The Deep Millennium Project opens in Hull
The Deep Millennium Project opens in Hull The Deep Millennium Project will open on Saturday 23rd March, following an opening event attended by HRH The Duke of York on 22nd March. Supported with a £21.5 million Lottery grant from the Millennium Commission, The Deep is located on the banks of the Humber estuary. The world's only Submarium, this new attraction will give people a better understanding and enjoyment of the world's seas and oceans. The Deep boasts Europe's deepest aquarium and gives visitors the chance to ride in the world's only underwater acrylic lift to come face to face with sharks, hog fish, green moray eels and hundreds of other species of fish. In a stunning building designed by Sir Terry Farrell, visitors will be taken on a journey from the shallows of a coral lagoon to the inky depths of the abyssal plain. Millennium Commissioner Judith Donovan CBE said, "The Millennium Commission is proud to have supported so many imaginative projects across the UK and The Deep is certainly one that will capture people's imaginations. It has been and will continue to be a catalyst for the regeneration of Hull and will bring thousands of visitors to the city as well as providing local people and the University with a wonderful new facility. "Projects such as The Deep are creating fun new learning experiences, providing new facilities for important research and boosting local economies. In years to come I believe people will look back at what the UK did to mark the new millennium and be proud of what was achieved through Lottery funding, great ideas and a lot of hard work." The Deep is one of the final millennium landmark projects to open. The past few years have seen incredible projects and iconic buildings from the Eden Project in Cornwall to the Gateshead Millennium Bridge springing up across the UK, thanks to Millennium Commission Lottery funding. Still to come are Urbis in Manchester, part of the Manchester Millennium Quarter project and the Millennium Link in Scotland which includes the innovative Falkirk Wheel. In addition, 20,000 small grants have been given to individuals across the UK to put a bright idea into practice to benefit themselves and their wider community through the Millennium Awards Scheme. A huge range of innovative projects have been undertaken from artists skills sharing groups to community support groups. -ends- Operational note There will be a media preview on Thursday 21st March from 10:00 - 16:00 with keynote speeches at 11:45. To book attendance please contact Linda Martin Tel: 01482 381090, or email linda.martin@thedeep.co.uk Notes to Editors 1 The Millennium Commission is one of the good causes which distributes funds from the National Lottery. 2 The Millennium Commission has supported: · Around 200 new buildings, environmental projects and visitor attractions on over 3000 sites across the UK. · A UK-wide programme of community festivals which began on New Year's Eve 1999 and culminated on New Year's Eve 2000 with celebrations in 32 towns and cities across the UK. · The Millennium Experience at Greenwich and the National Programme. 3 The Millennium Commission also works with over 100 Awards Partner organisations to distribute Millennium Awards to individuals for community based projects. 20,000 people have already received a Millennium Award and there are still thousands of Awards available. Further information is available on 0800 06801 2000. For further information on this or any other Millennium Commission initiative please contact the Millennium Commission Press Office on 020 7880 2007, out of hours 07775 573263 or connect to www.millennium.gov.uk, www.starpeople.org.uk For television enquiries please contact Marc Leuw at The Television Consultancy on 020 7435 4343. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/03/20/20020320BIT00760/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/03/20/20020320BIT00760/wkr0002.pdf