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Posted : 23 August 2019

V&A Dundee has been named as one of Scotland’s premier visitor attractions for international travellers to visit this year.

American news magazine, TIME, one of the most respected and informative guides to the world’s events, and famous for its iconic front cover images, has revealed that V&A Dundee and The Macallan Distillery have been listed as two of ‘The World’s Greatest Places 2019’.

Dundee City Council leader Councillor John Alexander said: “This is another exciting accolade for V&A Dundee and yet more recognition that Dundee is a thriving and exciting city. We have built an international reputation as a creative centre with arts and culture as a driving force in our ongoing transformation.

“The opening of V&A Dundee was a pivotal moment in this journey. I am pleased to see that hundreds of thousands of people have visited so far, far exceeding expectations. I hope that TIME Magazine’s award will help attract even more visitors to our city.”

The two Scottish attractions are joined on the list of 100 global destinations by the University Arms Cambridge.  These are the only destinations in the UK to be featured on this year's list.

V&A Dundee, an international centre for design for Scotland, was opened in September 2018, and has already attracted more than 750,000 people. Around a quarter of these visitors were reported to have come from the rest of the UK or overseas.

The first ever design museum to be built in the UK outside London, it was designed by internationally acclaimed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and stands at the centre of a £1 billion transformation of Dundee’s waterfront. V&A Dundee has been credited with driving visitor numbers and spend to the city according the figures released by Dundee City Council earlier this year.  Tourists contributed £187 million to the local economy in 2018, an increase of £16m on the previous 12 months, with the number of day visitors to Dundee increasing by 36 per cent to 560,000 in the same period.

In response to the inclusion of both attractions being included in ‘The World’s Greatest Places 2019, Tourism Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “This is a fantastic achievement for both the V&A Dundee and The Macallan Distillery. Both attractions represent the very best of Scotland’s tourism experience.

“The city of Dundee has seen enormous benefit from the opening of the world class V&A museum. Since it opened, the museum has attracted more than half a million visitors from all over the UK and throughout the world, and has been part of the rejuvenation of the waterfront in Dundee."

Malcolm Roughead, VisitScotland Chief Executive, said: “The Macallan Distillery and V&A Dundee’s inclusion in this prestigious list of the top 100 places to see in the world this year is testament to both attractions’ stature in the UK.  I don’t think anyone could go to either location and not stand back in awe at these amazing feats of architecture, bringing their surroundings to life, as well as be drawn in to the experiences they offer visitors.

“Both attractions have been ground-breaking for their respective city and region. They have forged reputations for innovation, creativity, learning, community engagement and unforgettable experiences, helping to elevate the unique characters of both Dundee and Moray Speyside, and of Scotland, and put them in the map as a must-see places to visit.

“We can’t be complacent however and it is important that we continue to encourage the tourism industry to provide world-class service, facilities, events and attractions to keep up with ever-changing consumer demands and ensure visitors continue to have memorable experiences across Scotland.”

For more information about V&A Dundee and more things to see and do in Dundee, please visit: https://www.visitscotland.com/destinations-maps/dundee/

 

by Dundee City
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Posted : 18 June 2019

Come and explore with us as Dundee Summer Street Festival returns in 2019!

Our theme this year is Explorations and we’ve got a myriad of ways for you to do that!

Highlights include:
•    Centrepiece Luminarium in City Square – don’t miss it!
•    Food and drink with Dundee’s Farmers’ Market
•    Fun in the Overgate 
•    Games on Reform Street
•    Explore Dundee tours and trails point in Reform Street
•    Amazing maze for wee ones in Albert Square
•    McManus Big Explore
•    Music and street theatre throughout!

by Dundee City
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Posted : 26 April 2019

V&A Dundee has been selected as one of five finalists for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2019.

This award is regarded as the most prestigious museum prize in the world. The annual award celebrates innovation and exceptional achievement in museums and galleries across the UK.

The other four museums shortlisted for the title are HMS Caroline, Belfast; Nottingham Contemporary; Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford; and St Fagans National Museum of History, near Cardiff.

The winning museum, which will receive £100,000, will be announced at a ceremony at the Science Museum, London, on Wednesday 3 July 2019. The other shortlisted museums will receive £10,000 each in recognition of their achievements. This year’s judging panel for the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2019 award, chaired by Stephen Deuchar, Director of Art Fund, are David Batchelor, artist; Brenda Emmanus, broadcaster and journalist; Bridget McConnell, Chief Executive, Glasgow Life; Bill Sherman, Director, Warburg Institute.

Dundee City Council leader Councillor John Alexander said: "The achievements of V&A Dundee just over six months following its opening are nothing short of remarkable.

"This is a hugely prestigious award to be shortlisted for and it will further raise the profile of the museum and our city.

