Bangkok--1 Jun--TQPR
VisitBritain, Britain’s National Tourism Board invites you to experience one of the biggest events of the year this July.
Britain’s biggest air show is just round the corner, the Farnborough International Airshow 2010 will be held on 19—25 July at Farnborough in Hampshire. The biennial show is one of the world’s biggest international trade fairs for aerospace equipment and technology. The Airshow is a showcase for the world’s most advanced aircraft, as well as historic and popular planes. There are daily flying displays and a static display that gives visitors the opportunity to examine the aircraft in close detail.Tickets for 24—25 July cost 25 POUNDS when bought in advance and 30 POUNDS on the day. Children under 16 are free. Website: www.farnborough.com
The UK’s largest gardening show will also takes place in July in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace. There will be Shakespearean- themed gardens, a festival of roses, and Vintage England floristry displays. Home Grown will highlight the increasing diversity of fruit, vegetables, cut flowers and nursery stock that can now be grown in Britain. The show, which is organised by the Royal Horticultural Society, will also feature five gardens that address issues such as biodiversity, composting, saving energy, reducing our carbon footprint and using raw and recycled materials.
This year’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show runs from 6 to 11 July. Tickets cost from 14 POUNDS to 32 POUNDS. Website: www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt
Art aficionados will enjoy this paintings and drawings by the masters - Master Paintings Week and Master Drawings Week both take place in London on 3—9 July. Master Paintings Week is a collaboration between 28 leading galleries and auction houses, offering mostly European paintings dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries.
Meanwhile, Master Drawings London celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Around 20 drawings specialists from London and overseas will hold a series of selling exhibitions in galleries within walking distance of each other in Mayfair, St James’s and Bloomsbury. The range of drawings on display stretches from the Renaissance to the present day.
Master Paintings Week and Master Drawings Week are designed to appeal to collectors, curators and enthusiasts from round the world and highlight the art expertise found in London. Websites: www.masterpaintingsweek.co.uk ; www.masterdrawingsinlondon.co.uk
The Passion Plays of England are some of the oldest pieces of English literature. They were performed on the streets of our medieval cities on the church Feast Day of Corpus Christi, around midsummer. The 2010 production will again fill the City streets with drama and spectacle, offering a truly unique experience for local and visitor alike. The plays will be performed on wagons at various locations throughout the City, on Sunday 11th July and Sunday 18th July 2010. Website: www.yorkmysteryplays.co.uk
The city of Bath in the west of England is to hold a new Food and Drink Festival on 3—4 July.
More than 130 local and regional exhibitors will be showing their products. Leading local chefs will demonstrate dishes made with local and regional produce. Winemakers, writers and industry experts will share their knowledge of English and international wines. A selection of brewers and cider-makers will be offering real ale and ciders.
The Italian cookery writer Antonio Carluccio will cook up regional Italian food and local British chefs will create dishes from regional ingredients. Chefs include Michelin-starred Martin Blunos, a local Bath chef who was chosen to cook for Her Majesty The Queen during her Jubilee year.
The Bath Food and Drink Festival, which also includes live music and a hog roast, takes place in the Royal Victoria Park, in front of the Royal Crescent in the centre of Bath. Admission: 6 POUNDS (4 POUNDS in advance), children under 16 free. Website: www.garden-events.com/bath
The Savoy hotel in London is scheduled to reopen this summer after a 100-million POUNDS restoration. This is the most expensive hotel refurbishment in London’s history. Designer Pierre Yves Rochon has been responsible for an extensive restoration programme for the entire building.
The Savoy opened in August 1889 and closed for renovation in December 2007. Cesar Ritz, who later founded the Ritz Hotel, was one of the Savoy’s first managers. Room rates at the Savoy will start from around 350 POUNDS per room per night and reservations will be taken three months before the hotel reopens. Website: www.the-savoy.com
The newly refurbished Langham Hotel in London’s West End has committed over 4 million POUNDS to upgrade its 25 suites. The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Suite, located over two floors in the hotel’s rooftop tower, overlooks BBC Broadcasting House. Conan Doyle often visited the hotel in the late 19th century when he was writing his Sherlock Holmes mysteries. This unique one-off suite, traditionally furnished in a Victorian style, has a nightly rate from 1,000 POUNDS. Grand Suites on the eighth and ninth floors will cost from 750 POUNDS, Classic Suites from 1,000 POUNDS, and Langham Suites from 1,250 POUNDS. Prices are per suite per night exclusive of VAT. The Regent Suite will be available at 5,000 POUNDS. Website: www.langhamhotels.co.uk
VisitBritain is responsible for promoting Britain as a world class tourist destination and for developing England’s visitor economy. It has representatives in 35 countries around the world and has expanded into India, China, throughout Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. For more information visit www.visitbritain.co.th