The tourist attraction telling the story of the King Richard III’s discovery and reburial has been shortlisted for a national industry award.
The King Richard III Visitor Centre – which includes the king’s lost gravesite and is just a stone’s throw from his final resting place at Leicester Cathedral – has been shortlisted for the Small Visitor Attraction of the Year category in the Visit England Awards for Excellence 2023.
It comes on the 10th anniversary of the remarkable discovery and reinterment of the king’s remains, at the long-lost Grey Friars church beneath modern-day Leicester.
National winners of the Visit England Awards for Excellence are due to be announced at the end of April.
The attraction was nominated after winning the Leicestershire Promotions Tourism and Hospitality Award back in November 2022.
Since opening its doors in 2014, the King Richard III Visitor Centre has won more than 40 accolades and awards, including the Best Museum gong at the Group Leisure and Travel Awards, History Museum of the Year at the Luxury Travel Guide Global Awards, Visitor Centre of the Year from the South East Star and a Quality Food and Drink Accolade from Visit England for the centre’s White Boar Café, making it one of only nine attractions in the UK to win the award last year.
It has also been home to the Visit Leicester tourist information centre since 2019, making it a one-stop shop for visitors wanting to discover more about the city’s history, culture, hospitality and retail.
King Richard III Visitor Centre general manager Phil Hackett said: “We have been going from strength to strength since opening in 2014 and the addition of the Visit Leicester tourist information centre four years ago has further expanded upon what we can offer to visitors.
“This national recognition from Visit England, where we are up against some of the very best visitor attractions in the country, is a testament to all that the team do here, from the housekeeping team through to our visitor engagement volunteers, who proudly deliver the very best visitor experience.”
The King Richard III Visitor Centre opened in July 2014 and tells the story of Richard III’s life, death and the remarkable search, discovery and identification of the remains found under a car park in Leicester in August 2012.
The King Richard III Visitor Centre is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the discovery, reinternment and many other related milestones and events from August 22, 2022, until March 26, 2025.
Background Information
King Richard III Visitor Centre: Opened in July 2014 and tells the story of Richard III’s life, death and the remarkable search, discovery and identification of the remains found under a car park in Leicester in August 2012. Built within a Victorian Grammar School adjacent to Richard III’s grave site, which is now incorporated into the visitor centre under a glass viewing floor, the visitor centre has received over 40 Awards since opening and is managed by Leicester Museums & Galleries, part of Leicester City Council’s Arts & Museums Service.
VisitEngland: The Awards for Excellence are England’s tourism awards, championing the very best of the country’s tourism industry, celebrating quality, innovation and best practice. The annual awards cycle begins with a series of local competitions, which feed up to the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence. Businesses complete a single application and local winners are automatically put forward to the national judging panel. The highlight of each awards cycle is the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence event, where the finest businesses receive the most coveted accolade in English tourism. https://www.visitbritain.org/business-advice/visitengland-awards-excellence
VisitLeicester: is the city and county’s official tourism brand, which manages and provides comprehensive, high-quality information on the many tourism-related products and services in the city and county so that visitors know all about us as a destination. The Visit Leicester Tourist Information Centre and retail shop is incorporated into the King Richard III Visitor Centre. For more information about Visit Leicester or the places to see, things to do and where to stay in Leicester and Leicestershire, the place where tourism began. www.visitleicester.info