Universal will construct its first European theme park in Britain, Prime Minister Keir Starmer mentioned Wednesday, unveiling a mega deal which might create 1000’s of jobs and entice hundreds of thousands of vacationers.
“Today we closed the deal on a multi-billion-pound investment that will see Bedford home to one of the biggest entertainment parks in Europe,” Starmer mentioned in a press release, referring to the English market city north of London.
No exact figures got for the accord which was struck with U.S. communications big Comcast, which owns Universal, after years of discussions with UK leaders.
There are at the moment 5 Universal theme parks across the globe. The first was opened in 1964 in Hollywood, based mostly across the authentic movie studios, adopted later by an East Coast park in Orlando. Three others are in Asia – in Beijing, Osaka, Japan and Singapore.
Visitors to Europe’s first Universal park might probably get pleasure from rides and exhibits based mostly round such beloved film characters the ogre Shrek, the clumsy Minions, the fearsome dinosaurs of Jurassic Park and the extremely in style world of boy magician Harry Potter.
The new park might create some 28,000 jobs, together with 20,000 throughout building, and characterize a £50 billion ($64 billion) increase to the UK financial system by 2055, Starmer’s workplace mentioned in a press release.
Some 80 p.c of the staff would come from the native space, the assertion added.
An estimated 8.5 million individuals would go to in its first 12 months deliberate for 2031, making it the most important attraction in Britain.
“We could not be more excited to take this very important step in our plan to create and deliver an incredible Universal theme park and resort in the heart of the United Kingdom,” mentioned Comcast president Mike Cavanagh within the assertion.
In 2023 Comcast purchased a 200-hectare (490-acre) website of a former brickworks, south of Bedford, some 80 kilometers north of London.
Universal has mentioned it will work with native schools and universities to coach the subsequent era of hospitality staff, with apprenticeships and internships.
The space is linked by a practice journey of about an hour from St Pancras station, which additionally homes the Eurostar serving hyperlinks to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
Among the plans for the brand new park, are a 500-room resort in addition to rides, exhibits and a big eating advanced.
The proposals might be topic to a planning choice from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Universal has not but revealed particulars of the rides, however media experiences have already indicated a attainable attraction themed round Paddington Bear, which is now a significant movie franchise.
The complete attraction could be supposed to rival Disneyland Paris which mentioned that in 2023 it drew some 10.4 million guests.
“From ‘Wicked’ to ‘Minions’, Universal is behind some of the biggest blockbusters of recent years,” mentioned Culture Minister Lisa Nandy.
She added the “landmark investment is fantastic news for our economy, for UK tourism and for the British public, who will be able to enjoy the biggest and best theme park in Europe on their doorstep”.
News of the deal comes just some days after the federal government signed off on the growth of close by Luton Airport which serves locations throughout Europe.
© 2025 AFP