A YORKSHIRE company has sealed a major deal with ITV which will see the launch of a £7m I'm a Celebrity theme park.
York-based leisure company Continuum Attractions has signed a 10-year agreement to become the preferred partner for ITV's own-brand visitor attractions across the UK.
Continuum is adding the new £7million I’m a Celebrity… Jungle Challenge to ITV's portfolio which also includes the Coronation Street The Tour which will reopen in 2022, and weekend tours of the Emmerdale Village on the Harewood Estate, outside Leeds.
I'm a Celebrity is earmarked to open inside Quayside Shopping Centre at MediaCityUK, Manchester, this summer.
The theme park aims to recreate challenges from the prime TV series, including zipwires, climbing walls, mazes and parachute drops.
“I’m thrilled that we have brokered this new, long-term working relationship with ITV and adding the brand new attraction too",” said Juliana Delany, chief executive officer of Continuum Attractions.
“ITV’s IPs and brands are much loved and real crowd pleasers and the Continuum team are really looking forward to opening the doors on the Jungle Challenge.
"It will be a totally new and utterly amazing 90-minute jungle-themed, actioned-packed activity challenge for all the family to enjoy.
"Guests compete by taking up physical and mental challenges to collect starts and be the crowned king or queen of the jungle. From climbing walls to the premium event – Europe’s first ceiling-mounted Spyrider – it’s going to be super awesome and hugely popular, of that I’m certain."
Continuum worked with ITV to open the original Coronation Street sets at Quay Street in Manchester to the public in 2014, followed by the opening of Emmerdale sets in Leeds.
Continuum operate a group of UK-wide attractions, from GreenWood Family Park in North Wales, where they have invested £500,000 in a new Giant Quest play adventure, through to York’s Chocolate Story, Mary Kings Close – an award winning attraction on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and amongst others, the Spinnaker Tower – a 130m high glass floored, viewing tower on the South Coast.
“It has been a tough 18 months,” said Juliana. “However, we have reopened all our sites now and we are trading again. This new arrangement with ITV helps to propel the company forward into a brighter future.We have several other leisure attraction concepts in shopping centres in the pipeline – it’s an expanding market for us.”
Now, ITV have invested in bringing the essence of the prime-time show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Here to life with the Jungle Challenge – so members of the general public can take on trials in the jungle.
James Penfold, controller of partnerships for ITV Global Entertainment, said: “We’ve built a robust and successful working relationship with Continuum Attractions over the last seven years, breathing life into some of our most-loved programmes and creating some incredible visitor experiences to be enjoyed beyond the screen.
"The new, long-term agreement is testament to the success of the last few years and our collective commitment to bringing the best entertainment leisure propositions to UK markets for many years to come."
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