Shakespeare’s England installation to greet millions at Birmingham Airport

The world’s greatest playwright has visited Birmingham Airport to sample a new installation providing millions of international visitors with a taste of south Warwickshire’s tourism scene.

Tourist numbers look set to take off in the county thanks to Shakespeare’s England’s bold new wall artwork which greets passengers as they arrive at BHX.

The wall banners total 75 metres in length, and feature key attractions in the region including Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Warwick Castle, Kenilworth Castle, the RSC Theatre and Compton Verney.

The new scenery was given the thumbs-up by a lookalike of Stratford-upon-Avon’s most famous son, William Shakespeare, who checked in to the airport to mark The Bard’s 459th birthday.

Darren Tosh, digital marketing manager at Shakespeare’s England, said: “This year represents the first full year of trading that tourism and hospitality businesses will have had without any restrictions placed upon them since the pandemic, and they are understandably champing at the bit to capitalise on this.

“BHX is a major gateway to the world which is only a 20-minute car journey from our region, and we believe this partnership will provide a real launchpad in driving even more visitors to our region whilst they visiting the UK – whether that is for business or pleasure.

“The King’s Coronation is a fantastic way to kick off the peak summer trading season as our region boasts a range of properties with Royal heritage, and this is underpinned by a brand-new year-long exhibition in Stratford to mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s First Folio.

“These two celebrations alone are going to be instrumental in driving footfall for our wider tourism scene to benefit from, backed by our new installation at one of the country’s leading airports.”

BHX currently offers 133 direct worldwide destinations, handling more than 12 million passengers a year, many of whom will file past the newly-installed south Warwickshire scenery as they arrive into Britain.

Simon Evans, head of corporate affairs and marketing at Birmingham Airport, said: “We were thrilled to welcome The Bard to BHX. He reminded us of the unique array of historic and cultural attractions on offer across south Warwickshire, a stone’s throw from BHX.

“We very much hope Mr Shakespeare’s presence together with our bright new images of Warwick Castle, Shakespeare’s Birthplace, the RSC Theatre, and more, will sow seeds of curiosity in many more people’s minds - prompting them to come see for themselves.”