Bingo is back – Mecca Bingo reopens & celebrates 60th anniversary

Mecca is bringing bingo back in England, Scotland and Wales and will open its clubs to customers on Monday 17 May – promising to do so with even more fun and entertainment.

Reopening venues is an even bigger deal for Mecca as May 2021 marks its 60th year of being a part of British towns and cities, and at the heart of local communities.

Mecca venues have been a fundamental part of the community throughout its history. Opening its doors in 1961, with the first club in Streatham, London, the momentous diamond anniversary will be celebrated throughout this year by bingo lovers everywhere and will see the traditional bingo game include new formats, ways to win and live entertainment with further plans to unveil more new concepts and ways to play throughout 2021 as part of its birthday year.

After a tough year for the high street, all eyes are on the leisure sector to drive people back into our towns. With new and immersive experience at the top of people’s lists, Mecca is leading the evolution of entertainment in the bingo space. A recent survey conducted by Mecca Bingo* revealed that people were primarily looking to make up for a year of missed socialising and want a safe place to meet up with friends that also offers value for money.

Mecca also predicts that after a year of restrictions, it will see a wider and younger audience attracted to the fun and fast paced experience of bingo. With people looking for new ways to spend their leisure time they can enjoy a game whilst spending time with the friends they haven’t been able to socialise with for many months.

Safety is still key

And Mecca is striving to get the experience economy back on its feet by leading the way in getting people back into venues safely once again. The original bingo brand, Mecca, has employed extensive safety measures throughout the pandemic. The uniquely large and spacious bingo halls and lounges provide a safe and reassuring way to socialise and the added bonus of different session times throughout the day means that there are not necessarily the busy bottle neck periods that can occur in other leisure or hospitality venues. A recent addition to the schedule to further support this is hourly bingo with new games starting every hour, bringing increased flexibility to the daily line up.

Customer feedback has been very positive around the changes introduced – in summer 2020, over 90 per cent of Mecca customers reported feeling safe in Mecca clubs and that their expectations were exceeded in terms of safety measures**.

Mecca leads on bingo innovation

Whilst celebrating its 60th anniversary, Mecca is looking to the next 60 years of bingo and continuing to lead the market with innovation – new formats of bingo and ways to play will make the game even more accessible. This comes alongside the chance to win spectacular amounts of money, with a £2 million prize pool in May alone as well as bingo at 1960s prices – just 60p for your book of bingo games. As ever, the guest experience is the top priority for all Mecca staff, welcoming customers back after a long period of absence with even more focus on entertainment and experience. All of this is completed with new additions to the food and drinks menu – aiming to make Mecca a night out that has everything you’d want in one place.

John Dyson, National Operations Director at Mecca Bingo, said: “We’re expecting this to be the year of bingo, and we’re coming back in style! People are going to expect a lot more from their leisure spend and are keen to find new social experiences that are value for money and packed with entertainment. Bingo ticks every box and we expect to see high demand from a new audience who want to have some fun in a safe, spacious and welcoming environment. As such we’ve really ramped up plans to evolve the bingo experience in ways that will appeal to a new audience.”