MEMBERS' NEWS
FESTIVE CELEBRATIONS ON THE RIVER THAMES WITH CITY CRUISES
01/07/2010
City Cruises is offering a host of festive packages on the River Thames. Whether you are looking for an unusual venue for a Christmas party or somewhere to celebrate the arrival of 2011 with Big Ben s...
FESTIVE CELEBRATIONS ON THE RIVER THAMES WITH CITY CRUISES
01/07/2010
City Cruises is offering a host of festive packages on the River Thames. Whether you are looking for an unusual venue for a Christmas party or somewhere to celebrate the arrival of 2011 with Big Ben striking midnight in the background then City Cruises has the answer.
The special Christmas Showboat, will be operating every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening throughout December. Guests will be welcomed onboard with a drink and as they cruise down to the Thames Barrier they will enjoy a four course meal with wine. On the way back to Westminster Pier there will be a cabaret singer and plenty of time for dancing. The public price of £75 includes half a bottle of wine per person.
The Christmas day lunch cruise offers a carefree way of celebrating the special day. During the leisurely cruise along the Thames guests can enjoy an aperitif followed by a sumptuous four course meal complete with all the Christmas trimmings including a singer to set the festive mood. The public price of this cruise is £105 per person.
On the New Year's Eve Buffet and Dance Cruise guests can Celebrate the arrival of 2011 as they dance the night away. Alternatively the more lavish New Year's Eve Gala and Dinner Dance Cruise offers the chance to celebrate in style with a glass of champagne as midnight strikes. Public prices start at £150 per person.
City Cruises' boats can also be chartered for private functions.
Trade rates are available. For further information telephone 020 77 400 400 or visit www.citycruises.com.
Peace Monument honouring John Lennon to be gifted to the Beatles Story and City of Liverpool
17/05/2010
American art sensation, 19 year-old Lauren Voiers is creating a monument to world icon John Lennon and his message of peace.
Commissioned by California-based organisation Global Peace Initiative, t...
Peace Monument honouring John Lennon to be gifted to the Beatles Story and City of Liverpool
17/05/2010
American art sensation, 19 year-old Lauren Voiers is creating a monument to world icon John Lennon and his message of peace.
Commissioned by California-based organisation Global Peace Initiative, the monument will be presented to the world’s leading permanent Beatles-themed visitor attraction, the Beatles Story in Liverpool, UK, and will be sited in a significant position within the city.
John’s son Julian Lennon will unveil the monument to the world at a high profile ceremony in October 2010, the month his father would have turned 70. US artist Lauren Voiers has been asked by Julian to incorporate, within the monument’s design, a white feather - which to Julian is a symbol of both his father's spirit and of peace.
This is the second in a series of monuments commissioned by Global Peace Initiative. Their aim is to place a peace monument in each of the world's seven continents and spread artistic symbols of peace across the globe. The first monument was presented to the President of Singapore on behalf of the people of Asia in 2005.
Liverpool, UK has been chosen as the European location for this second monument, dedicated to the spirit of one of the city’s most famous sons. The monument will act as a place of pilgrimage for people wishing to remember one of the world’s most influential icons, complementing the Strawberry Fields memorial in New York.
Lauren’s monument, which she entitled ‘Peace & Harmony’, will be unveiled in Liverpool, UK during the city’s John Lennon Tribute Season which will take place from 9 October - 9 December 2010. This extensive season of cultural events will celebrate what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday and marks the 30th anniversary of his untimely death. The unveiling of the monument will generate enormous interest from around the world with European dignitaries and celebrities being invited to the ceremony.
Artist Lauren Voiers said, “I’m excited to have been asked to create a Global Peace Initiative monument dedicated to John Lennon. Much of my artwork is greatly influenced by the ideals of peace and harmony among all people of the world and I believe music is the soul of peace. It’s truly an honour to spread a message of peace across Europe through my sculpture. The fact it will be located in Liverpool, the home town of such a music legend, is a great thrill for me personally.”