"We are at the centre of unprecedented international attention and we are all working hard to create more exciting opportunities for Dundee and its people for the future."

To celebrate being shortlisted for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2019, V&A Dundee will open late every Friday night for the run of Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt, the museum’s current major exhibition. The exhibition is on until 8 September and the whole museum will be open until 21.00 every Friday from 26 April.

V&A Dundee opened on 15 September 2018, over a decade after the first conversation between the University of Dundee and the V&A about creating a new museum at the heart of the city’s regeneration. Together with Abertay University, Dundee City Council and Scottish Enterprise the museum was founded on a unique partnership of five organisations.

Throughout its creation V&A Dundee worked to inspire people and promote the understanding of design. In March 2018 the museum marked the achievement of engaging with 100,000 people, six months before opening. To date, over 500,000 people have visited the museum.

As Scotland’s first design museum, V&A Dundee tells a global story, with permanent Scottish Design Galleries, major exhibitions showcasing the very best in international design, and a lively programme of commissions, events, talks and workshops.

Philip Long, Director of V&A Dundee, said: “It is an honour for everyone who has helped create, launch and run V&A Dundee for the museum to be shortlisted for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2019.

“This award recognises achievements in 2018, a year when we reached the milestone of engaging over 100,000 people some six months before opening the museum, travelled across Scotland to work with young people, and then launched the museum with a thrilling family festival of design and music.

“Since opening we have already welcomed over 500,000 visitors, double our pre-opening estimates, as well as attracting many people to visit other visitor attractions in Dundee and spend time in this beautiful area of Scotland.

“2019 is set to be a very exciting year for the museum, having just opened our new exhibition Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt and now as a nominee for the biggest museum prize in the world.”

Speaking on behalf of the judges, Stephen Deuchar said: “The five shortlisted museums have each offered outstanding and different approaches to the vital task of engaging with the widest public in new and adventurous ways. We congratulate all those who are on the shortlist and encourage everyone to go and visit them.”

by Dundee City
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Tags: Dundee

Posted : 16 April 2019

City Breaks UK: The 10 Best for 2019 - #Dundee is on the list, as selected by Condé Nast Traveller UK

https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/city-breaks-uk-2019

#DundeeIsNow #SunnyDundee #LoveDundee

#ScotlandIsNow  #VisitDundee

 

by Dundee City
One City, Many Discoveries

Posted : 12 April 2019

Scotland’s sunniest city has made it to the top spot beating nine other Scottish locations listed in the Sunday Times 2019 Best Place to Live Guide.

 

The judges in the annual Best Place to Live awards take into account much more than the mantra of location, location, location!

 

Appealing and affordable housing, access to good schools and low crime rates are taken into account when deciding on the winner of the Best Place to Live, as are attractive parks and green spaces, accessible cultural activities, good transport links and a strong sense of community spirit – all areas where Dundee scores high in official statistics.

 

The judges combine market research data with their own experience and insight to ensure the chosen locations truly are places where everyone can thrive.

 

Helen Davies, The Sunday Times Home editor said: Finding our very own best place to live now feels more important than ever, for our wellbeing and wealth, happiness and health. The Sunday Times has championed locations across the UK that we think are a great place to make a home.”

 

We say: There are many reasons Dundee’s been named Scotland’s Best Place to Live but for the most obvious, take a walk by the river. Only minutes from the city centre, seals, seabirds and dolphins can be seen from the banks of the River Tay – how many people can enjoy such a spectacular lunch break?

 

To access the full article about why Dundee has been named The Best Place to Live in Scotland published on 14 April 2019 go to thesundaytimes.co.uk/bestplacestolive #STbestplaces #DundeeIsNow

 

Dundee

 

by Dundee
Dundee

Posted : 8 April 2019

Easter Fun Day returns for 2019! Come down to Camperdown Park Dundee on Sunday 21st April 12-4pm.

A cracking event for the whole family, with competitions, music, carnival ... plus a visit from the Easter Bunny! Take part in the giant easter egg hunt, get involved with the Craft tent, face painting and singalong with Fun Box, live on stage.

Getting there is easy too - just hop on the Xplore Easter Egg-spress service 54, running every 20 minutes from Whitehall Street.

Free entry to the event!

Car parking £3.

Check out the egg-citing schedule below: 

TimeWave FM Roadshow with Brad & Rachel
12 noonEaster Fun Day Opens
12.10Ultra Dance
12.30Games on stage with Brad & Rachel
12.50Music by Craig Weir
13.20Music game
13.40Ultra Dance
14.20Fun Box - Pirate Party, come dressed as a pirate!
15.00Fun Box music game
15.30Performance by Be Charlotte

 

Schedule may be subject to change

by Dundee City
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Tags: The McManus

Posted : 3 April 2019

The story of Dundee, its people and its nationally significant art and museum collections can now be heard first hand at The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum with the introduction of new audioguide tours.  International visitors to the city will also benefit from the enhanced cultural offer as guides are available in six different languages.

