BBC News | TV AND RADIO | TV dinosaurs theme park planned

BBC Worldwide and Hyper Entertainment have entered into a partnership to develop a Walking with Dinosaurs ride.

Currently in development, the proposed attraction will be licensed to theme park operators around the world, ready for proposed openings in Autumn 2002.

The attraction will be designed to give customers a "real-life" experience of dinosaurs with an interactive post-ride show.

The theme of the ride is based on the BBC's award-winning, international hit TV series Walking with Dinosaurs, which attracted a global audience of more than 360 million to date.

It is the most successful documentary series ever shown on the BBC.

'Tremendously excited'

BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm of the BBC, formed in 1994 to maximise the value of the BBC's programme and publishing assets for the benefit of the licence payer.

We are thrilled to be working with BBC Worldwide on taking an incredible show and creating an exciting attraction that will be fun for all ages

Mike Swinney, CEO of Hyper Entertainment
Kevin Harrington, Director of Global Marketing for BBC Worldwide said: "This deal represents the first of its kind for the BBC and we are tremendously excited to be working with Hyper Entertainment.

"Their investment in the project and experience in the market, combined with our brand equity will ensure the success of the new venture."

Walking with Dinosaurs: global audience of 360m to date
Hyper Entertainment, formerly Sony Development Corp, is a creator, manager and marketer of "intellectual properties", through interactive entertainment in the form of multimedia, interactive rides and licensed products.

They are best known for their Hyper Bowl centres, of which there are 22 in the United States, one in Japan and one in Canada.

'Fun and exciting'

They also developed attractions for the Beatles' Yellow Submarine, and Bag One Arts - The Art of John Lennon.

Mike Swinney, CEO of Hyper Entertainment, added: "We are thrilled to be working with BBC Worldwide on taking an incredible show and creating an exciting attraction that will be fun for all ages."

"We believe that the success of the Walking with Dinosaurs series and the compelling nature of the subject matter will make for an incredibly fun and exciting attraction at premier locations around the world."

Tim Haines, Series Producer of Walking with Dinosaurs, will have creative input on the project.


		^^ Back to top News Front Page \| World \| UK \| UK Politics \| Business \| Sci/Tech \| Health \| Education \| Entertainment \| Talking Point \| In Depth \| AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> \| To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII\|News Sources\|Privacy