City council reveals plans to welcome visiting Champions' League fans

[Manwell Pablo]

5 hours ago, MarriedaLeicesterGirl said:

Oh, FFS! The thread is about promoting the city, not about making an objective comparison of urban centres in the East Midlands.

 

If your are a foreigner, and you want to go to England, you want to see Nottingham because of Robin Hood, not the nightlife. 

Where as you'd stay in Leicester instead so you can mix it at glorious night life locations such as liquid (if it's even still called that) and fan club. 

 

Its got got nothing to do with urban centres. You have indicated a way to promote the city is as a central point for reaching other locations (not what the council are trying to achieve at all, but never mind) and you categorically stated that staying over night in Leicester is something you'd do as a tourist as staying in Stratford and Nottingham is "not something you'd want to do" I am interested to hear exactly why that is. 

 

Besides even if you're right that's another great slogan to go with "visit Leicester, there are far worse places to live in the uk"

 

"visit Leicester, not a lot here, but Nottingham and Stratford are close" 

 

in any case this is all getting a bit off the point, your American so I can possibly understand your point even if it's not being put across that well. The target audience here are European football fans, their gonna about as interested in Shakespeare Richard III or Robin Hood as they are knitting their own scarfs. It's a waste of time, if we draw Napoli Kiev and beskitas they should be trying to get them out as soon as possible never mind trying to get them to come back.

 

 

 

[MarriedaLeicesterGirl]

4 minutes ago, Manwell Pablo said:

Its got got nothing to do with urban centres. You have indicated a way to promote the city is as a central point for reaching other locations (not what the council are trying to achieve at all, but never mind) and you categorically stated that staying over night in Leicester is something you'd do as a tourist as staying in Stratford and Nottingham is "not something you'd want to do" I am interested to hear exactly why that is. 

 

In all honesty, you came in on another side conversation. We were talking about how bad the city is as promoting itself, given the attention it had last year. It wasn't really specifically about Champions League visitors. Yes, when your city is in the news, and millions of people are searching for it online, you want to sell the strong points: My post was saying what those strong points are (read it again,so I don't have to recap). One of those is its location. American tourists often want to visit Nottingham and Stratford, but they have no reason to spend the night there: The reason they want to visit those cities are Robin Hood and Shakespeare, not the nightlife. So, Leicester is convenient to that purpose. That is what is the selling point, not the Orange Tree. If tens of millions of people where searching "Coventry" every day, I would suggest they also promote themselves as a centrally located city in England; but they didn't win the League last year.

 

Leicester was the most searched place name on Twitter during the first half of 2016. If your tourism board wants to make an impression on people who have never heard of Leicester before, you give them a reason for going. You list the sites you can see in the city, the history of the city, and other selling points (hey, a King in the carpark...that's actually cool for people who aren't in Leicester). One of the selling points is the fact that it is centrally located, and gives you easy access to other places tourists want to visit.

 

Because, you see, they are at your shop window: You sell your stuff. It may be true that another shop is selling the same stuff, but the people aren't looking in that shop's window. I live in a beach town outside of Rome. They have a website which tells you several reasons you want to stay in the town. We have wonderful beaches. We are less than an hour by train from Rome. There are nice medieval castles, and we even have a Republican era ancient Roman bridge! That's what the town is selling. That's why you should stay in my town if you are visiting the Rome area! You know what? That same description applies to 30 other towns, too. Some of which have nicer beaches, older ruins, and castles you are actually allowed to visit. But if Santa Marinella won the Serie A, I am fairly certain the visitor strategy of the tourism office would be "You know, Nettuno is pretty cool, too."

[VLC86]

If we don't employ Bernie to greet Dynamo Kiev at the train station we have failed in my opinion..."ARGGGG RADIATION" 

[VLC86]

50 minutes ago, MarriedaLeicesterGirl said:

The Roma Ultras are horrible, and the police in Rome facilitate their activities. I remember when they attacked Boro fans in Campo in 2006 - bricks, hammers, the full kit - the cops disappeared from Campo right before the attack, and didn't respond when people went to the police station (which is around the corner). But they do it every year for European competition. Nowadays, the ban alcohol sales around the games. 

I've been to a Roma game in Italy, their end got stormed by riot police because they were throwing flairs into the home end. Come to think of it the whole set up at Atalanta was madness, the ultras were situated right next to the away end. Anyone ever suggested moving the Kop and family stand?

[Rich Fox]

Bet most of you lot moaning about Leicester have never lived anywhere else and probably think all these European City's are like some kind of paradise and the streets are paved with gold!

