LONDON – Today VisitLondon.com, the NSPCC and STUDIOCANAL announced the first of the exciting internationally renowned celebrities, designers and artists signed up to THE PADDINGTON TRAIL. The list includes stars of the Paddington film Hugh Bonneville, Peter Capaldi, Nicole Kidman, Julie Walters and Ben Whishaw, Hollywood actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Sheen and Emma Watson, director Guy Ritchie, stars of the music world Nick Mason and Frankie Bridge, globally renowned photographer Rankin, leading fashion designers Christopher Kane, Lulu Guinness and Matthew Williamson, painter and street artist Inkie, multi-talented artists Tom Phillips and Hannah Warren and world-famous ex-footballer and underwear designer David Beckham.
Actor Hugh Bonneville, who stars in the forthcoming Paddington film, which opens in UK Cinemas November 28, is among the designers and comments: “Paddington is an explorer –  this trail is a wonderful way of bringing this to life and I hope it makes people look at London  with fresh eyes. I am delighted to have been asked to design one of the bears and have created an ode to Paddington’s favourite preserve.  I can’t wait for people to see it.”
The star-studded Paddington design team also includes former Royal Ballet principal dancer Darcey Bussell, presenters Davina McCall, Ant McPartlin & Declan Donnelly and Jonathan Ross, explorer and survival expert Bear Grylls, the Chelsea football team, the England rugby union team and Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
The first of the designs were also revealed today: ‘Paddington Bear’ by Michael Bond, ‘Paddington Shakesbear’ by Michael Sheen, ‘Paddington Sparkles’ by Frankie Bridge and ‘Paddingtonscape’ by artist Hannah Warren.
Michael Sheen, who designed ‘Shakesbear Paddington’ says: “It is such a privilege to be designing a statue for The Paddington Trail, especially as it is raising money for the NSPCC – a charity I’m proud to support. I am delighted to have been able to create Shakesbear and combine my love of the bear with my passion for the bard!”
These adventurous designers are working on some of the 50 Paddington Bear statues, which will be placed across the capital ahead of the highly anticipated release of PADDINGTON in UK cinemas on November 28, 2014. This exciting and inspiring trail will take in museums, parks, shops and landmarks, all with a colorful, Paddington-inspired flavor.  London is Paddington’s favorite city: full of adventure and opportunities to explore the wonderful art, culture, innovation and entertainment that are so prominent in the capital.
Visitors will be able to follow in the furry footsteps of the world’s favorite Peruvian explorer visiting locations across the capital from as far west as Heathrow through to the O2 in the east, taking in some of London’s key cultural and landmark hotspots such as The Royal Opera House, Museum of London, Horse Guards Parade, the Museum of Childhood and, of course, Paddington Station with the trail ending in Selfridges, from November 4 –December 30, 2014.
VisitLondon.com has also launched a dedicated section of their website which will enable visitors to London to find out more about the trail and, later in the month, download the trail map, share their pictures and discover the stories behind each statue and location.  VisitLondon.com/Paddington.
Paddington’s origins date back almost sixty years to when his creator, Michael Bond, bought a small bear from Selfridges on Christmas Eve 1956, as a present for his wife, and named him after the nearest railway station to which they lived.
Selfridges is the Trail’s retail partner and will be selling a selection of statue miniatures from a dedicated Paddington concept store showcasing a variety of Paddington-related products and artifacts.  The Paddington Curiosity Shop will be created especially to celebrate the historic link between the store and the famous bear as well as raising funds for the NSPCC.
In Michael Bond’s original tales, the young bear finds himself alone in a big and unfamiliar city.  Taken in by the Brown family, he finds a warm welcome and a safe place to stay and sets out to discover more about his adopted city.
London-based design company 3DEye is helping to create the three-foot six-inch tall statues, all of which will be auctioned later in the year to raise money for charity partners* including the NSPCC; a charity whose work is all about protecting vulnerable children and making them safe through its services including ChildLine.
Due for release in the UK on November 28, 2014, the big screen debut of PADDINGTON will showcase many of the trail locations in the capital, including his first port of entry – Paddington station. The film from STUDIOCANAL and Heyday Films is written and directed by Paul King (Bunny and the Bull, The Mighty Boosh) produced by David Heyman (Gravity, Harry Potter) and boasts an all-star cast including Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi, Jim Broadbent and Nicole Kidman with Ben Whishaw as the voice of PADDINGTON.
To find out more about The Paddington Trail, go to www.visitlondon.com/paddington
#PaddingtonTrail
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Notes to editors:
 
*The lead charity partner is the NSPCC. Two of the statues will be auctioned in support of Action Medical Research for Children for whom Paddington has been the official mascot for over 35 years.
Paddington and Company own and control the worldwide rights to Paddington Bear www.paddington.com
The trail is brought to the capital by London & Partners, www.facebook.com/studiocanaluk and the
PADDINGTON TRAIL MAP, STATUE IMAGES AND BROADCAST FILM QUALITY ACCESS DETAILS
 
