The once-in-a-lifetime Great Exhibition of the North comes to Newcastle-Gateshead next year. Here’s what you can expect to see
The biggest event of 2018 will be the Great Exhibition of the North, a huge, unique summer festival of exhibits, technology, street performance, culture and experiences.
Newcastle-Gateshead put in the successful bid to host the government-led, £10m initiative, which is a once-in-a-lifetime event kicking off on 22 June 2018 with the ‘Get North’ weekend.
It finishes in September with the famous Great North Run and a closing weekend with the title ‘Creating the Future’.
The Great Exhibition of the North will tell the story of how the North of England’s art, culture, design and innovation have shaped the lives of people living today, and how it is “building the economy of tomorrow”.
The story of the North will be told in a way to impress visitors, attract new residents, and instil pride in local people, with the ultimate aim of boosting the economy of the North of England.
Three walks of life
The Exhibition will have three major hubs in the city of Newcastle-Gateshead: Great North Museum Hancock, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, and Sage Gateshead.
These three iconic venues will feed three walking routes, each of which will be brought to life by performers, visual artists, architects, musicians, scientists, engineers, inventors, writers, thinkers, designers and digital makers. They are the ‘Seeing in Wonder’ art route, the ‘Thinking in Style’ design route, and the ‘Dreaming in WOW’ innovation route.
All the performers have responded to an open call for ideas earlier this year, which attracted more than 430 submissions from across the North.
Other venues and outdoor spaces in the city will also showcase exciting ideas from across the North.
Significant, ‘landmark’ activity on the opening and closing weekends is promised, and the line-up also includes a family summer camp and a Business Expo.
Telling our story’
Sarah Munro, Creative Spokesperson of The Great Exhibition, says: “The North is a hive of ideas and home to world-leading arts venues and universities.
“The Great Exhibition of the North will allow us to uncover the beating heart of our creative industries and to tell the stories of the people and organisations who drive northern innovation on a national and international stage, inside and out of our already world-class infrastructure.
“I’m delighted to be part of this creative team, to help shape how the Exhibition develops, and to tell our story to the world.”
Group planning
The Exhibition is a programme of free events suitable for all ages, and all three of the primary venues welcome groups. Details will be announced in due course, so keep checking the website – and you can sign up online to get travel trade-related updates by email.
