intu Lakeside creates giant 50 foot ‘sun’ to extend the summer

20 Sep intu Lakeside creates giant 50 foot ‘sun’ to extend the summer

Britain’s hottest summer on record may now have passed, but a giant 50-foot artificial sun is being installed at intu Lakeside on 29 September in a bid to extend the summer and make people happier.

The glowing, bright orange sphere which took 12 weeks to build, has a 15-metre circumference and shines as brightly as 12,000 lightbulbs. Its installation follows intu’s happiness survey, which reveals that four in five people in Essex (81 per cent) feel happier when it’s sunny.

The artificial sun has been modelled on a photograph captured by NASA and will be shining inside intu Lakeside during its tour of 11 intu centres across the country as part of the shopping centre owner’s pledge to make shoppers smile. There will be a special ‘Sunny Spot’ at intu Lakeside for people to sit back on deck chairs and bathe in the sun with ice creams and mocktails being handed out to lucky shoppers.

According to the intu Happiness Survey, one in four people in Essex (26 per cent) say 2018 has been their happiest summer in memory despite the economic uncertainty, with a third (31 per cent) crediting the sunshine for their increased happiness levels.

The research from intu also revealed that over two-thirds of people living in the UK (69 per cent) feel happier in the summer than they do in the winter, with sunshine (27 per cent), longer days (24 per cent), summer holidays (16 per cent) and more outdoor activity (15 per cent) the top reasons given. 80 per cent say the much needed summer rays also make them feel healthier.