KIRMES & Park REVUE (English) Special: Rouen (Vorschau)

CHRISTMAS MARKETS
WINTER WONDERLAND LONDON (GB)
With over two million visitors in
eight weeks – more than most
British amusement parks manage
in an entire season – Winter
Wonderland has become
officially the UK’s busiest fairground
event. Now in its fifth
and record-breaking year, the
latest instalment ran from
November 18 th to January 3 rd ,
within the prestigious “royal”
setting of London’s Hyde Park.
Text: Owen Ralph
Photos: Owen Ralph, PWR Events
At times, entry to the Winter
Wonderland in was restricted
to visitors with pre-booked
tickets due to the crowds
For sheer variety of fairground
attractions, events such as
Hull Fair, Nottingham Goose Fair
and Newcastle’s ‘Hoppings’ still
lead the way, but in a relatively
short amount of time, Winter
Wonderland has built a loyal
following with its distinctive mix of
festive-themed attractions, winning
recognition as “Best Consumer
Event” in the Visit London
Awards. The event’s central London
location ensures plenty of
star patronage and media coverage,
and among the many
celebrities visiting this year were
Prince Harry, Kate Moss, Kelly
Rowland, and even the Prime
Minister, David Cameron. After
four years under the auspices of
PWR Events and AEG Live, PWR took full control of
Winter Wonderland for 2011, and will remain in
charge for a further two years following a tendering
process by The Royal Parks. Catering to tourists as
well as local residents, PWR director Geoff Popper
says he wants the event to feature on the “must do”
list of London attractions, alongside the likes of Big
Ben, Harrods and Madame Tussauds. He identifies
three distinct types of visitor – those that want to
sample the rides and attractions, those that want to
shop on the Christmas market and those that want
to make a night of it and sample the entertainment,
food and drink on offer. In this way, Winter Wonderland
is far closer to the German “Kirmes” or “Volksfest”
model than any other British fun fair. That drinking
has been incorporated so successfully into the
proceedings is a major achievement on behalf of the
organisers, especially when many fairs in the country
actively impose an alcohol ban for fear of trouble
from rowdy visitors. Popper says that the special
theming of Winter Wonderland’s attractions, which
he describes as, “a little bit camp and not very cool,”
discourages gangs from gathering.
Yet with much milder weather than last year’s near
Arctic conditions, the 2011 event became a victim
of its own success and for the first time in its history,
as visitors had to be turned away at peak periods.
This tended to occur around late afternoon
when family groups converged with those arriving
for the evening. At such times, entry was restricted
to those with pre-booked tickets for the ice rink, circus
or giant wheel, although in most cases the gates
were not closed for longer than 30-40 minutes. All
this comes against a backdrop of increased
austerity across the UK, so we can only assume
people like to treat themselves at Christmas to forget
all the doom and gloom!
Bringing warmth and colour to the heart of the British
capital, Winter Wonderland featured a terrific display
of themed attractions, many of them almost un-
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