Solar Terrace opened in rooftop carpark of shopping centre Saulės Miestas
On May 26, 2012, Solar Terrace was opened on the roof of shopping centre Saulės Miestas: the first and only multifunctional open-air recreation zone in Šiauliai, with €225,000 all in all invested in its development by the shopping centre.
Solar Terrace extends over the area of 4,000m2 and there is room for a 600m2 playground for children, a cinema, a café and a separate space for sports and entertainment events. A great advantage of the multifunctional space is undoubtedly the possibility of integrating all the diverse activities into one space, offering the people of Šiauliai wonderful opportunities to have fun with their entire families.
Nearly 8,000 visitors of the shopping centre took part in the opening festivities of the Solar Terrace on May 26. A wide range of entertainment events were provided in the various parts of the terrace: visitors could watch movies, exercise and play petanque, and all of this completely free of charge. The events will take place all through June as part of the entertainment programme “Open Stage”. The opening festival featured a bartender show, songs of a show project “Ball and Chains“ performed by Jurgis Didžiulis and Erica Jennings, and a concert “Colours of Bubbles” by the Šiauliai orchestra. After the concert there was a screening of the direct broadcast of the Eurovision song contest final concert.
Free entertainment will be provided on the Solar Terrace all through the summer up to September 15. Visitors of the Solar Terrace can daily enjoy all kinds of excellent entertainment events. On Fridays there will be concerts of the “Open Stage” programme, open for any musicians and bands of Šiauliai, and on Saturdays young talents will have a chance to demonstrate their achievements on stage. Every Saturday free public exercise activities will be arranged under the guidance of professional coaches. On Sundays visitors can take part in family petanque championships or go to „Beautiful Things Market“ to buy or sell something. Two professional petanque grounds have been prepared on the Solar Terrace: the only such in all Šiauliai. While the children are having fun on the playground, their parents can relax in the recreational area or in the terrace café.
The Solar Terrace is equipped with the only LED-screen in Lithuania that can be used for screening movies in the open air. Free screenings are offered daily. The repertoire of movies is truly diverse, ranging from funny cartoons for children to serious dramas for adult viewers. In the cinema area visitors can also watch direct broadcasts of the European football championship games and the London Olympics.
According to the data of the Statistics Department for 2012 there are 119,095 inhabitants in the city of Šiauliai. About 126,000 people visit the shopping centre Saulės Miestas every week. The objective of opening the Solar Terrace on the 3rd floor of the shopping centre Saulės Miestas was to attract even more visitors to the centre and provide a diverse range of various entertainment forms and services.
Shopping centre Saulės Miestas was opened on March 14, 2007. It was the first multifunctional complex in the Northern Lithuania and the first shopping centre with an integrated bus terminal in the entire Lithuania. The general area of the shopping centre is about 50,000m2, including 26,862m2 used by the shopping centre and 19,896m2 for the leased area. The owner of the shopping centre Saulės Miestas is the largest real estate development company in the Baltic countries E.L.L. Real Estate.