Jerry Goldman, Managing Director of the Beatles Story said, “The UK has long needed a monument to John Lennon which acts as a counter balance to the Strawberry Fields memorial in New York’s Central Park. We’re incredibly excited about Global Peace Initiative’s gift to the city. It is the perfect opportunity for us to provide the world with a permanent reminder of John Lennon in the city where his spirit was created.”
Ben Valenty, Director of Global Peace Initiative said, “We have been searching for an appropriate location for the second Global Peace monument for sometime. The creativity and history that surrounds Liverpool make it an ideal destination for Europe’s art piece. Lauren’s work is exceptional and we’re very excited that this commission is underway.”
Media enquiries: Claire@smudgepr.co.uk ;Rowan Atkins M: 07834 158 725 rowan@rowanatkins.co.uk
St Paul’s Cathedral launches major new art exhibition
13/05/2010
An art exhibition entitled “Images of St Paul’s in the 21st Century” will be held from 21st September to 15th October 2010 in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral. In the first exhibition of its k...
St Paul’s Cathedral launches major new art exhibition
13/05/2010
An art exhibition entitled “Images of St Paul’s in the 21st Century” will be held from 21st September to 15th October 2010 in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral. In the first exhibition of its kind at St Paul’s, more than 50 artists are producing original works especially for the exhibition in connection with the 300th anniversary of the Cathedral’s completion.
There will be a broad and eclectic range of interpretations of St Paul’s place in the life and rapidly changing topography of London. All of the pictures will be for sale, with the project’s entire charitable proceeds going to the St Paul’s Cathedral Foundation, which supports the maintenance and mission of St Paul’s.
The Patron of the exhibition is the Right Reverend Graeme Knowles, Dean of St Paul’s.
Participating artists include: Varsha Bhatia, Peter Brown, Paul Butler, Ricardo Cinalli, Maurice Cockrill, John Doyle, Anthony Eyton, James Hart-Dyke, Patrick Hughes, Peter Kelly, John King, Carl Laubin, David Mach, Luke Martineau, June Mendoza, Robert Neffson, David Parfitt, Jonathan Pike, Francisco Rangel, Joyce Rowsell, Gerard Stamp, Francis Terry, Anthony Whishaw, Antonia Williams and Tom Young.
The full list of participating artists and additional details will be released closer to the time.
For further information please contact:
Hannah Talbot, Press & Communications Officer
0207 246 8321 hannah@stpaulscathedral.org.uk
UNIQUE NEW CAMPAIGN FOR FIRST EVER TV ADVERTISING FROM INDEPENDENT HOTELS GROUP BEST WESTERN
29/04/2010
HOTELS WITH PERSONALITY
BEST WESTERN, the UK’s most unique portfolio of independent hotels, is advertising on television this April for the first time in its 30 year history as the group r...
UNIQUE NEW CAMPAIGN FOR FIRST EVER TV ADVERTISING FROM INDEPENDENT HOTELS GROUP BEST WESTERN
29/04/2010
HOTELS WITH PERSONALITY
BEST WESTERN, the UK’s most unique portfolio of independent hotels, is advertising on television this April for the first time in its 30 year history as the group relaunches with new positioning ‘Hotels with Personality’.
The new strapline was developed to highlight Best Western’s character and independence. It will differentiate the group from the formulaic chains offering generic hotel stays in the UK.
The new positioning is part of a broader marketing campaign including direct mail, PR, social media, experiential activity, online and press advertising and a total relaunch of www.bestwestern.co.uk along with small but all important changes to the hotel experience. The 30 second adverts will be run on all terrestrial channels plus the multi channels across digital and satellite. The intensive campaign will run for three weeks, breaking on 15 April during Coronation Street.
The TV adverts will feature a number of hotels and will celebrate Best Western staff in the beautiful and varied setting in which each of the hotels is found. Best Western is the largest group of independently owned hotels in the UK and the whole campaign is focussed on celebrating this independence and the unique, individual elements of the group.
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The campaign will also see a partnership with Visit England to communicate the rebrand message to the 600, 000 people interested in travel on their database.