The tours take in the permanent galleries starting with an introduction in the Gothic Hall and the history of The McManus. They then speak about ‘What is a Museum’ and Dundee's designation as a UNESCO City highlighting some of the city's collections and their design connections.

In the Landscapes and Lives Galleries there is an introduction to selected objects including a focus on the Picts and the Royal Arch. The visitor is next taken to The Victoria Gallery and guided through the highlights of the Fine Art Collection. The tour then drops by the Dundee and The World Gallery with its impressive architecture where there is an overview of Dundee’s maritime history and the nationally recognised whaling collections. The tour rounds off in the Making of Modern Dundee Gallery where among other things there is a look at the three Js of Jute, Jam and Journalism.

The easy to use handsets are available in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Mandarin and English and offer a stress free, entertaining accompaniment to visitors looking for additional quality content during their visit.

Sinclair Aitken, Chair of Leisure & Culture Dundee commented:

“The introduction of these audio guides will be useful for all visitors and provide an in depth look at the story of Dundee and The McManus in a simple and seamless way. We’re also responding to an increase in international visitors to the city and hope that everyone will enjoy this improved access to the city’s history and collections.”

Caroline Warburton, VisitScotland Regional Leadership Director said:

“It is fantastic news that even more visitors will be able to discover and learn about Dundee and The McManus through the arrival of these new audioguide tours. With international visitor numbers increasing, it is important that those coming to explore our country from overseas are made to feel as welcome as possible, and ensuring we have experiences that cater for different languages and cultures is a vital part of that.” 

The audiotours last around one hour, cost £5 per visit and are available from The McManus reception.

by Leisure and Culture Dundee
New Audioguides introduced at The McManus

Posted : 1 April 2019

V&A Dundee has welcomed half a million visitors to the museum since it opened, hitting the milestone almost six months earlier than expected.

The 500,000th person to walk through the doors of Scotland’s first design museum was officially recorded on Saturday 30 March 2019.

V&A Dundee, which opened on 15 September 2018, has vastly exceeded original visitor estimates which forecast it would take 12 months to reach half a million visitors.

People from Dundee, Scotland and all over the world have enjoyed V&A Dundee’s programme of exhibitions and events as well as the remarkable museum building, designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.

Surveys commissioned by V&A Dundee have found that visitors are being attracted from beyond the immediate Tayside region, with 36% from elsewhere in Scotland, 17% from the rest of the UK and 9% from overseas.

Survey responses also show the opening of V&A Dundee has given its home city new confidence, with 84% of attendees saying the launch festival positively impacted their perception of Dundee.

Director of V&A Dundee Philip Long said: “It has been an extraordinary opening period for V&A Dundee and the support from visitors has surpassed all expectations.

“Amazingly we have welcomed half a million visitors to the museum in a little over six months, our inaugural exhibition has been seen by almost 100,000 people and crowds of over 22,000 turned out to take part in our opening celebrations.

“V&A Dundee is flourishing as a hub of creativity and learning and it’s wonderful to see so many people enjoying it, with many returning time and time again.

“This is just the beginning for V&A Dundee, and the dedicated team behind the museum will continue with our mission to enhance lives through design and to inspire as many people as possible to get involved.”

To date 375,000 visitors have explored V&A Dundee’s Scottish Design Galleries, which tell Scotland’s international design story. These galleries have attracted exceptionally positive visitor survey responses, with 94% saying the overall experience is very good or good, a figure which rises to 100% for Dundee visitors.

The museum’s stunning inaugural exhibition, Ocean Liners: Speed and Style, was seen by 95,766 people. V&A Dundee has also held more than 300 events including public lectures, design workshops, tours and school visits and 7,500 museum memberships have already been issued.

The next major exhibition, Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt, opens on Saturday 20 April and is the first exhibition to fully consider the complexity of videogames, positioning them as one of the most important design fields of our time.

The museum’s opening two-day celebration, the 3D Festival held in Slessor Gardens and headlined by Primal Scream, was attended by 22,600 people. Audience feedback found that 97% of those who attended the Friday evening event, and 92% who took part in the Saturday activities, rated the event as “good” or “very good”.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop said: “V&A Dundee is a powerful symbol of Dundee's new confidence and is not only raising the national and international profile of the city but is increasing Scotland’s attractiveness to tourists looking for world class cultural experiences.

“It’s fantastic to see V&A Dundee breaking visitor numbers six months earlier than predicted, showing the incredible success of this prestigious new attraction and that there is a real interest in Scottish design.

