital with better sound quality and has a transmit interrupt capability enabling a supervisor to interrupt and deliver critical communication. It also has lone worker mode which builds safety for our own team. The mode will prompt lone workers to press a button in timed intervals to let the rest of the team know everything is ok.

John Ayre Head of Fire & Security Division at AP Mitchell Group said, ‘Our company was delighted to have been awarded this most prestigious contract.

I am pleased that the installation of CCTV security cameras at Millennium Point and the building of a new state of the art security control room, is now complete, In addition to providing a measure of safety and security to the visitors and staff, the installation of the cameras will provide the Millennium Point Security team with a better and clearer coverage of the whole site. I have been honoured to represent AP Mitchell in delivering this prestigious contract on time and more importantly on budget’.

Linda Degg, Facilities Director at Millennium Point said ‘Our CCTV system and Control Room were out of date and obsolete, so we needed to upgrade both but maintain operational standards.  Undertaking such a large-scale project in a live environment has serious challenges so it was vital that we chose the right contractor.  With support from our project managers, D Stanley Associates, we selected AP Mitchell and commenced a 6-month programme of work.  The project ran smoothly and completed on time.  The onsite team worked tirelessly to accommodate our business and were flexible, agile, and extremely professional throughout.  Our team is delighted with their new Control Room and the quality of our new security systems.  I would not hesitate to recommend AP Mitchell to anyone considering a similar project and hope to be able to work with the team again in the future.’

Keep up to date with Millennium Point

Upgrading our control room is just one of the ways we continually develop Millennium Point to give the best to our guests, tenants and customers.

With a lot planned for 2023, keep up to date with the latest here.

Building on the success of last year’s SciSPORT event, which saw 1,000 visitors visit Millennium Point. We are excited to announce our next event in our SciSERIES, SciMED!

Last year we welcomed students from 28 schools across the region to participate in a range of thrilling activities, workshops, and talks delivered by organisations and personalities from the world of science and sport.

To get an idea what’s in store, watch below how the SciSPORT went –

This event is open to upper primary (years 5 & 6) and lower secondary (years 7 & 8) school students. To confirm your place, email our friendly Trust team [email protected].

SciMED – showcasing the importance of STEM in the medical industry

The SciMED event that takes place Monday 10th July, seeks to inspire the next generation of STEM students with all things ‘medical’ – from the traditional careers such as doctors, veterinary, and dentistry, through to wider STEM related sectors such as psychology, health, wellbeing, and pharmaceuticals, whilst showcasing technology and engineering advances in all associated sectors.

Students will be able to explore:

– Interactive workshops

– Sports and fitness

– Medical activities

The day also includes visits to the award winning ThinkTank Science Museum!

Sign up to book your school’s place today and discover all things STEM and Medical.

Get your company involved

There is still time to get involved with SciMED with your team. Promote your company and showcase your innovations to young people from schools across the region. With lots of exciting exhibitions already joining us, now is the time to book your place to ensure you get the chance to connect with the future of your industry.

This is just one of the ways we’re supporting STEM in the region

Our multi-award-winning charitable trust invests more than £3m each year towards furthering STEM education within the West Midlands.

Over the years we have provided funding to Scholarships, Grants and projects that benefit the region. Find out more about our Trust in our brochure here.

When you’re looking to lease a commercial property, it’s important that you ask questions to ensure there aren’t any nasty surprises after you’ve signed your contract.

Below we’ve put together 12 questions you can ask before you lease your next commercial property:

Is the property in a good location?

Location is ultimately one of the most important factors to consider when looking for a property. You want a property that’s easy for you, your staff and your clients to visit, meaning it should be as close as possible to get to and would be beneficial if it was near multiple transport links.

Does the property suit my commercial needs?

The property you’re looking at may currently or previously have been used for something entirely different to your intended purpose. If this is the case you may want to look into how much work is needed to be done in order for it to meet your requirements.

