Aiming to rival the likes of Disneyland Paris BBC Worldwide (the corporate arm of the BBC) has recently signed a deal which will see it partnering with Paramount Pictures to open and movie and TV themed resort, complete with hotel, rides, and everything you’d expect from a huge theme park, in Swanscombe, Kent.
The £2 billion project (currently known as The London Paramount Entertainment Resort – hopefully it’ll be titled something catchier when it opens) is due to feature a range of attractions based on some of Paramount’s biggest hits; with potential hits including Star Trek, Transformers, Shrek and Indiana Jones; and could now include a selection of BBC themed attractions; likely to include Doctor Who and Top Gear themes.
BBC officials are yet to confirm which TV shows will be developed into rides (as negotiations are still ongoing), but it’s a near certainty Doctor Who will take pride of place in the resort which will attempt to “combine the glamour of Hollywood with the best of British culture” (according to director of London Resort Company Holdings David Testa), and could also include themes based on Top Gear, Sherlock, Merlin, and more; fans have even begun calling for a Last of the Summer Wine ride where you could ride downhill in a bath.
Earlier in the year the Beeb tested the waters of theme park licensing, selecting a small number of its children’s TV programmes for inclusion in a ‘CBeebies Land’ attraction at Alton Towers, though the deal with the Paramount resort will be much larger in scale, and is projected to earn the BBC millions in licensing deals, which the company can then plough (at least partly) back into programme-making.
With plans to include an indoor water park, cinemas, restaurants, and hotels across a 400 acre site, the resort is aiming to not only provide a strong British alternative to Disneyland Paris, and “celebrate the very special place the BBC has in British culture” (according to BBC Worldwide director of live events Stephen Davies), but also attract upwards of 15 million visitors per year, when it plans to open in 2020.
Matt Wheeldon – @TheMattWheeldon.
Source: The Telegraph.
