There was a special anniversary to celebrate this week as the Eden Shopping Centre in High Wycombe turned 15 years old.

The complex officially opened its doors for the first time on Thursday, March 13 2008 and has seen hundreds of thousands of people, both who live in Bucks or visitors to the county, explore the mega building.

Eden’s Marketing Manager, Rebecca Gomme, said “From new store openings and ground-breaking events to community initiatives and competitions, we’ve had so many amazing moments that it was impossible to cover them all!

“We have rounded up some of our personal favourites and we hope you enjoy taking a trip down memory lane as much as we have.”

To celebrate the occasion, here are 15 separate stories from 15 different events that have taken place at the shopping centre.

Can you remember any of these events? If so, let us know! The article is on the Bucks Free Press website so feel free to leave us a comment!

2008:

The story begins.

It took 30 months to complete the construction of Eden and in the first year of trading it propelled High Wycombe to one of the top 50 shopping destinations in Britain.

2009:

The brand new Eden website was launched.

2010:

Eden features its fashion finesse with its first catwalk and shares the love with shoppers by offering free hugs to all.

2011:

Titan the robot proves popular with Pops as Eden celebrates Father’s Day with its Dad’s are Heroes event.

2012:

Eden’s fashion show is bigger and more popular than ever. Lasting a whole week, thousands of stylish shoppers picked up tips for summer treats.

2013:

Mayor of High Wycombe, Chauhdry Shafique MBE, chooses Eden as the location for his innovative ‘Swishing Party’ fundraiser in support of The Mayor’s Appeal, One Can Trust and Child Bereavement UK.

2014:

Eden Shoppers are bowled over as leisure giant Hollywood Bowl bursts onto the High Wycombe entertainment scene.

2015:

The High Wycombe Shopmobility annual charity pancake race returns to Eden with Noodle Nation flipping their way to first place.

2016:

TK Maxx opened a full range, dual level store; Toys UK mascot Freya paid a visit and was greeted by some very excited children; kids were transformed into mini Picasso’s to paint a portrait for Dad for Father’s Day, and finally Kids Corner transported visitors to an exotic rainforest for Eden’s summer carnival.

2017:

As part of an April Fools Day prank, Gordon Ramsay, Boy George and Keith Lemon lookalikes roamed around Eden, surprising unexpected shoppers.

2018:

High Wycombe met Hollywood as a Drive-in Cinema came to Eden. The free event showcased family favourite films such as Disney’s Toy Story and Moana, Jumanji, Hook, Back to the Future and Grease.

2019:

Visitors were invited to come along to Eden’s two-day lifestyle event at The Rose Room, a fun pop-up where pink took centre stage in this Instagram-worthy showroom. Guests could pamper their senses with inspirational talks and showcases from an expert fashion, beauty and lifestyle panel.

2020:

Swinging in to Valentine’s Day, Eden teamed up with Krispy Kreme to give away five Valentine’s doughnuts a day to shoppers who shared a photo on Eden’s Love Heart selfie swing.

2021:

In support of One Great Day, Eden launched ‘Win the Window’, giving shoppers the chance to win a prize bundle worth thousands. Eden raised an impressive £1800 from shopper donations.

2022:

After coming out of Covid restrictions, Eden returned to a jam-packed year of fun. Kicking off the event schedule was History of Video Games, an immersive video game experience for the whole family.

2023:

During February half term this year, Eden welcomed some of DC’s most iconic Superheroes. Shoppers could pose for selfies with statues or meet-and-greet Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman.

Local footballing heroes Garath McCleary and Jack Grimmer from Wycombe Wanderers FC also made a special appearance at Eden, with fans forming a queue in excitement.

This led to one person supporting the Adams Park club and attending their matches after the meet and greet in February of this year.