 

 

[VLC86]

3 minutes ago, Rich Fox said:

Bet most of you lot moaning about Leicester have never lived anywhere else and probably think all these European City's are like some kind of paradise and the streets are paved with gold!

 

 

It's a fair point but as far as a 'Tourist destination' Leicester would rank pretty low of places you would go out of all the champions league teams. 

The likes of Barca, Madrid, Paris, Lyon and even Kiev are great for tourists.

 

 

 

[Manwell Pablo]

9 hours ago, MarriedaLeicesterGirl said:

In all honesty, you came in on another side conversation. We were talking about how bad the city is as promoting itself, given the attention it had last year. It wasn't really specifically about Champions League visitors. Yes, when your city is in the news, and millions of people are searching for it online, you want to sell the strong points: My post was saying what those strong points are (read it again,so I don't have to recap). One of those is its location. American tourists often want to visit Nottingham and Stratford, but they have no reason to spend the night there: The reason they want to visit those cities are Robin Hood and Shakespeare, not the nightlife. So, Leicester is convenient to that purpose. That is what is the selling point, not the Orange Tree. If tens of millions of people where searching "Coventry" every day, I would suggest they also promote themselves as a centrally located city in England; but they didn't win the League last year.

 

Leicester was the most searched place name on Twitter during the first half of 2016. If your tourism board wants to make an impression on people who have never heard of Leicester before, you give them a reason for going. You list the sites you can see in the city, the history of the city, and other selling points (hey, a King in the carpark...that's actually cool for people who aren't in Leicester). One of the selling points is the fact that it is centrally located, and gives you easy access to other places tourists want to visit.

 

Because, you see, they are at your shop window: You sell your stuff. It may be true that another shop is selling the same stuff, but the people aren't looking in that shop's window. I live in a beach town outside of Rome. They have a website which tells you several reasons you want to stay in the town. We have wonderful beaches. We are less than an hour by train from Rome. There are nice medieval castles, and we even have a Republican era ancient Roman bridge! That's what the town is selling. That's why you should stay in my town if you are visiting the Rome area! You know what? That same description applies to 30 other towns, too. Some of which have nicer beaches, older ruins, and castles you are actually allowed to visit. But if Santa Marinella won the Serie A, I am fairly certain the visitor strategy of the tourism office would be "You know, Nettuno is pretty cool, too."

 

I get why they do it that's not the point every city in England Has a council department promoting tourism. I'm saying it'll never stick for Leicester, because, it is an average unremarkable city and it has one minor tourist attraction and there are plenty of other places to stay if you want to be Inbetween Nottingham and Stratford that are a lot more scenic and with better access to both. I still don't see why you wouldn't stay in one or the other it is not like they are miles apart anyway.

[Bluetintedspecs]

On 17/08/2016 at 15:53, Manwell Pablo said:

 

Bilo, you, and IMO the council, miss one rather glaring point.

 

There is absolutely nothing exciting about Leicester, it is unremarkable, it is not a cultural city, it is not a particularly nice city architecturally, quite a few parts of it are rather unpleasant to look at actually. It has little to offer in the department of landmarks (that shit clock tower does not count) it has little to do that most other citys in Europe cannot offer (The Curve and the Space Centre are a bit shit lets face it) It is not an overally good night especially when compared with Nottingham. There is nothing to pimp out, there is no way on gods green anyone who comes here is going to A) want to come back B) recommend it to a friend for any other purpose than going to watch the team that pulled off one sports greatest miracles.

 

There is nothing to Market, and one dead king with a back defect is not going to turn Leicester into Barcelona!

But it's OUR shit Leicester god love it

I'm sure there will be an alliance thread or two and some crap pin badges to help the Council's endeavours! 

If all else fails we've got Daniel Lambert and the Elephant Man whose female look a like is often seen in the bars in town wearing a micro mini and boob tube.

[Manwell Pablo]

26 minutes ago, Bluetintedspecs said:

But it's OUR shit Leicester god love it

I'm sure there will be an alliance thread or two and some crap pin badges to help the Council's endeavours! 

If all else fails we've got Daniel Lambert and the Elephant Man whose female look a like is often seen in the bars in town wearing a micro mini and boob tube.

 

I live in Ashby, so it's your shit Leicester I have nothing to do with it 

 

Although this talk of being close to Nottingham and Stratford and the impending tourism boom has got me thinking I could make a mint here, given that Ashby is probably better for both of them (Notts definitely) 

 

Countryside, check 

 

 

Bit of History, you've got one dead king, how about a whole dead fcking Castle?

 

 

 

Robin Hood? Nah Mate, Ivanhoe the knight, there's your fictional Middle Ages character of choice

 

 

 

 

Plus if you REALLY wanted to go, Leicester is 25 minutes........ Gold mine. 

