The Chief Executive of Heathrow, John Holland Kaye, has just written to me:
Guy Opperman MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA 6th August 2014
Dear Mr Opperman,
Congratulations in playing your part in our #YourGreatBritain competition and securing the North East a £1 million advertising campaign at Heathrow. Despite losing the lead with just 48 hours to go, thanks to your support, the North East pulled together and showed not only to us here at Heathrow, but to the entire nation, that it is a region built on pride.
Heathrow – the UK’s only hub airport - is one of the busiest airports in the world, with around 73 million passengers travelling through every year. We are delighted that with 7 daily flights from Heathrow to Newcastle, we are able to connect businesses in the North East to their global markets and give easy access for overseas tourists to enjoy the incredible landscape, history and culture that the North East has to offer.
With this competition, we wanted to show our commitment to delivering growth for the whole of the country. In March, Heathrow began a 12-month advertising partnership with VisitBritain where we gave £4 million of advertising space to inspire visitors to explore the UK. The first three months of the partnership promoted the previously flood hit areas of Devon, Cornwall, Llanddwyn Island (Wales Coast Path) and Glastonbury, to show they were back on track and open for business. The second round of adverts that went live in June were chosen to coincide with the Tour de France Grand Départ, illustrating Yorkshire’s celebrated countryside, as well as the region’s retail and architectural strengths.
For this third round of adverts, we let the public decide which region would feature. In a two week competition, the North East fought off the North West, Midlands and Northern Ireland to secure £1m worth of free advertising at Heathrow. The North East will now see four advertisements showing its breadth and beauty presented across digital screens in all terminals at Heathrow from the end of August until the end of November.
Thank you for your support, Heathrow is a national asset and, if we get approval for expansion, we will ensure that the whole of the UK feels the benefit, not just London and the South East. For more information, visit http://your.heathrow.com/britainsheathrow/
Yours sincerely, John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive
Fuller details here: http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-east-voters-win-region-7563741
For my part I cannot wait to go to Heathrow and see the Wall on display!!