Please note all content is strictly embargoed until 00.01 (BST) 2 OCTOBER 2014
The Paddington Trail Map, statue images, video/EPK and accompanying b-roll is available here:
–        The video is HD broadcast quality, access media worldwide, all rights cleared including music.
–        HD and SD Broadcast quality TV footage can also be accessed via:
–        Newsmarket: www.thenewsmarket.com/londonandpartners
–        The YouTube link for embedding is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZR7jOmg0Ro
For further details on the Paddington movie, visit www.paddington.com.
Paddington Trailer is available at:
Password: letmein
About London & Partners
London & Partners is the official promotional organisation for London, attracting and delivering value to business, students and visitors. We work to maintain London’s position as the best international visitor destination in the world by marketing to established and emerging markets. We work with the travel industry to promote London to individual leisure travellers and groups worldwide. 
For more information on London attractions visit www.visitlondon.com
About the NSPCC
The NSPCC is the only UK wide charity solely focused on preventing cruelty to children. The charity works directly with vulnerable children in 40 locations across the UK providing therapy, support and advice to them and their families. The NSPCC helpline provides a 24 hour phone number for adults to report child abuse or seek advice. The charity also runs ChildLine which takes hundreds of thousands contacts a year from children and young people and visits primary schools throughout the country. The NSPCC also successfully campaigns for laws and policies to protect children and bring abusers to justice.
For more information visit www.nspcc.org.uk
About STUDIOCANAL
STUDIOCANAL is a subsidiary of the CANAL+ Group. It is one of Europe’s leading companies in the market for co-production, acquisition, distribution and sales of international feature films and TV series. STUDIOCANAL is the only studio operating simultaneously in three main European territories – France, the United Kingdom and Germany – as well as in Australia and New Zealand. Additionally, STUDIOCANAL owns one of the most important libraries in the world, with more than 5,000 international titles.
STUDIOCANAL’s production ambitions have included the Coen’s INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, with Justin Timberlake, Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan and John Goodman, that was awarded the Jury’s Grand Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, NON STOP directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, with Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore and Michelle Dockery, Susanne Bier’s SERENA, starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, THE GUNMAN produced by Joel Silver, directed by Pierre Morel with Sean Penn, Javier Bardem and Idris Elba, MACBETH starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, directed by Justin Kurtzel, Stephen Frear’s next film about Lance Armstrong’s story with Ben Foster, Guillaume Canet and Dustin Hoffman, PADDINGTON, produced by Harry Potter’s producer David Heyman, based on the famous, and hugely popular, bear in the duffle coat loved by families worldwide, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Bonneville and SHAUN THE SHEEP in partnership with Aardman Animations, bringing one of their most popular animated characters to the big screen.
STUDIOCANAL also invests locally on productions such as MAN UP written by Tess Morris and directed by Ben Palmer (The Inbetweeners) starring Simon Pegg and Lake Bell currently in post-production, in France BILLY AND BUDDY with Frank Dubosc and Marina Foïs and CHINESE PUZZLE directed by Cédric Klapisch with Audrey Tautou and Romain Duris, and the studio will soon announce local German productions.
STUDIOCANAL also produces family and animation films, notably through an exclusive deal with Belgian company nWave, a European leader in 3D production. They produced SAMMY’s adventures and the forthcoming HOUSE OF MAGIC.
Finally STUDIOCANAL is also developing into international TV series, strengthening its position as a European leader in content. In January 2012, STUDIOCANAL became a major shareholder in Tandem Communications, one of the leading European companies for international primetime event TV productions and worldwide distribution of quality television programs (CROSSING LINES, PILLARS OF THE EARTH, LABYRINTH, WORLD WITHOUT END…). And in December 2013, STUDIOCANAL took a majority stake in RED Production Company, British producers of high-standard TV series (QUEER AS FOLK, LAST TANGO IN HALIFAX awarded by 2 BAFTAS including Best Television Drama Series…)
For further information visit www.studiocanal.com
 
London & Partners contact details:
In the U.S.:
Joan Brower, Principal, The Dilenschneider Group
In London:
Rebekah Clement, Media & PR Manager – Leisure Tourism
Tel: +44 (0)20 7234 5861 / +44 (0) 7826 907 415
rclement@londonandpartners.com
Twitter: @London_PR
STUDIOCANAL contact details:
Suzanne Noble, Head of Publicity and Corporate Communications
0207 534 2724
NSPCC contact details:
Sarah Dade, Senior Communications Officer
020 7825 1318
Premier contact details: 
Christina Joyce, PR Director
Premier
Tel: 020 7292 8352
Maralyn D. Hill

Maralyn D. Hill

Maralyn D. Hill, M.Ed.,  The Epicurean Explorer

Executive Editor, LuxeBeatMag.com

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