[Bluetintedspecs]

20 hours ago, AndWhat? said:

 

Yeah it's ****ing mental.

 

Napoli fans got banned from all away games for like 2 seasons for what they did in Rome that day!

Yes I totally agree with you its ****ing mental that this behaviour happens and these morons get publicity!

What is even worse is that some people seem to be impressed by and get excited by these ultras/ hooligans,  what say you?

I think anyone condoning low life like these, being excited by or promoting the video or aspiring to be like them are nothing more than pond life!

[AndWhat?]

3 minutes ago, Bluetintedspecs said:

Yes I totally agree with you its ****ing mental that this behaviour happens and these morons get publicity!

What is even worse is that some people seem to be impressed by and get excited by these ultras/ hooligans,  what say you?

I think anyone condoning low life like these, being excited by or promoting the video or aspiring to be like them are nothing more than pond life!

 

Yep I agree. The guys rioting around Rome were scumbags.

 

 

Just to be clear, was me posting the video on here promoting it? Does that makes me pond life?

[foxy boxing]

i am sure there are football fans who want to come to our city and find out all about us and our history and the history of the city so it is a great idea to showcase Leicester in all it's glory

[Bluetintedspecs]

35 minutes ago, AndWhat? said:

 

Yep I agree. The guys rioting around Rome were scumbags.

 

 

Just to be clear, was me posting the video on here promoting it? Does that makes me pond life?

I said I totally agree with you as you said, it's ****ING mental, in a way that I chose to interpret as condemnation not admiration!

Posting the video, I wouldn't, but no I wouldn't say you were pond life because you were saying look what these morons can be like and we don't want this in our City I assume?  

[Voll Blau]

Quote

A fan zone is to be set up in Leicester's Jubilee Square to welcome travelling FC Porto supporters ahead of next week's Champions' League match.

The English champions will take on the Portuguese side at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday and some 1,600 visiting fans are expected to come..

Those arriving at the railway station are be met by a team of greeters and given on their way with a free map and a city centre guide.

They will be directed to Leicester's Clock Tower – which will be bathed in blue light for the occasion.

 

Read more: The Leicestershire firm that 'created a ripple throughout football' - Admiral's rise and fall

Then they will be guided to Jubilee Square where there will be live music and a big screen showing highlights of the Foxes' title-winning season.

There will also be food and drink available from stalls and a bar in the square.

Street artists and stilt walkers in FC Porto and Leicester City kit will help create a family atmosphere – and fans will also be able to get their faces painted in their team colours, before the game.

The fanzone is open to anyone regardless of whether they are attending the match.

The council says the cost of welcoming the Porto fans will be 'no more than £15,000.'

Leicester's mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "City supporters were made to feel very welcome in Bruges last week, and we want to ensure that FC Porto's fans get a similar reception when they arrive in Leicester.

"We'll be encouraging staff in shops and bars to learn a few words of Portuguese, we're putting up posters welcoming fans to our city, and we're creating a fanzone where fans from both teams can meet up before kick-off.

"Many Porto fans will be staying in the city overnight, so I hope they will have time to discover some of Leicester's many attractions – or at least see enough to persuade them to come back for a longer visit.

"We want to enjoy every minute of Leicester City's adventures in Europe – and we want our visitors from Europe to enjoy every minute of their visit to Leicester too."

The Jubilee Square fanzone will open at midday on Tuesday.

Its big screen will not be showing the match.

---

• FC Porto fans May feel at home in Town Hall Square: the city's fountain is virtually identical to the fountain that has pride of place in the Praça de Gomes Teixeira in Porto.

• Short welcome messages for FC Porto fans, featuring Leicester-based Portuguese nationals, will be filmed by the city council later this week. The videos will be posted on social media networks ahead of the match.

• Local businesses are being encouraged to teach their staff a few basic Portuguese words and phrases. 

• Bunting will be put up and multi-lingual 'welcome' posters will be distributed

• A 'Welcome to Leicester' message – in English and Portuguese – will be projected on to the Ramada Encore on Charles Street from Monday night.

Read more at http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/8220-ol-8221-leicester-prepares-fan-zone-and-warm-welcome-for-travelling-fc-porto-fans/story-29738507-detail/story.html#ivGCgVzDZZYtjFkY.99

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/8220-ol-8221-leicester-prepares-fan-zone-and-warm-welcome-for-travelling-fc-porto-fans/story-29738507-detail/story.html

[Manwell Pablo]

Come back for a longer visit  

 

I mean it was a silly idea before we drew Copenhagen Bruge and Porto but I think it's pretty safe to say if a travelling fan decided to go back to one of the city's they have visited during the group stages the competition is a bit stiff to say the least.

