A Historic and Giant Leap For Leicester
- 3rd Apr 2025
- Author: Elliott Langley - Marketing Administrator
Earlier this week we received some of the best news that an attraction can hear. Cast your mind back to December 2024, where were quite literally “over the moon” to win the Large Visitor Attraction award at the prestigious Leicestershire Promotions Tourism & Hospitality Awards 2024. Seeing our Centre and educational Charity being recognised as a top-class experience made all the hard work that our teams do every day feel even more worthwhile. Two tables worth of our staff got dressed up and had the night of their lives to celebrate; it was a party that Mollie from our team described as “banging”. But it turns out that the celebrations are not quite over just yet!
Winning the regional award last year meant that we were also put through to the 2025 national VisitEngland awards. As you can probably imagine, this is a huge deal for us! The national Awards for Excellence seek out the very best that the tourism industry in the country has to offer, giving out awards across 16 categories. Winning this award would be a huge boost for not only our Centre, but also for the whole city of Leicester!
For the last four months, our teams have been keeping everything crossed while we patiently waited to hear any news we had been shortlisted in the upcoming national awards. This week we finally heard the news, and well…if you’re in the local area, then you may have heard the crashing sound of over 180 staff members whooping in unison as we heard the news: we have made it into the final three for the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year!
Reaching For The Stars
The news came on April Fool’s Day, but this was no joke! If you had have told us five years ago that we would be nominated for a VisitEngland award, we are not sure we would have believed you. With things looking so uncertain at that time due to the pandemic, just as it was for every other visitor attraction in the country, we were not sure what the future held for us. So we can’t overstate how big of a deal this is for us. This is going to be one of the most important milestones in our story.
“I had to check my glasses to see if I was reading the news correctly,” said Chas Bishop, our Chief Executive Officer. “We have been the regional Large Visitor Attraction of The Year on several occasions. But this is the first time in our history that we have been short-listed for the national award. We couldn’t be prouder of our Centre and the people here who have made this possible, and of everyone who has ever visited us, supported us and come to learn more about space with us.”
Space for Everyone and the Most Incredible Archaeological Detective Story
In the midst of our celebrations, we heard the news that our good friends at King Richard III Visitor Centre are joining us in the celebrations, and that they have made it through to the national finals for the Small Visitor Attraction Award category!
“Being named a finalist for this prestigious national award is a fantastic recognition of our team’s dedication to telling the incredible story of King Richard III’s archaeological discovery,” Phil Hackett, General Manager of the King Richard III Visitor Centre. "We provide an engaging and immersive experience for all our visitors, and reaching this stage makes me very proud and is truly an honour. This not only celebrates our hard work but also helps to raise the profile of Leicester and Leicestershire as a must-visit destination for history lovers and tourists alike. We look forward to the awards ceremony and celebrating with our fellow finalists.”
A Tale of One Amazing City
To see two Leicester landmarks being recognised on a national level like this is such a win for our city, and we could not be happier or prouder to both be representing the local community.
The announcement of these nominations is a significant moment for the region, showcasing the strength of Leicester and Leicestershire as a top tourist destination. This recognition highlights the diverse and remarkable visitor experiences, further cementing its position as a must-visit location on a national scale. It’s a celebration not just for our attractions, but for the region as a whole, drawing attention to the rich history and vibrant culture that make Leicester and Leicestershire stand out.
"This is great news for Leicester and Leicestershire," Martin Peters, Chief Executive at Leicestershire Promotions, told me. "We have been running the Tourism & Hospitality Awards for the last 14 years and we’re delighted every time our regional winners make it through to the Visit England national awards. Entering the awards can be transformational for businesses. The support and guidance available to them has a lasting impact and winning the regional heats and getting through to the finals is the icing on the cake. We can’t wait to celebrate together at the national awards in June."
Onwards and Upwards
Our attractions have been competing against 350+ other regional winners, all hoping to receive what is the most prestigious award in this country’s tourism industry. To both be placed in the top three across the country is… well, it’s both “historic” and “out of this world”!
The winners in both categories will be announced in June, when VisitEngland hold a lavish awards ceremony in Brighton. You can be sure that we’ll be holding our breaths and crossing everything once again until then as we wait to hear whether our attractions with the Gold, Silver or Bronze award. But in the meantime, we cannot express how much it means to see both the National Space Centre and King Richard III Visitor Centre make it through the finals and demonstrate just how incredible our city is.
