Christmas in Leicester

We had official visitors from both China and Korea to the Town Hall last week.

Both groups were entranced by our Christmas tableaux in the Town Hall Square, depicting Paddington Bear and scenes from the Wind in the Willows.

Cameras were clicking away enthusiastically and pictures are likely to be featuring on Facebook or its equivalent all around the world !

Our Christmas lights are proving very popular again this year and on Wednesday December 2nd we welcome our pre Christmas tour of the Town Hall - open to all without the need to book in advance - starting at 2pm*. Then we have a huge variety of Christmas Concerts and Carol Concerts taking place over the next three weeks that I hope as many people as possible will be able to enjoy.

* For more information or to book a tour of the Town Hall, please contact Wyndham Price, Corporate Premises Manager on +44 (0)116 252 8055.

November marches on and still more visitors arrive in Leicester

The concert at the Athena last weekend starred Pacific pop icon Sarah Geronimo and attracted members of the Phillipino communities from Scotland, Ireland, London and all over the north of England.

This week we welcomed visitors from China to the Town Hall and they were very interested to learn of the role scientists at the University of Leicester had played in the discovery of genetic fingerprinting .

Later this week we are looking forward to a further visit from the Jamaican High Commissioner.

It is so encouraging to witness the growing number of visitors to our city and the work of our award winning Tourist Information Centre.

Unique art collection launched in Leicester

Visitors from all over the UK are expected to come to Leicester over the next few months to view the internationally renowned collection of early twentieth century German art at New Walk Museum and Art Gallery. This unique collection has just been augmented by a gift of a further 60 pictures from the collection of Leicester born Michael Brookes who attended the exhibition opening last weekend.

Also likely to attract musical visitors to Leicester from all over Britain is the Acoustic Avalon to be held at Leicester Racecourse on Saturday and Sunday November 14th and 15th. Sponsored by Sheehans of Leicester, who have just been awarded the Queens Award for industry, this event features acoustic guitarists from all over Europe and beyond. Featured artists include Chris Newman and Steve Lockwood, Gareth Pearson, Iain Archer, Julie Ellison and many more
For information and tickets visit www.sheehans.com

City appeals to visitors and students from overseas

Students are back in town for the new academic year and amongst them are many overseas students.

We met many of these at a reception in New Walk Museum recently and they included individuals from France, China, Japan, the United States, Nigeria, Ghana and many other countries. All seemed keen to explore Leicester and get to know the cultural and social scene.

More recently, many people from outside Leicester joined us for the Switch On of the Diwali Lights in Belgrave Road.

This week we are also entertaining a group of Dutch teachers from Rotterdam in the city, as well as another group of Bulgarian teachers from our twin city of Haskovo.

It is encouraging to find so many people from overseas visiting our city and taking a real interest in our history, our cultural diversity, our restaurants and our leisure centres.

We also encourage visitors to join our tours of the Town Hall on the first Wednesday of each month starting at the entrance to the Town Hall at 2pm. For more information or to book, please contact Wyndham Price, Corporate Premises Manager on +44 (0)116 252 8055.

Worldwide visitors enjoy city museums and festivals

Over the past 10 days I have met visitors to Leicester from Poland, Sweden, Austria and Australia - and of course we had a number of children from Chernobyl visit the city as well. Great attractions obviously include our city museums and the recent 'Seaside Special' event at the Abbey Pumping Station was hugely popular.

Thanks go to all the volunteers, many of whom got up before 7am on a Sunday morning to make the day such a success. Welcome too to our many visitors to the Navratri Festival.

A warm welcome for our visitors from Newfoundland

Had a great meeting today at the Town Hall with Don Coombs, the Mayor of Harbour Grace in Newfoundland. Don has been staying here in Leicester with his wife, family and 55 football players from Newfoundland and Labrador all enjoying training, playing and watching football in and around Leicestershire. Don was telling the Lady Mayoress and I how much they were all enjoying their stay in the city. The group liked the shopping and were full of praise for the quality of the food in various restaurants.

Now of course and in its twentieth year, we have the Castle Park Festival underway with a whole variety of events and activities on offer. I was delighted to perform the launch ceremony at Newarke Houses Museum last Friday evening and recommend a visit to the Castle Park Festival website.

Looking forward to festival season

I still continue to receive letters daily from people from all over the United Kingdom telling me how much they enjoyed the Special Olympics. It was certainly wonderful to talk to so many people visiting Leicester for the first time last month. Now we prepare for a fresh influx of visitors this weekend as people arrive for Summer Sundae, an event that has gained national and even international recognition in recent years. Once again we welcome all visitors to Leicester including the many who have come here to stay with families and friends. And of course looking ahead to the following weekend, we have the Castle Park Festival which I am looking forward to launching on Friday August 21st at the Newarke Houses Museum.

Welcoming visitors from UK and abroad

The past couple of weeks has seen record numbers of visitors to Leicester with the Special Olympics quickly followed by the Caribbean Carnival and the Rathayatra Festival. During these events, I met people from every corner of the UK here in the city, as well as visitors from Canada, India, New Zealand, Hungary and the United States. They all told me how much they were enjoying their time here and what a warm welcome they had received from local people.

Don't forget that if you are visiting Leicester or having visitors to stay, I shall be happy to meet you during a tour of the Town Hall which takes place on the first Wednesday of each month starting from 2pm. And it is absolutely free!

A chance for your visitors to meet the Lord Mayor

If you live in Leicester or Leicestershire and have plans for friends or family to stay with you over the next few weeks, a unique opportunity awaits.

To celebrate their stay in the city, the Lord Mayor has invited visitors staying with friends or relatives in the city to take tea with him at the Town Hall in Leicester at 3pm on 1 July 2009.

To register your interest for your visitors to attend this event, please email Leicester Shire Promotions with the following details:
Name of Leicester resident
Address
Telephone
Email
Number of visitors attending
Length of stay in Leicester (number of nights)

Please note, this information will be captured for security reasons only related to this particular event. Your data will not be used by Leicester Shire Promotions for any additional direct or third party promotions.

Celebrating city's musical talent

Had the privilege in June of seeing two of Leicester's finest musical groups in performance. And what magnificent performances they were.
Leicester Amateur Operatic Society's presentation of The Full Monty at Curve played to packed houses all through the second week in June to rapturous applause. The cast sang and danced throughout like true professionals.
I also got the chance this month to hear Leicester's own award-winning Lancaster Boys Choir singing in their own inimitable style.
This city is so rich in amateur musical talent. We need to celebrate it more.

A growing reputation for visitors

With traditional attractions such as our museums and the Space Centre now complemented by Curve and the Peepul Centre, we are beginning to notice more and more visitors to Leicester - and they certainly seem to like what they see.

Amongst them I have met several visitors over here from our twin city of Krefeld in Germany with which we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of our twinning agreement this year. These have included electrical apprentices on an exchange visit, a visiting fencing team and students currently undertaking work experience here in Leicester.

Lots of people also come here from various parts to visit family and friends in the city. They like our market and often rave about the wide range of restaurants and eating places in Leicester.

And if anyone is ever short of ideas of what to do, the Tourist Information Centre in Every Street now has a bright new look so why not pop in there yourself sometime and see what's on offer?