Meet the bluecoats helping to keep Hull on the map

For more than 10 years they have been the face and the spirit of Hull.

What started out as an army of volunteers to celebrate the 2017 City of Culture has become one of that event's greatest legacies.

Now, they have been shortlisted in Visit England's 2026 Superstar competition – a national award designed to highlight the dedication and passion of people working in tourism.

Trevor Sylvester, a volunteer since 2016, said: "Us volunteers bring a bit of magic. We get to go to some fantastic locations and venues. We've got everything."

Officially called the HEY Volunteers, the team of helpful guides in their bright blue jackets are now a familiar sight in locations and at events across East Yorkshire.

Having started out in Hull, Beverley and the surrounding area, they have now expanded to other towns, such as Bridlington and Goole.

Volunteer Michelle Li is looking forward to some of Hull's key maritime attractions reopening later this year after long refurbishment programmes.

"I feel so special and really it's an honour to do lots of shifts with the local museums and galleries," she said. "And we do specialist training for things like the Spurn Lightship and the Maritime Museum."

She said being nominated for the national award was "exciting".

John Parish said one of his most memorable moments was when volunteering during Covid in 2020.

"We were tasked with supporting vulnerable people. I saw this old fella and did his shopping, and this chap came to the door, a frail little fella, just like my father who passed away a couple of years earlier, and I had a real lump in my throat."

Fellow volunteer Dave Minns had an unusual experience when he dressed up for a family event in the city centre.

"I saw this opportunity to be a dinosaur. I said to my wife, 'should I do it?', and she said, 'if you can be a dinosaur, be a dinosaur'.

"Two days later I was running around, giant inflatable T-rex, kids chasing me, it was brilliant."

Some of the volunteers are accredited by the Institute of Tour Guiding as museum guides.

Among them is Janet Adamson, who does shifts at the city's Ferens Art Gallery. It means she can tell people about renowned paintings such as Canaletto's View on the Grand Canal, which, she points out, is "one of only a very few" by the artist in municipal collections.

"And here it is, in Hull, and we can pop any time we like and see it for free," she added.

Occasionally, the volunteers have been able to spread their wings beyond the region.

Last year, Michelle Proctor was among a team who went to the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

"A group of us went down from HEY Volunteering to help the Songbird Survival Garden, that then moved up to a community garden at the Alf Marshall Centre in Bransholme," she said.

"It was a fantastic experience, we absolutely loved it."

Voting for the 2026 Tourism Superstars competition is open on the Visit England website until Sunday.

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