ICONIC UK LANDMARKS ‘DISAPPEAR’ FOR NEW NATIONAL LOTTERY ‘JUST IMAGINE’ CAMPAIGN

Monday, January 13, 2014: Three of the UK’s most loved landmarks have ‘disappeared’ as part of a new National Lottery campaign. Three playful but thought-provoking postcard designs, released for the ‘Just Imagine’ campaign, show the iconic landmarks of the Angel of the North, Clifton Suspension Bridge and Cardiff Castle all missing from their familiar surrounding landscapes.

The National Lottery ‘Just Imagine’ campaign is using a range of techniques to encourage the public to consider an alternative reality of what might have been if the National Lottery had not funded more than 420,000 arts, sport, heritage and voluntary projects across the UK.

The three landmarks were selected as they have all received significant National Lottery funding.

The build and installation of the Angel of the North was completely financed by National Lottery funding. The 20m high sculpture, with a wingspan of 54m, is made of 200 tonnes of steel and is seen by over 90,000 people per day. Since it was placed on its site near Gateshead in 1998 it has become one of the UK’s most popular pieces of public art.

Cardiff Castle, located in the city centre of the Welsh capital, has received grants totalling over £6 million from The National Lottery to help a range of projects at the popular landmark. The funding has benefitted the restoration of Bute Park, the original grounds of the castle, including the re-flooding of the castle moat. In addition, National Lottery funding helped the creation of an interpretation centre, opened in 2008.

Clifton Suspension Bridge, in Bristol, received £600,000 to enable vital improvement works and the creation of a new learning centre, to be completed in time for the bridge’s 150th anniversary in 2014. The new learning facility, to be located on the North Somerset side of the bridge, will provide a space for use by both school and community groups.

Vicki Kennedy, Director of The National Lottery Promotions Unit, said: “Our iconic landmark postcards are one of 31 fun and thought-provoking pieces being released through our Just Imagine campaign in January to help demonstrate the life-changing difference that National Lottery funding makes. National Lottery players have now raised an incredible £31 billion for the arts, sport, heritage and voluntary sectors. The National Lottery is extremely proud of its funding for some of the UK’s most treasured landmarks and we’re delighted that, through this funding, we can help preserve the rich history of the UK’s four nations.”

Released on Twitter (@lottogoodcauses #JustImagine) and Facebook today, the postcards are the thirteenth in a series of 31 items to feature through January – one for each day and each £1 billion of funding.

The Just Imagine campaign will run through the first four months of the year, with further phases including an original animation movie telling the story of funding, and other “positively disruptive” digital techniques, according to a National Lottery spokesperson.

To enable people to learn more about National Lottery funded projects in their area, the National Lottery has launched a ‘Good Cause Finder’. To see projects in your area, or to find out more about Just Imagine January, visit www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk

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