Tourism gets Brian’s blessing as he takes his ’at off to Yorkshire

Welcome to Yorkshire held its annual conference yesterday in which it mapped out how it intends to build upon the region’s burgeoning tourist trade.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the popular Yorkshire-based soap opera, Welcome to Yorkshire will be represented in many different guises across various episodes of Emmerdale, which routinely attracts and audience of 8 million viewers.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, told an audience of more than 1,000 delegates at York’s Barbican venue that the link-up with Emmerdale was “massive for us and massive for everyone involved in tourism in Yorkshire”.

Mr Verity also unveiled that the classic Yorkshire folk song, On Ilkla Moor Baht ‘at, is to be given a 21st century make over and be released in the charts.

Acting legend Brian Blessed will lend his distinctive baritone vocals to the recording of the song – thought to date back to the 19th century, which will also feature the voices of Yorkshire schoolchildren and be recorded on Ilkley Moor.

Eliot Kennedy, who produced and wrote songs for Spice Girls and Bryan Adams and works as a talent director on the X Factor, is overseeing the project.

Mr Verity said: “It will be a contemporary vision of this great Yorkshire anthem. It will be a big moment for the whole of Yorkshire.”

As exclusively revealed in yesterday’s Yorkshire Post, the prime focus for Welcome to Yorkshire will be to bring the Tour de France, the most viewed sporting event in the world, to Yorkshire for 2016.

Mr Verity said he wanted the arrival of the cycling event to have the same effect on the region as the Commonwealth Games had on Manchester.

“Going for the Olympic Games and getting the Commonwealth Games was a defining moment for them in terms of getting confidence.

The Tour de France is one of the world’s biggest sporting events with 88 million people tuning in to watch it on TV.

“We have formally put in the bid to bring the tour to Yorkshire and we are all really proud of that.

“It is audacious but it will be massive for the county.”

The campaign has been officially dubbed BACK LE BID and has already drawn the support of top cyclists Mark Cavendish and Ben Swift. Readers can register their support online at www.yorkshire.com/lebid.

Y12, as the event was dubbed, also heard from the Government’s tourism Minister John Penrose, who shrugged off question about Welcome to Yorkshire missing out on funding from central Government by saying that everyone had to make the best use of current revenue levels as best as possible.

The Minister also had strong praise for the county’s tourism, saying that comparable organisations around the country were envious of the success that the region had enjoyed.

Also unveiled at Y12 were plans to promote Skipton to visitors, with Mr Verity confirming talks were being held with Defra over how best to promote the town and boost the surrounding rural economy.

It was also confirmed that this year’s Chelsea Flower Show would play host to a Brontës’ Yorkshire Garden.

Produced by Tracy Foster it promises to transport visitors to a beautiful Pennine Moor and will be based on a particular location which is said to have been often visited by the sisters, Emily, Charlotte and Anne.

The conference drew to a poignant close with members of the Yorkshire Regiment receiving a lengthy standing ovation on the Barbican stage as they were revealed as the first Yorkshire Champions – patriotic people keen to display their pride in their historic Yorkshire roots.

[email protected]