Trafalgar Square lion comes to life to promote London over the festive period
01 December 08
To mark the start of a major new promotional campaign, Visit London will bring to life one of the lions of Trafalgar Square to talk about all the great reasons to visit the capital over Christmas and New Year.
Legend has it that if Big Ben chimes 13 times, the lion statues in Trafalgar Square will awake from their slumber. From 4-9pm on Friday 5 December Londoners and visitors to the city will witness the magic unfold before their eyes, as Visit London breathes life into one of London’s most iconic statues.
For the first time ever, specialised animation, projections and audio feed will enable the 141-year-old lion statue to come to life and talk about the many things to see and do in London over the festive period.
Visit London’s Interim Chief Executive, Sally Chatterjee, said:
“London is the best place in the world to be at this time of year, with the famous West End lights, fantastic seasonal theatre shows, ice rinks in amazing locations and a host of exciting winter events. A talking lion in Trafalgar Square is a great way to bring to life the magic of the festive period in the capital.”
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:
“There’s never been a better time to come to London and this imaginative campaign is a perfect example of the innovation and creativity that makes the capital the most exciting city on earth. The lions in Trafalgar Square are recognised around the world and this is an inspired fusion of the high-tech and our heritage. What a great way to show off the city’s historic monuments and highlight its funky, contemporary edge to the world.”
The talking lion will help to promote Shop West End VIP Weekend on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 December, when shoppers can enjoy entertainment, celebrity appearances and special in-store promotions, and shop traffic-free all day on Saturday.
Jace Tyrrell, New West End Company, said:
“Shop West End VIP Day is London’s biggest traffic-free shopping event and really kick starts Christmas in the capital. Over 100 stores will be pulling out all the stops to make shoppers feel like celebrities with free in-store refreshments, spectacular fashion shows, loads of sales promotions and live music.”
The lion’s voice has been recorded by London actor Shaun Escoffery, who plays the role of Mufasa in Disney’s award-winning musical The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. Now in its 10th triumphant year in London, this acclaimed production continues to enthral audiences of all ages.
The talking lion marks the launch of a major new campaign announced by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, last week. The Mayor has approved an increase of nearly £750,000 to Visit London campaigns aimed at stimulating visits to the capital between December 2008 and March 2009.
The private/public partnership, totalling £3.25m, will be led by Visit London and funded by the London Development Agency.
The London Development Agency’s CEO, Peter Rogers, said:
“Tourism plays a big part in London’s economy and its global success. Even in the current economic downturn, we have a great opportunity now to promote London as a world-class destination that offers first-class value for money. We are supporting this campaign to attract new visitors and business travellers and to market London as the best possible place for people to visit, study and invest.”
The campaign includes:
• A promotional push with the New West End Company to encourage shopping over the festive period, in particular supporting VIP [Very Important Pedestrian] Day on 6-7 December when Oxford and Regent Streets are closed to traffic.
• A campaign with Superbreak to promote short-breaks to London, highlighting quality packages at great value rates.
• Joint marketing with several airlines that fly to London from Europe to encourage leisure and business visitors to make the most of the exchange rate by having a value break in the capital.
• A campaign featuring Radisson Edwardian hotels aimed at value-conscious leisure and business visitors from North America, promoting flight offers and highlighting that London provides great value.
The campaign will feature the strapline “2009 reasons to Visit London” and will use a variety of media to communicate the message that London is the place to be over the next few months.
Tube and rail posters, mini-guides and advertorials, as well as national and international print, radio and online advertising will promote London to an audience whose combined spending from overnight stays alone was worth nearly £6bn to London’s visitor economy last year.
Read more about the talking lion at visitlondon.com/talkinglion
For more information on what London has to offer visit visitlondon.com
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