Leger Holidays has unveiled a new wrap for one of its coaches to celebrate the launch of the forthcoming film The Great Escaper and to promote its new bespoke tour of the same name.
The Great Escaper – out on 6 October – tells the true story of World War II veteran Bernard Jordan, who left his care home aged 89 to travel to Normandy for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. It stars stars Michael Caine as Bernie, as well as the late Glenda Jackson as his wife.
Through parent company Leger Shearings Group’s partnership with the film’s production firm Pathé UK, the design will be seen on the coach on several tours around the UK over the coming months.
Meanwhile, Leger’s five-day tour The Great Escaper: From Portsmouth to Normandy will visit some of the locations featured in the film. Holidaymakers will start out in Portsmouth with a visit to the D-Day Story before moving on to France accompanied by a specialist battlefield tour guide.
Leger Shearings Group CEO Liam Race says: “I’m delighted to have been approached by Pathé UK to work on their upcoming film, The Great Escaper. Our battlefield tours continue to be extremely popular, and we’re certain the film will inspire viewers to embark on their own journeys of discovery to the battlefields, which is why we’ve launched a bespoke tour which follows in Bernie’s footsteps.
“The partnership will also bring our battlefield programme to new audiences who perhaps haven’t considered travelling in this way before and, as the UK’s leading provider of escorted battlefield tours with over 50 expertly planned tours on offer, it made sense to appoint Leger Holidays as partner. It is also a great honour to have our brand associated with Michael Caine and the late Glenda Jackson – two icons in the British film industry.”
Michael Guerrero, Pathé UK’s Head of Marketing, adds: “The Great Escaper is inspired by the incredible true story of Bernie Jordan who, aged 89, left his care home to travel to Normandy for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. While Bernie may have made the journey on his own, the opportunity to partner with Leger Battlefields, who take customers to many of the same locations that Bernie visited, was too good to ignore.
“Not only did the match make sense thematically, we also knew that Leger’s expertise in reaching their customer base would help the film find an engaged and receptive audience of its own.”
