As part of the build up to the first season of ‘Kynren – an epic tale of England’, a series of spectacular open air live action night shows set to hit County Durham this summer, Eleven Arches has put all of its ‘front of house’ Experience Team volunteers through an internationally recognised training scheme which was developed for the Game Makers at the 2012 Olympics.
Ahead of the 14 shows, which premiere on 2nd July, the volunteers have all received WorldHost training from the Durham Employment and Skills training team. Based within Durham County Council, the team offer a full range of high quality training and development opportunities for businesses and individuals.
The WorldHost course was seen as key to providing visitors to London 2012 with a warm welcome and contributing to the success of the Olympics with surveys revealing that 99 per cent of visitors wanted to return to London following the event. It is hoped that, in the same way it will contribute to making the Kynren an equally unforgettable experience.
Cllr Neil Foster, the Council’s Cabinet member said: “The training means that visitors to County Durham will receive a first class welcome from local volunteers who will play a major part in what we’re sure we’ll be an amazing event. We’re delighted to be able to continue our support for the work of the Eleven Arches Trust which promises to provide a huge boost to Bishop Auckland and the whole county in terms of tourism, local businesses and jobs.”
Claire Byers, Director of Communications and Marketing at Eleven Arches, working closely with the volunteers on the Experience Team, said: “Kynren will be the UK’s most spectacular open-air live action night show since the opening of the 2012 Olympics. We were delighted to have Durham Employment and Skills as our training partner, they brought great professionalism and passion to the sessions, and we are so proud of the hard work and commitment from all the volunteers who took part. With visitors expected from right across the region, the UK and as far afield as Europe, Australia and Japan, they will undoubtedly be superb ambassadors for County Durham and the wider North East region.”
Eleven Arches is investing heavily in the professional training of its 1,000 plus volunteers, from choreography and combat to pyro to horse-riding, with standards befitting being on the world stage.
The £31m Eleven Arches project is part of the vision of philanthropist and investment manager, Jonathan Ruffer to establish Bishop Auckland as a visitor destination in the North of England. The Eleven Arches concept is inspired by Puy du Fou, who, over 37 years, has completely transformed the fortunes of the Vendee region, France. Kynren has already been included in the Rough Guides’ Top 10 new tourist attractions and the Guardian Travel’s hotlist of worldwide travel destinations.
The Durham Employment & Skills team offers a full range of high quality training and development opportunities for both businesses and individuals. For more information contact DES@durham.gov.uk or 03000 266 644.