If you find yourself in this situation you may also want to ask whether you need planning permission to change the purpose of the property. Due to this, it may be beneficial to look for a property that is currently being used in the same way you plan to so that you can avoid any extra costs like planning permission and building materials.

When do I need to pay rent and how much is it?

Understanding when your rent is due allows you to pay it on time and lets you know whether you need to pay rent monthly or quarterly. You may also want to ask questions like:

Are there any restrictions on assigning or subletting the property?

There may be a number of reasons why you want to come out of your contract early. If you decide to do this then it’s usually done through an assignment (where you transfer the lease over to a new tenant) or through subletting (letting all or part of the property to a third party making them your tenant). 

Your decision to assign or sublet is usually based on how much control you still want to have over the property. For example, if you choose assignment then the tenant you transfer the lease over to will become liable for any obligations under the lease and you are likely to need to enter into an ‘Authorised Guarantee Agreement’ or ‘AGA’. The agreement basically means that if the new tenant fails to abide by the terms of the lease (including not paying rent) then the landlord may come to you for a solution. 

What’s the length of the lease?

Understanding how long the length of your lease is gives you the opportunity to discover whether the tenancy agreement suits you. For example, if you’re looking for a commercial property for a short period of time, you won’t want a long term lease. 

Is the lease protected by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954?

It may be ideal to look for a property protected by the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1954, as it gives tenants of commercial properties an automatic renewal at the end of the lease agreement, except in certain circumstances. These circumstances could include the owner wanting to sell the property or redevelop it.

In many cases landlords will exclude the security tenure provisions in legislation so that they can ensure the lease does come to an end. 

Is there a break option?

Having a break option gives you the chance to leave your premises early should any changes occur within your business. You may also want to check to see if the landlord has included a break clause where both the tenant or owner can enforce it. If a break does occur then you or your landlord are required to serve notice within a set period of time. 

What rights does the lease grant and what rights are reserved by the Landlord?

Usually standard leases include rights granted for the tenants benefit along with rights retained by the landlord. It’s important that you read the lease properly and ensure they include any extra benefits you need to use the property effectively. 

You may also want to look for things in the contract like:

Asking these sorts of questions will help you understand whether the property meets your requirements.

Do I have any obligations to fix any problems in the building?

Most leases want you to look after the property, however you want to make sure that they haven’t put responsibility on you to fix any damages or improve the property. This can help you save money through not spending on unnecessary repairs and purchases. 

What are my obligations when the lease comes to an end?

An important aspect of the contract to check is what happens when it runs out. Are you expected to remove any fixtures or alterations you’ve made or are you expected to redecorate to the landlord’s satisfaction? 

Understanding these things stops you from running into any unexpected problems as you leave.

Can I legally use the property for my business?

Leases can limit how you use the property, so you should ask the landlord what you’re allowed to use it for. It’s also your responsibility to check what planning permissions you have, as you don’t want any surprises in the future. 

Who is responsible for the buildings insurance?

When it comes to insurance, the landlord usually pays for it and they can ask the tenant to either pay the premium or a part of the insurance if there are multiple tenants in the building.

However, even though the landlord tends to pay for the buildings insurance, you as the tenant will still be required to ensure your possessions within the building.

How can Millennium Point help you?

Here at Millennium Point we have a number of commercial leases that could be perfect for you. Our spaces have:

We’re also located in Birmingham City Centre and are only a 15 minute walk away from New Street Station and Snow Hill Station, a 5 minute walk away from Moor Street Station and are  also very close to the motorway and bus routes, making it easy to commute to.

For more information on what properties we have available, visit our website.

Many office spaces have long-term lease agreements that last at least a year, not giving businesses a lot of freedom or wiggle room to change their mind if they outgrow the space or if it just isn’t quite working for them.

However when it comes to short-term lease agreements, you gain more flexibility to be able to move around as your business grows.

