Issued: April 14, 2014
For immediate release
PRESS RELEASE
Titanic Belfast wins top International
themed entertainment award
Titanic Belfast has won a Visitor Centre Outstanding Achievement Award from the world’s top
themed entertainment association, based in the United States.
Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), recognises excellence in the visitor attraction and
entertainment industry, and has awarded Titanic Belfast the recognition along with some of the
world’s top attractions, including Disneyland Hong Kong, the Mind Museum in the Philippines, and
the Michael Jackson ONE showcase.
Describing the world’s largest Titanic visitor experience, which opened in March 2012 at the site
where RMS Titanic was built more than 100 years ago, TEA said “the building inside and out is
spectacular…a reason to visit for people from all over the world”.
It added: “This project embodies beautiful execution, attention to detail; sense of place and time
(both in the present and in the past), visual impact, story-telling techniques and community
significance.”
Titanic Belfast CEO, Tim Husbands, who recently received an MBE in the Queen’s honors on New
Year’s Day, received the TEA award in at the Disneyland Resort Hotel in California.
He said: “This is our first truly international award and to be receiving it at the home of Walt Disney,
the creator of film animation and imagineering is a huge honour for both the team that created the
iconic building and the team that have operated it so successfully since we opened it.
“The vision of Titanic Belfast was to provide the city of Belfast with a world class visitor attraction
that would make it a new, vibrant and confident tourist destination. Two years of operation
coincided with the time of the award ceremony in California, and we could not have asked for a
better second birthday present.”
James Alexander, Managing Director of Event Communications, designers of the galleries at Titanic
Belfast’s exhibition, said: “'Event is delighted to join in the celebration of Titanic Belfast's success at
the THEA Awards.
“Titanic Belfast is a magnificent project that uses the Titanic story to explore Belfast's rich history, at
the same time as living the tragedy through the eyes of those involved. The outcome is the
culmination of 10 years of design work by the creative team led by Event and we are proud to have
been at the heart of such an impactful project.”
Ends.
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Notes to editors
About Titanic Belfast
Titanic Belfast is an iconic six-floor building featuring nine interpretive and interactive galleries that
explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of Titanic, as well as the City and people which made her.
It is the world’s largest Titanic exhibition.
The building houses temporary exhibits, a banqueting suite, education and community facilities,
catering and retail space, and a basement car park. Visitors learn about the construction of RMS Titanic
and the wide and rich story of Northern Ireland’s industrial and maritime heritage.
Supported by the Northern Ireland Executive, Titanic Belfast is a unique public/private partnership
funded by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, Belfast City Council, Belfast Harbour and Titanic Quarter
Ltd. It is operated by Titanic Belfast Ltd and owned by the Titanic Foundation Ltd.
About TEA
The TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) is an international non-profit alliance founded in 1991
and based in Burbank, California.
Some 1,000 TEA members represent roughly 8,000 creative specialists, from architects to designers,
technical specialists to master planners, scenic fabricators to artists, and builders to feasibility
analysts working in 30 US states and 40 different countries.
TEA presents the annual Thea Awards and the TEA Summit and hosts the annual SATE Conference
(Storytelling, Architecture, Technology and Experience).
TEA also produces a variety of print and electronic publications, including the TEA/AECOM Theme
Index, TEA Annual Directory and Thea Awards Program magazine. Visit www.teaconnect.org.
About the TEA Awards
The TEA Awards, sponsored by Economics at AECOM, were created by the Themed Entertainment
Association (TEA) to help realise a key mission of the association: bringing recognition to
achievement, talent and personal excellence within the themed entertainment industry.
From a modest beginning in 1994, the Thea Awards have become internationally recognized as a
symbol of excellence. The public is welcome to attend the black-tie 20th Annual TEA Awards Gala,
which will be held April 5, 2014 at the Disneyland Hotel, Disneyland Resort, Anaheim Calif. USA.
Tickets may be ordered online at teaconnect.org.
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TEA Media Contacts:
Judith Rubin Public Relations: rubin.judith@gmail.com
Jennifer Nevin, TEA COO: jennie@teaconnect.org
Kathy Oliver, TEA events producer: kathy@teaconnect.org
Titanic Belfast Media Contact:
Alex McGreevy
Media Relations Executive
Titanic Belfast
Tel: 07966 276 993
E: alexmcgreevy@titanicbelfast.com
W: www.titanicbelfast.com
T: @titanicbelfast
FB: www.titanicbelfast.com/titanicbelfast
Ends.
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