Experiential activity to celebrate the personalities and talent of the people of Britain will also take place with the Britain’s Got Personality roadshow. A talent portal, www.hotelswithpersonality.com, has been launched to harness talent related conversation and drive entries to the UK-wide talent roadshow.
The Britain’s Got Personality roadshow will visit five UK cities – York (17 April), Edinburgh (18 April), Cardiff (24 April), Birmingham (25 April) – and culminate in London’s Covent Garden on May 1. It aims to find members of the public in each area with big personalities. They will be invited on stage to show off their unique talent with a mini performance.
The social media campaign will build on the recent success of Best Western’s Facebook and Twitter campaign to give away a weekend break every half hour for 24 hours.
Finally, a new website has been launched to reflect the new branding, www.bestwestern.co.uk which will sit alongside the talent portal for the experiential activity, www.hotelswithpersonality.com
- ENDS -
For more information please contact Mikhaila Brentnall@bestwestern.co.uk or call 01904 695426.
VISIT LONDON BLASTS PREVIOUS BUSINESS RECORDS AT EIBTM 2009
10/12/2009
Visit London and its 30 stand partners at EIBTM expect to receive record enquiries following an extremely successful show in Barcelona . The record number of stand partners and over 150 appoint...
VISIT LONDON BLASTS PREVIOUS BUSINESS RECORDS AT EIBTM 2009
10/12/2009
Visit London and its 30 stand partners at EIBTM expect to receive record enquiries following an extremely successful show in Barcelona . The record number of stand partners and over 150 appointments meant that the Visit London business team saw record numbers of event enquiries coming in for London. The Visit London team and partners also surpassed previous records by meeting over 900 people over the three-day show.
This year was also the first business trade show to be attended by a member of the Mayor of London’s Office. Director of Marketing and Head of London’s new Business Tourism Group Daniel Ritterband attended the show for the first time.
Ritterband said of the show: “It was a great pleasure to attend EIBTM and extremely useful in giving me further insight into the needs of global event planners. By meeting so many visitors to the show I was able to understand exactly what they require from a city when they plan to bring in business meetings and events. The Visit London stand was extremely successful and received record visitor figures to both our London destination presentations and to our 30 partner areas. By visiting the show I was able to really understand what the key goals should be for London’s new Business Tourism Group moving forward in 2010.”
Barbara Jamison, Sales Manager, Europe at Visit London added: “EIBTM is a key industry event for Visit London and it has proved year on year to be a key driver for events in the UK capital. Our target in 2009 was to beat last year’s figures of £52 Million business enquiries, and following a very busy few days of appointments and stand activity, we expect to at least double that amount in confirmed business this year. We saw over 150 pre-appointment meetings and there were some very clear countries which were very interested in London – the top ones included the US, Belgium, Italy, Sweden and France.”
Visit London’s stand featured over 30 London partners, a rise of 12 more partners compared with last year’s stand. These ranged from some of London’s biggest venues such as ExCeL London, Barbican, the QEII Conference Centre, through to unique events spaces such as the London Eye, Brocket Hall and One Great George Street, through to outstanding hotels like Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, Lancaster London and Jumeirah Carlton Tower.
Sue Etherington, acting commercial director, the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre said: “In these difficult times, it was encouraging to be involved in such a busy stand at EIBTM with lots of potential clients and actual events to be placed! Good organisation and support from Visit London ensured a very useful three days – well worth the time out of the office with approximately one million pounds worth of enquiries received.”
Lisa Fisher, Sales & Marketing Manager from One Great George Street said: This was the first year that One Great George Street exhibited at EIBTM or internationally, so this was seen as opportunity to introduce the venue to overseas buyers. The show was very busy and I am glad to have been involved. The number of hosted buyers joining us on the VL stand was impressive and having walked around the show appeared one of the most popular!”
The über cool Miramar Barcelona restaurant which is set within Barcelona’s mountain area was the location for a stylish networking evening hosted by Visit London on Wednesday 02 December. The evening showcased a slice of London’s modern and vibrant style and culture with beat boxing and break dancing competition.