Benefit 1 – Lower cost

Usually short-term office leases are a cheaper option. If you rent a space that’s furnished you can avoid the expenses that come along with having to equip an office. This could save you money on things like:

You’re also not responsible for maintenance of the building helping you save significant amounts of money on routine maintenance costs or paying for anything that goes wrong. 

Benefit 2 – It’s more flexible

Short-term office leases give you the opportunity to move around as your business grows, meaning you won’t be stuck in one place for a prolonged period of time. It will also give you greater flexibility to adapt to challenging periods or uncertainties, for example, you could easily switch to remote working while your office space is upgraded or adapted to better suit your operational needs.

Adding on to this, the current challenging economic times due to the cost of living crisis and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have had significant impacts on what people and businesses can and can’t afford. Opting for a short-term lease can help you navigate changing conditions, giving you the opportunity to make the best decisions for your staff and business.

Benefit 3 – It’s a quick and easy process 

Another benefit of short-term leases is that they don’t take a lot of time to set up. If you’re looking for somewhere you can move into quickly then a short-term renting option may be perfect for you. This might also be useful if you think you may need to move offices often or if you would rather move to suit your changing needs rather than devote resources to adapt your current office space.

Benefit 4 – There’s more support for scalability 

When you opt for a short term lease it gives you the opportunity to scale your business. For example a lot of offices with short term leases tend to give you the option to use pay-per-use services. This allows you to only pay for the space you use meaning you can save money through not spending the money on rooms you don’t use.

Being able to save more money could give you the opportunity to scale up to a bigger office in the future if you’re planning on growing significantly in terms of staff expansion. 

Benefit 5 – You gain premium services 

Another benefit of short term leases is that they tend to offer premium services such as offering free food, coffee mornings, paying for features like microwaves or kettles etc. 

Long term leases tend to lack premium services as you’ve already locked in for a longer period of time. Whereas, short-term rental agreements have more opportunities to offer premium services, as they tend to have a higher turnover and want to encourage people to keep paying for new contracts.

How can Millennium Point help you find the right short-term office space for you?

Here at Millennium Point we have a variety of rooms that could be perfect for your next short-term office space.

Our office spaces come with flexible ownership options that suit you, as well as our friendly team being on site to support you with any queries you have until you move out of your office. 

Our spaces with short-term office leases include:

Engine

Engine benefits from lots of natural light and overlooks the conservatoire, where you’ll be away from the footfall of Millennium Point. 

It’s located on level 4 and offers a second office alongside an adjacent private boardroom. 

Other features include:

Station Studios

Station Studios has multiple sized rooms, making it suitable for dance groups, yoga sessions or acting rehearsals, where you can choose between mirrored or non-mirrored studios.

Key features include:

Shuttle 

Shuttle is situated on level 3 and keeps you away from the busy footfall of Millennium Point. Shuttle also has one main office and a small office that’s perfect for meetings or hosting guests. 

Key features:

Make an inquiry today to see what office space is perfect for you.

Here at Millennium Point we’re proud to call Eastside our home. Our corner of Birmingham city centre is bursting with activities, culture, and more.

Struggling for Easter plans? We’ve put together all the eggciting things Eastside has to offer over the bank holiday weekend from family activities to places to grab a refreshing pint.

For the family

Fancy going on a scientific journey of discovery? Plan a visit to the award-winning Thinktank Science Museum. Explore space by visiting the Planetarium, where the theatre is under a dome, specially designed to help you explore astronomy, space and the night sky. Have fun in MiniBrum, and don’t forget to head outside to the Science Garden, which is packed full of surprises and fun activities for the whole family. Visit their what’s on page to find out more about any special events they have planned this Easter weekend.

Eastside City Park opened in 2012. It was the first major, new city centre park in Birmingham for more than 130 years. With benches and picnic tables, it’s the perfect place to grab some food and have a picnic.

Fancy a drink?

There are some excellent choices of pubs in Eastside, whether you just want a pint, or some food there will be a space by the bar for you.

