Newcastle upon Tyne

Entertainment

Nightlife

Newcastle has a reputation for being a fun-loving city with many bars, restaurants and nightclubs. More recently, Newcastle has become popular as a destination for Stag and Hen parties. Newcastle was in the top ten of the country's top night spots,[11] and The Rough Guide to Britain placed Newcastle upon Tyne's nightlife as Great Britain's no. 1 tourist attraction.[12]

There are notable concentrations of pubs, bars and nightclubs around the Bigg Market, and the Quayside area areas of the city centre. There are many bars on the Bigg Market ranging from BluBambu (Bigg Markets main club) to theme bars such as Boom 90's Bar. Other popular areas for nightlife are Collingwood Street, Neville Street, the Central Station area and Osborne Road in the Jesmond area of the city. In recent years "The Gate" has opening in the city centre, a new indoor complex consisting of bars, upmarket clubs, restaurants and a 12-screen Empire multiplex cinema.[13]

Focused on the Times Square area near the Centre for Life, the "Pink Triangle" is the centre of Newcastle's gay scene and hosts many bars and pubs and two clubs.[14][15] The community has seen much expansion in the past five years, with further growth planned in the future.

Theatre

A growth in theatre culture has taken place in recent years, centred on the impressive Theatre Royal on Grey Street, which for over 25 years has hosted a season of performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Theatre Royal has recently been closed for refurbishment and reopened in October 2006 in time for the travelling West End musical, Grease and the annual RSC season. Other theatres in the City include the Tyne Opera House, the Northern Stage, the Live Theatre, the People's Theatre, the Jubilee Theatre and the Gulbenkian Studio. There are several other venues in and around Newcastle, such as Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle Arena and The Sage Gateshead.

Festivals and fairs

The Hoppings, reputedly the largest travelling fair in Europe, takes place on Newcastle Town Moor every June. The event had its origins in the Temperance movement during the early 1880s and coincides with the annual race week at High Gosforth Park.

A new music festival, the Hi Fi Festival took place in May 2006, at Matfen on the outskirts of the City.[16] May also sees Newcastle and Gateshead host the Orange Evolution, which culminates with the Freevolution free music festival held on the Newcastle and Gateshead Quaysides over the Spring Bank Holiday, with performances from well known and up and coming acts from the world of Rock, Indie and Dance Music. Surrounding Tyneside has many festivals, including MOTFest (The Mouth Of Tyne Festival) held at Tynemouth, a coastal village 8 miles East of Newcastle.[17]

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Newcastle upon Tyne