Leamington residents and visitors invited to enjoy a range of events as the town hosts the Commonwealth Games this summer

Visitors to Leamington residents are being invited to enjoy a wide range of events, trails, offers and entertainment as the town centre is transformed to accommodate the Commonwealth Games and other events this summer.

Over the next two weeks, the town is expecting an increase in visitors as people come to enjoy the Lawn Bowls and Para Lawn Bowls competitions in Victoria Park and the festival site with a giant screen in the Pump Room Gardens.

BID Leamington has created a range of initiatives to welcome and support visitors and residents, and encourage them to explore and enjoy town centre businesses while they are in Royal Leamington Spa.

The Great Leamington Flag Trail involves trailblazers finding up to 64 flags representing the Commonwealth countries and nations which will be placed outside different businesses in the town centre.

Once a minimum of eight flags have been located and named on the entry form, participants can enter a draw to win fantastic prizes donated by local businesses.

As an added bonus, naming additional sets of eight flags counts as additional entries, and fully completed forms will be entered into the grand prize draw for a £100 ‘foods of the world’ hamper.

Trail forms are available from the upper level of the Royal Priors Shopping Centre, the festival site at the Pump Room Gardens and from www.royal-leamington-spa.co.uk.

The closing date for entries is August 10.

The Little Book of Offers is also now available in Royal Priors Shopping Centre, the festival site at the Pump Room Gardens, and the Visitor Information Centre and is packed with 60 money-saving coupons at a wide range of independent and high street businesses throughout Leamington town centre.

BID Leamington has also produced a Taste Leamington Guide listing all of the fabulous palaces to eat in town, and the town’s ‘butterfly hosts’ will be back with #LoveLeam cotton shopping bags to distribute at key times.

Pedi-bikes have returned to Leamington.

Two bikes will be based at the Pump Rooms and surrounds to help visitors access the town centre and offer a different experience of seeing and exploring the town

In preparing for Art in the Park on August 13 and 14, an updated Art in the Spa Guide and Street Art Trail are now available to encourage visitors to call into the town’s amazing art galleries and explore the wider creative offer throughout the town.

Stephanie Kerr, executive director at BID Leamington, said the initiatives had been organised to make everyone’s visit to the town throughout the summer as memorable and enjoyable as possible.

She said: “We wanted to enhance the Commonwealth Games experience for Warwickshire and West Midlands residents and visitors from across the world who are coming to Leamington maybe for the first time.

“The generosity of town centre businesses never fails to surprise me and their support for the Great Leamington Flag Trail and the Little Book of Offers has been fantastic.

“This promises to be an unforgettable few weeks for those connected with Leamington.

"The BID team has been working hard to enrich the experiences of everyone who visits – and hopefully there will be plenty of return visits in the future as a legacy of the Commonwealth Games.”