On the other side of Eastside Park is authentic Victorian pub The Eagle and Ball. Ran by BCUSU, but open to all, it’s a proper public house! There’s something for everyone to enjoy on their food and drinks menu and entertainment nights. Also, they sell the cheapest coffee on campus and have different deals every day. Every penny you spend also goes back into the Students’ Union at BCU. Although, rumour has it, it’s a little haunted, it is still one to visit!

Looking for a pub in Birmingham where chilling out with friends and enjoying the good things in life like beer, burgers, and sport on TV are the order of the day? Well, The Gosta Green is the pub for you. The pub also has pool table, and a beer garden to hang out in. Keep an eye out for their legendary yearly Wrestlemania night which is definitely one to book Monday morning off for.

For the coffee connoisseurs

Millennium Point is the home of authentic Italian food experts based on level 2. Open from 8am – 5pm, Mulino is owned by the Brummie favourite Laghi’s Deli, so expect to find a tantalising selection of delicious pizzas, bakery items and more.

Keep up to date with Millennium Point’s Events

Stay tuned for all the latest announcements on our What’s On including our first drink-themed film screening of the year – The Greatest Showman with Wine. Whether our clients’ events, or our own, there’s always something going on at Millennium Point.

If you’re visiting out landmark public building over the holidays, don’t forget to share your experience on social media and tag @millenniumpoint on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

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.

Due to the impact of Covid and the increasing number of people working from home, hybrid events are on the rise to accommodate everyone’s needs. With many businesses finding leads through networking, it’s important to find a way to meet people online, therefore causing an increase in hybrid networking events. 

What is a hybrid event? 

Hybrid events combine both in person attendance and virtual presence to ensure as many people can attend as possible. Due to this it’s important to choose the right streaming service for you.

is a great way to host a hybrid event, as it can provide easy access for guests. Some platforms will allow you to stream directly through them and others, such as Vimeo and YouTube, will need you to use third parties. 

Connecting the in person audience and virtual audience

Due to many people attending events to network, it’s important to bridge the gap between in person and virtual attendees, to help give valuable experiences.

Different platforms will allow you to host polls, breakout rooms, direct messaging and digital business card exchanges, allowing both virtual and in person attendees to interact with each other. 

Ensuring your in person audience brings devices such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones, will allow them to interact with others through digital chats. Furthermore, including Q&A’s and opportunities for attendees to get to know each other will allow people to stay engaged throughout your event.

Benefits of a hybrid event 

Below are a few benefits hybrid events have for your company:

Tips for planning a hybrid event 

When considering hosting a hybrid event it’s important to plan the event properly to ensure it runs smoothly and engages your audiences.

Here are a few tips for planning your next hybrid event.

Give attendees control 

During Covid, everyone lost control over their own lives, making it important to people that they can make their own choices now.

Hybrid events allow people to choose whether they want to attend in person or virtually, allowing them to feel as though they have made decisions that suit them best. 

Providing chat boxes and breakout rooms can also give attendees the opportunity to decide whether they want to engage further with the event by asking hosts questions and engaging with others. 

Ensure your event location provides everything you need

It’s important to find an event location that meets your needs and allows your event to run smoothly.

 Below are a few questions you should ask yourself when searching for the right location:

Make your in person attendees feel safe

When hosting an event it’s important to make your attendees feel safe. You can do this by communicating clearly before and during the event about how the day will run and any rules they may need to follow, such as whether you have any Covid safety or fire safety requirements.

Providing information on whether attendees will be recorded or photographed is also important as you need to give people the opportunity to opt out.

Don’t forget to record your event!

Recording your event allows attendees to re-watch the event or let those who couldn’t attend, watch it in their spare time. 

Recording the event also allows people to share it with others, helping you gain more business leads and interact with a wider audience. 

Choosing Millennium Point to host your hybrid event

Here at Millennium Point, we pride ourselves on our forward thinking approach. We’re always looking for new and exciting ways to improve our client’s events.

