Efforts to bring people back to downtown Minneapolis continue as the city this week kicks off a marketing campaign specific to summer 2026.

At a press conference Wednesday, Minneapolis Downtown Council president Adam Duininck described the campaign, called “Catch Up With Downtown,” as a way to advertise a busier-than-usual summer downtown, as well as to market businesses hurt by Operation Metro Surge. He said this will be the city’s “most dynamic and active summer in quite a while.”

City leaders, including Mayor Jacob Frey, highlighted community programming, monthly closures of a Nicollet Mall block for pop-up activities, as well as a lineup of major events, some projected to draw global attendees. The campaign was launched by the Downtown Council and the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District.

“This summer is about bringing people back downtown to have a good time—to go on a date, to have a drink,” Frey said, noting this summer will feature “more than 1,000” events.

Programming this summer focuses on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, as they remain the busiest in-office workdays. (Most of the largest downtown employers now reportedly have return-to-office policies in place.)

Specifically, Tuesdays will feature fitness classes presented by the YMCA and CorePower. Wednesdays will feature food trucks and live music at Peavey Plaza, movies at The Commons, and outdoor activities at North Plaza. Thursdays will feature performances of the downtown “Pianos on Parade”—a series of pianos painted by local artists and sponsored by PNC Bank—along with bike workshops at Nicollet Community Space and Target Field Station movie nights.

Big, new events are also coming downtown, set to include the Prince Celebration Block Party and Sing-Along (June 6) outside the Prince mural downtown; a jumbo-screening of FIFA World Cup matches in Peavey Plaza (select dates between June 11 and 27); and WWE SuperSlam (Aug. 1-2) at U.S. Bank Stadium. (The Twin Cities’ sports commission, Minnesota Sports and Events, helped secure the NFL draft for Minneapolis in 2028, in addition to the WWE event.)

On June 1, Minneapolis also becomes the first U.S. city to host “Beyond Walls,” a global art project by French artist SAYPE that begins under the Eiffel Tower, according to Park & Recreation Board superintendent Al Bangoura.

“Catch Up With Downtown” includes a mobile-exclusive “passport,” too. Users of the web-only app earn chances to win prizes by scanning QR codes at businesses downtown. Prizes include $25 gift cards to downtown retailers, a pass to the observation deck in the Foshay, a pair of Twins tickets in the visitor dugout box, an “all-inclusive package” to a First Avenue show, and a stay in a Grand Deluxe King Room at Hotel Ivy.

The Downtown Council also compiles retail and restaurant deals on its website as part of the campaign. “We call around to the businesses to see if there are some discounts or happy hour prices or certain deals on certain days,” Duininck said.

Finally, the plan is to move forward with an idea to close traffic on Nicollet Mall, between 9th and 10th Streets. This will take place the third Wednesday of each month this summer (June 17, July 15, and Aug. 19). “There’s been a lot of talk about closing down Nicollet Mall to the buses—pedestrianizing it,” Duininck said. “We’re going to do a little bit of that, a little bit of a demonstration of what it would look like to have Nicollet Mall closed for a block.” On June 17, the series kicks off with DJ Omri and the Minneapolis Vintage Market. “We’re going to talk with the mayor and the city council about where we go next with it.”