 

Still it is nice they are doing something I guess, looking forward to it actually. Trying to work out how quickly I can get out of work  

[adejo92]

Hate to be negative but i can't help but feel the fans coming to Leicester for CL are more likely to be welcomed by Police tape and groups of 16 year olds running into the Highfields estate with their belongings.

[yorkie1999]

where's jubilee square?

[kingcarr21]

4 minutes ago, yorkie1999 said:

where's jubilee square?

Its the pedestrianised area where the Highcross pub is, just after the holiday inn

[Guest claude_leic]

At the top of the high street opposite Mosh.

[yorkie1999]

Just now, kingcarr21 said:

Its the pedestrianised area where the Highcross pub is

Oh right, cheers.

[Bellend Sebastian]

There was a bloke with his meat and two veg out outside the station yesterday.

 

I doubt that's the sort of welcome the Council had in mind, but I expect our European cousins are cool with that sort of thing

[Guest Lako42]

I find it truly depressing how people from Leicester have such a self depreciating gene deep in their genetic makeup that they simply cannot appreciate the positive aspects (there are many) of the place they are from, it's quite sad.

 

I am about to go and pick some friends up from the Loughborough train station who have come over from Canada. They are excited to go and see the Richard III stuff, the lanes and New Walk will be tagged onto it to make a really nice day out in the city. We might pop back into the City on Friday for a curry and some drinks in some of the ezxcellent new bars and cafe's that have popped up over the last few years.

 

 

I will show them a great time and a great side to the city, the amount of locals who wouldn't have it in them to do the same is astonishing.

 

 

Keep it up fellas, one of the main reasons not to visit Leicester is the dull personalities of the people who live here.

 

[yorkie1999]

6 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

I find it truly depressing how people from Leicester have such a self depreciating gene deep in their genetic makeup that they simply cannot appreciate the positive aspects (there are many) of the place they are from, it's quite sad.

 

I am about to go and pick some friends up from the Loughborough train station who have come over from Canada. They are excited to go and see the Richard III stuff, the lanes and New Walk will be tagged onto it to make a really nice day out in the city. We might pop back into the City on Friday for a curry and some drinks in some of the ezxcellent new bars and cafe's that have popped up over the last few years.

 

 

I will show them a great time and a great side to the city, the amount of locals who wouldn't have it in them to do the same is astonishing.

 

 

Keep it up fellas, one of the main reasons not to visit Leicester is the dull personalities of the people who live here.

 

Should be good, mind you, if you're picking them up, they've got no choice really.

[los dedos]

54 minutes ago, Lako42 said:

I find it truly depressing how people from Leicester have such a self depreciating gene deep in their genetic makeup that they simply cannot appreciate the positive aspects (there are many) of the place they are from, it's quite sad.

 

I am about to go and pick some friends up from the Loughborough train station who have come over from Canada. They are excited to go and see the Richard III stuff, the lanes and New Walk will be tagged onto it to make a really nice day out in the city. We might pop back into the City on Friday for a curry and some drinks in some of the ezxcellent new bars and cafe's that have popped up over the last few years.

 

 

I will show them a great time and a great side to the city, the amount of locals who wouldn't have it in them to do the same is astonishing.

 

 

Keep it up fellas, one of the main reasons not to visit Leicester is the dull personalities of the people who live here.

 

As i've said on here before i spoke to a few people from Glasgow,Manchester and London at the viccy park Kasbien gig.Thay all said the could'nt believe how nice Leicester was.

Most had started around the Highcross through the lanes and up New walk.

Ok we all know there better,prettier places but it aint bad!

[NotTheMarketLeader]

1 hour ago, Lako42 said:

I find it truly depressing how people from Leicester have such a self depreciating gene deep in their genetic makeup that they simply cannot appreciate the positive aspects (there are many) of the place they are from, it's quite sad.

 

I am about to go and pick some friends up from the Loughborough train station who have come over from Canada. They are excited to go and see the Richard III stuff, the lanes and New Walk will be tagged onto it to make a really nice day out in the city. We might pop back into the City on Friday for a curry and some drinks in some of the ezxcellent new bars and cafe's that have popped up over the last few years.

 

 

I will show them a great time and a great side to the city, the amount of locals who wouldn't have it in them to do the same is astonishing.

 

 

Keep it up fellas, one of the main reasons not to visit Leicester is the dull personalities of the people who live here.

 

That's the thing... They (sorry we) will take that as a compliment!