Contact us today to see how we can help you host your hybrid event. You can even use our own streaming platform and cameras to host and record your event for guests!

Here at Millennium Point we offer grant funding to help support companies and charities improve engagement within STEM related subjects. 

Below are a few examples of Schools Millennium Point has helped through grants and funding.

Longwill School for the Deaf – Sensory STEM 

Longwill is based in Northfield, Birmingham and is a specialist school for deaf children aged between 2 and 11. The school is underpinned by a sign-bilingual philosophy that encourages the fullest possible development through early communication.

What challenge did Longwill face?

The school came to us wanting help to create ways for pupils to develop an interest and understanding in science through using speech and sign language. The small grant is being used to purchase 10 visualises and compound microscopes which are high impact learning tools. These can be used in STEM lessons to magnify flowers, leaves, skeletons or fossils onto screens to help children develop a scientific understanding.

What impact has this made?

This has given 50 children between 3 and 11 the opportunity to engage in scientific activities in ways they previously hadn’t been able to. 

The school received a small grant as they presented an outside-of-the-box approach to inspiring children with disabilities to engage with  STEM subjects.

To read more about the Longwill School for Deaf, click here.

Aston Villa Foundation – ‘STEM Stars’

The Aston Villa Foundation is a registered charity in charge of the community and social responsibility work of Aston Villa Football Club. Their mission is ‘working together to enrich lives’. They work with a variety of backgrounds in Birmingham and support Aston Villa’s wider family as well. 

What did the foundation need help with?

STEM Stars introduced a new STEM programme in six schools within a 3 mile radius of Villa Park, where funding will be used to buy a Sphero robot package to help teach young people coding through using football. 

The programme aims to encourage young people to better engage with STEM education and raise aspirational levels, as the areas around Villa Park are both educationally and income deprived. 

What impact has this made?

The STEM programme has allowed young people to engage with computer science in ways they wouldn’t previously be able to access.

The programme gained a small grant as they identified key problems in the area while providing imaginative solutions to STEM related issues. 

To read more about the Aston Villa foundation, click here.

Ahead Partnership – STEMfestWM

Ahead Partnership is a leading social enterprise aiming to connect children with employers to promote education and employability while raising awareness of STEM careers. 

The project

The project involves a week-long festival with employers and 250 students chosen from secondary schools and FE sixth forms/colleges across the West Midlands. The festival aims to enthuse young people in STEM and build a stronger talent pipeline. 

What impact has this made?

The project impacted 250 pupils, 16 schools and 2 further education colleges. Students have also developed confidence through participating in events and have developed an understanding of how their learning links to different careers. 

The partnership gained a small grant due to its extensive portfolio of successes in engaging young people in education and equipping them with the skills and links needed for the industry. 

To learn more about the Ahead Partnership, click here.

Trinity School – STEM Room

Trinity High School is a co-educational academy school for 13-18 year olds located in central Redditch.  

The challenge

Students at the school are highly interested in STEM, however the school was previously unable to provide them the resources they needed. The solution to this was to transform an old art room into a new STEM room, fitted with computers and CAD/CAM machinery to provide learning within ICT, Maths and Science.

What impact has this made?

The project has enhanced  teaching of the STEM curriculum and has allowed the school to expand their after school STEM activities. The room is also being used as a STEM learning hub for other schools, helping to expand STEM skills across the area. 

The school gained a small grant due to them demonstrating how the project would impact both the school and the wider community. 

To learn more about Trinity high school’s STEM project, click here.

King Solomon International Business School: Breaking the barriers to STEM

King Solomon International Business School is Birmingham’s first Christian free school with 1,200 students aged 4-19. 

The school aims to close the diversity gap through a fully realised STEM programme of extracurricular activities, helping encourage students to consider a STEM career path. 

How did we help to fund this programme?

Millennium Point has helped fund multiple extracurricular activities, including:

What impact did this have?

