Richard-III

Leicester’s Richard III exhibition has brought a record number of visitors to the city.

The display which opened in February welcomed its 50,000th visitor at the weekend.

The record-breaking visitor, 13-year-old Charlie Elwell from Walsall in the West Midlands, visited the exhibition with her mum
and a 96-year-old friend.

The exhibition has proved popular with all ages since its launch as this group proves.

Charlie and her party were rewarded with a number of gifts including theatre tickets, a meal voucher and Richard III memorabilia.

Following the hugely successful Channel 4 documentary ‘Richard III: The King in the Car Park’ a great deal of media attention and tourism has been brought to the city of Leicester and this exhibition which tells the story of the archaeological dig which found the last Plantagenet king in Greyfriars car park.

Leicester City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said “It’s incredible that 50,000 people have already seen this exhibition, with many of them coming from all over the world.”

The display’s location at the Guildhall is only temporary but it will remain there until it is moved to its permanent home in the former Leicester Grammar School next year.

A spokesman from Leicester Cathedral, who run the exhibition, said that they typically get around 40 to 50 visitors a day but that increased during the month of March to between 500 and 1000.

The exhibition is free admission and is open seven days a week from 11:30am to 4:30pm.

A walking trail is also available taking in historically important areas in the Old Town part of the city.

For more information visit www.leicester.info/richardIII or call 0116 253 2569.