Press release -
VIRGIN TRAINS EAST COAST SHINES FOR NORTHERN PRIDE
Virgin Trains East Coast is proud to light up Newcastle Central Station to celebrate this year’s Northern Pride LGBT festival in Newcastle.
From tonight (Wednesday 15 July) through to Sunday morning the exterior of the station’s portico will be illuminated in six vibrant rainbow colours. The lights will be officially turned on this evening by Mr Gay UK - Stuart Hatton, from South Shields.
Virgin is using the lights and specially designed drapes, glitter balls and flags to create an extra special welcome to tens of thousands of visitors to the city this week. It is working with partners across Tyneside to add extra colour to the recently refurbished portico of the Grade One listed station, which was first opened by Queen Victoria in 1850.
More than 65,000 people are expected to visit Northern Pride this week. It is estimated that the festival will boost the regional economy by £8m.
David Horne, Virgin Trains East Coast Managing Director, said: “Newcastle Central Station is an iconic landmark in the city and we are proud to light up this historic building in such a bright and modern way. We are looking forward to welcoming the thousands of extra visitors that this event attracts, and hope that people will enjoy the extra sparkle we have added.”
Councillor Nick Forbes, Leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “The newly refurbished Newcastle Central Station and its glass atrium give visitors a great entrance to the city. So what better place to illuminate with the rainbow colours? This is a great gesture by Virgin Trains East Coast which will add to the growing success of the Northern Pride weekend.”
Northern Pride is a popular festival, with three days of live music and entertainment for all ages, with headline performances by girl band B*Witched and 80’s star Belinda Carlisle.
Mark Nichols, Chair of Northern Pride, said: “This is a very special year for Northern Pride, marking 45 years of Pride marches around the world. We are absolutely delighted that Virgin Trains East Coast is supporting the occasion, and I’m sure that the rainbow effects will serve as a fantastic welcome for those visiting Newcastle throughout the weekend.”
Sarah Stewart, Chief Executive at destination marketing agency NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said: “NewcastleGateshead is, by its very nature, a welcoming destination; we are renowned for the warmth of the people and the vibrant personality of the place. We’re delighted that our colleagues at Virgin Trains East Coast are embracing this and providing a very distinctive and colourful welcome for visitors travelling here for Newcastle Pride this weekend.
“Newcastle Pride is a fantastic, inclusive event which continues to grow in popularity, attracting more than 65,000 visitors last year and is now one of the UKs largest, free LGBT festivals. Events such as this really bring the city to life and provide a great atmosphere that local people and visitors alike can embrace and enjoy.”
Sean Bullick, Chief Executive of Business Improvement District company NE1 Ltd, the main stage sponsor of Newcastle’s Pride, commented: “It is great to see Virgin Trains East Coast lighting up Central Station to provide such a visual welcome to the thousands of LGBT travellers and others who will pass through the station on their way to enjoy the Pride celebrations in Newcastle. Each year the event gets bigger and better and we’re delighted to join with the Virgin Train East Coast team and all supporters of the festival to help deliver a spectacular celebration.”
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IMAGE SHOWS:
LIGHTING UP WITH NORTHERN PRIDE ... from left, Mark Nichols, Chair of Northern Pride; Councillor Nick Forbes, Leader of Newcastle City Council; Stuart Hatton, Mr Gay UK, and Louise Rutherford, Virgin Trains East Coast Station Manager Newcastle
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Contact the Virgin Trains East Coast Press Office: 0116 366 3988 during office hours (09.00 - 17.30 Mon-Fri). Outside these times, and for urgent media enquiries only, please call 08700 005151 and ask for the duty Virgin Trains East Coast press officer to be paged.
Virgin Trains East Coast is the brand name of InterCity Railways Ltd (ICR), which is owned by Stagecoach Group (90%) and Virgin Group (10%). Virgin Trains East Coast began operating services on the East Coast Main Line on Sunday 1 March 2015, serving key UK cities including London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness. In November 2014 the Department for Transport awarded ICR a new franchise until at least 31 March 2023.
Virgin Trains East Coast is committed to delivering a high speed, high quality service with new services, faster and more frequent journeys, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. More than £140m is to be invested in delivering improved service and a more personalised travel experience for customers.
Visit the Virgin Trains East Coast Media Centre at: http://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/media-centre for the latest news and images.
STAGECOACH GROUP
• Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, mainland Europe, the United States and Canada. The Group employs around 38,000 people, and operates bus, coach, train, and tram services.
• Stagecoach is one of the UK’s biggest bus and coach operators with around 8,300 buses and coaches. Around 2.8 million passenger journeys are made on Stagecoach's buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The Group’s business includes major city bus operations in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge. Low-cost coach service, megabus.com, operates a network of inter-city services across the UK and continental Europe.
• Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It is also the majority shareholder (90%) in the new Virgin Trains East Coast franchise and has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast rail franchise.
• Stagecoach also operates the Supertram light rail network in Sheffield.
• In North America, Stagecoach operates around 2,400 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. Megabus.com links around 130 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter, transit, airport express services, contracted, charter and sightseeing services.