The projects aim to engage everyone in the school in STEM related activities, having a positive impact on 1,200 students between 4 and 19 years old.

The school gained a small grant as King Solomon School demonstrated a clear passion for STEM and provided a clear objective for increasing diversity in STEM. 

To learn more about the King Solomon project click here.

To learn more about how Millennium Point’s grants can help you impact STEM education, get in touch with us today.

Applications for life changing scholarship open next month on Monday 9th January 2023. In partnership with Birmingham City University each year Millennium Point Trust fund an undergraduate degree at BCU.

There are over 20 courses to choose from included in the scholarship. The deadline is on Friday 31st March 2023, meaning plenty of time to complete the application.

Hatem impressed judges last year with his passion for Computer Science

Hatem was studying at Solihull College with ambitions to study Computer Science at university. In Hatem’s application he made it clear how much winning the Scholarship would mean to him, his great passion for computers and his mission to use computing and technology to better lives. The Millennium Point Trust team were hugely impressed with Hatem’s application and selected him along with four other finalists.

All the finalists attended an assessment day at Millennium Point, where they each presented to a panel of five judges, Hatem impressed the panel the most and was selected as the lucky winner of this year’s Scholarship, which has already helped launch the careers of seven outstanding STEM students. Hatem has since started his Computer Science degree at Birmingham City University that started in September 2022.

Applying is easy and simple

The competition is open to applicants aged 17 and over within the West Midlands Combined authority, who are looking to start a qualifying degree in September 2023.

Read the application form carefully and start to answer each question. Think about why you want to study your chosen degree and what you want to do in the future. Also discuss any personal attributes and skills that could help you be the next winner of the Scholarship.

It’s a two-stage application, with the final stage being an assessment day. If you make to the final, you will be invited to participate in developmental workshops that will focus on supporting our personal development and professionalism in both interview and presentation skills.

We’re here to help you every step of the way

We want everyone to have the best chance of success when applying for our scholarship scheme, and sometimes bigging yourself up can be a little daunting. That’s why we have created a helpful guide to aid you through your application. Keep an eye out on our social media for any new blogs, videos or resources that can help further.

You can always contact our friendly Trust team for any other enquiries you may have.

Unlock your student’s future by getting your school involved

Get your school involved and spread the word about the scholarship. Tell parents, students, teachers, and colleagues. The bigger it gets, the more impact we can make together.

We have created a teacher’s portal with assets and information that can help you provide students information on how to apply.

Are you a business wanting to get involved? Visit our business portal here. We’re always on the lookout to collaborate with businesses and professionals on the Millennium Point Trust scholarship.

Why do we do this?

At Millennium Point we believe that STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is important for the future of the region. Now, more than ever young people need our support and encouragement for them to unlock their potential. The scholarship is just one of the ways we can provide support to help them achieve people’s goals.

Learn more about Millennium Point Trust

Our multi-award-winning charitable trust invests on average £4.8m each year towards furthering Stem education within the West Midlands.

Over the years we have provided funding to scholarships, grants and projects that benefit the region. Find out more about our Trust in our brand-new brochure here.

Keep up to date when scholarships go live

Applications open on 9th January 2023 and end 31st March 2023, bookmark our scholarship page and get ready to see what you can achieve!

After a hugely successful event last year, St Basils returned to Millennium Point on Friday 25th November to host their annual big sleepout. The event took place in our Cinema Square car park and was once again successful at raising funds to help end youth homelessness.

The St Basils Big Sleepout is the oldest, longest running event of  its kind. It’s one of St Basils most popular events among their community, with volunteers challenged with sleeping out in the cold during winter to understand the difficulties that homeless people go through on a daily basis.

How St Basils are doing their bit to beat homelessness

St Basils work with young people ages 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, to enable them to find and keep a home, grow their confidence, develop their skills, increase opportunities, and prevent homelessness.

