Largest open air cinema in the UK is a hit

The largest open air cinema in the UK is running in the stunning grounds of Hatfield House until 2 August, boasting a giant wide screen LED screen which is the biggest in Europe.

The Screen Space, the brain child of local events company owner Matt Gourd (who has provided the screens for the St Albans Film Festival, Watford Big Screen and many sports screenings around London) opened on 4 July and has already proved to be a huge hit with both adults and kids.

State-of-the-art technology is used, with the ability to show films in 4K resolution, and a high end sound system and FM transmitter, so the quality of the visuals and sound is at cinema levels, but the experience is in the open air, with a lot of space to stretch out and move around safely.

The Screen Space aims to provide a spectacular experience for the drive-in and picnic movies and also the wellness sessions. Cameras are able to relay the fitness and wellness instructors onto the big screen, enabling everyone to see the action while remaining socially distanced outside.

The iconic location, Hatfield House and Gardens, has starred in many films itself: recent Oscar-winning movie The Favourite was filmed there.

A packed programme runs every day, kicking off with fitness and wellbeing in the mornings (familiar faces such as Naomi Czuba running sessions) and followed by picnic movie screenings in the afternoons and evenings, and drive-in movies, when the weather is not being kind.

Movies coming up in the next few weeks include: Dirty Dancing, The Shape of Water, Black Panther, and for families Mary Poppins Returns, The Lego Movie, Wallace and Gromit and Beetlejuice, amongst others.

Matt Gourd, organiser, says: ‘When the Covid19 situation hit, I started to think about what I could do to keep my team busy and provide something that the local community could enjoy. Our experience of running large screen events such as movies and sports screenings meant that we could hit the ground running and a partnership with a beautiful local venue like Hatfield House made perfect sense.

‘There is so much space at this venue so social distancing is very easy and the massive screen size means spectacular viewing from wherever your allocated space is. Parking is also plentiful, and free.

‘It’s great to see families and friends gathering outside in this beautiful setting with a picnic to watch some wonderful movies in the open air.

‘The wellbeing sessions of fitness, sunrise yoga and dance are also going down very well too – providing a way to exercise and feel good in a group session once again, but in a completely safe space.

‘With the weather set to be sunny for a while I look forward to seeing everyone over the next few weeks.’

The Screen Space runs until 2 August.

For a full programme of events and to book tickets go to https://thescreen.space.