This year St Basils announced the annual event had amazingly raised £62,000 and funds are still coming in.

A community united

It was fantastic to see so many organisations braving the cold and taking part in the event, 400 individuals settled in for the night in cardboard boxes all to raise funds for the good cause. Throughout the night volunteers took part in the much loved Creative Cardboard Competition for the best dwelling, with a prize given to the lucky winner.  The cardboard boxes were provided by Schumacher, who have been providing packaging for the sleepout for over 15 years.

Much needed warmth was delivered with free vegan curry and hot drinks provided by the Langar Aid project.

Fundraisers were also entertained during the night by The Band of the West Midlands Fire Services to keep spirits high on a very cold evening.

Couldn’t make it to the sleepout? You can still make a difference

It costs £5 a day to support a young person and keep them at a St Basils project. Supporters can make a one-off donation here. Help change a young person’s life for the better today.

We have kicked off the festive season here at Millennium Point. Our impressive 39ft Christmas tree is back by popular demand. The Christmas tree is based in our event space Atrium for everyone to enjoy as soon as they walk into our landmark building.

It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas

The tree was put together by Christmas experts The Christmas Decorators. It takes a team of 5 installers and a team of 7 decorators to prepare the branches and baubles. The Christmas tree takes around 10 hours to complete. With good reason too as there is over 23,000 lights and 1,500 baubles to set up.

Where do you even get a 39ft tree from you ask? We’ll let you in on a secret, it’s not actually a real tree! The Christmas tree is made up of a metal frame with each individual branch attached separately each with their own power source.

As far as we know we are the biggest indoor tree in Birmingham at 12 metres tall. The tree is accompanied by two nutcrackers and a pack of huskies, giving visitors plenty of opportunities to snap a festive selfie.

Plenty to do at Millennium Point this Christmas

Along with the decorations, a festive schedule brimming with fun activities is planned through the next two months for everyone to enjoy.

Feel Christmas all around you with our Love Actually Bottomless Brunch

Date and Time: 3rd December, 1pm

Price: £35 per person

Millennium Point Events presents a bottomless brunch, and a special screening of Richard Curtis’ seminal festive event will have a delicious brunch, 90 minutes of bottomless prosecco and a screening of the film.

Book now to secure your ticket

It’s a Wonderful Life when there’s wine

Date and Time: 4th December, 4pm

Price: £31.95 plus fees per person

Who doesn’t love a festive film classic? Throw in some themed wines and Millennium Point is your place to be this Christmas! Teaming up once again with our good friends at The Wine Events Company, experience it’s a Wonderful Life on our giant screen, paused at various points to serve you your next glass of festive cheer.

Book now to secure your ticket

Rock around the Christmas tree at our Festive Silent Disco

Date and Time: 17th December, 7:30pm

Price: £10 plus fees per person

Grab your dancing shoes, put your Santa hats on, and prepare to watch 3 DJs battle it out around the best Christmas tree in tinsel town.

Back by popular demand, our Silent Disco night will be a night to remember, grab your friends, hit the dancefloor, and enjoy everything Millennium Point has to offer.

We have teamed up with silent disco experts Silent Noize, to give you the best music throughout the night, playing fan favourite songs from genres such as:

– Chart, Party & Dance

– RnB, Hip Hop & Old Skool

– Rock, Indie & Power Ballads

And all your favourite Christmas songs too!

Although sold out, you can join the waiting list to be the first to hear about any extra tickets that become available! Join the waitlist.

Organising a last-minute Christmas event?

No problem, we have you covered! At Millennium Point we are hosting some fantastic Christmas Parties this year including shared and exclusive events to suit all budgets.

With a choice between our exclusive or shared parties, there is something for everyone this Christmas!

Find out more information here.

Imagine, your event and our Christmas tree

With 11 versatile event spaces to choose from, make Millennium Point your venue of choice this Christmas. Contact our friendly events team on 0121 202 2200 or click here to explore our award-winning event spaces.