“I congratulate those involved in making this such a valuable asset to Scotland in both cultural and economic terms and I look forward to seeing it continue to delight visitors for decades to come.”

The opening of V&A Dundee has coincided with growing visitor numbers at other Dundee cultural attractions. 2018 figures, recently released by ASVA (Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions), showed a 42% increase in the number of visitors to Discovery Point and a 21% increase at Verdant Works. Other attractions in the region, including Arbroath Abbey and Barry Mill also recorded significant increases.

Dundee City Council leader Councillor John Alexander said: “This is an incredible achievement for V&A Dundee in such a short time.

“We can see from the increased visitor numbers at other Dundee attractions that the city is certainly feeling the benefits of the opening of this superb new museum of design.

“Everyone is looking forward to the unveiling of V&A Dundee’s new exhibition and partners in the city are working towards maximising the continuing opportunities for the area from these visitor numbers.

“This is just six months since the museum first opened. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

For more information about V&A Dundee, please visit their website.

by Dundee City
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Posted : 22 February 2019

V&A Dundee and Slessor Gardens will welcome the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow to the museum this summer.

Presented by Fiona Bruce, the programme, which has been running for 42 years, will be filmed at the design museum and the nearby Gardens on Sunday June 23.

It will be the show’s first visit to Dundee in more than a decade.

Antiques Roadshow is one of the BBC’s most popular factual programmes and is regularly watched on Sunday evenings by around six million people.

Each Roadshow event attracts around 4,000 visitors, who come along to find out the history of their antiques and collectables before receiving an expert valuation.

Fiona Bruce, who has presented the show for the past 12 years, said: "So much of what you see on the Antiques Roadshow is about the story of an object and its owner as much as about its value.

"We are never short of people bringing along items that tell a hell of a story, which can be very exciting, poignant or funny, sometimes, all three. Or it can tell us something about ourselves.

"Even after all these years people still have the most amazing things tucked away in their attics and garages and I can’t wait to see what they pull out of their bags and trolleys in 2019."

Around 15,000 items are valued at each venue by Roadshow experts, then narrowed down to 50 which are filmed for inclusion on the show.

Some of the most fascinating finds to come to light over the years include Lawrence of Arabia’s wristwatch which went on to sell for £34,000, a chest eventually proven to have belonged to Queen Anne and a leather jacket worn by John F Kennedy and valued at up to £300,000.

A family teapot belonging to avid Roadshow fan Norah Ambrose during the programme’s early years proved to be life changing when she went on to sell it and buy her council house with the proceeds.

The last time Antiques Roadshow was filmed in Dundee was in 2008 when the standout item was a clock brought along in a bread bin and estimated to be worth up to £10,000.

Made around 1830, the clock had been accepted as a settlement for geese during the Second World War by a farmer in Dumfriesshire.

It has also been filmed at Perthshire’s Scone Palace and Glamis Castle in Angus in recent years.

V&A Dundee director Philip Long said: "We are delighted that V&A Dundee will host the Antiques Roadshow this summer and are looking forward to welcoming the BBC team and thousands of guests to the museum.

"V&A Dundee is a new museum at the heart of Dundee’s rejuvenated waterfront which celebrates the very best of international and Scottish design. We are extremely fortunate to be part of a city with such an extraordinary heritage and I can’t wait to see what family treasures are uncovered here."

Dundee City Council leader John Alexander said: "I am delighted to welcome the Antiques Roadshow to the city.

"V&A Dundee is an ideal host for what promises to be a great occasion.

"We are continuing to move from strength to strength and people are fast becoming aware that Dundee is a really cool place to live, work and visit.

"I’m looking forward to seeing what antiques are brought along and the stories they bring with them."

The show will be filmed throughout V&A Dundee as well as the city’s waterfront park space, Slessor Gardens.

Entry is free and everyone is welcome, with no tickets or pre-registration required.

Visitors can turn up on the day with their items or, if they wish, share their stories with the Roadshow team in advance by emailing their name, address, telephone number, a description and photograph of the item as well as how they came to own it to shareyourstory@bbc.co.uk

Alternatively, visitors can write in advance to Antiques Roadshow, BBC, Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2LR.

by Dundeecity
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Posted : 8 February 2019

Delve into Scotland, an interactive eBook guide produced by VisitScotland and illustrated by Marcus Marritt, explores the best places to visit in Tay Country.

Tay Country is made up of Perthshire, Dundee, Angus and Fife and this handy guide highlights many of the stunning features that this area of the country has to offer.

From the breath-taking and modern V&A Dundee situated on the River Tay in the heart of Dundee’s revitalised Waterfront to the age old Falkland Palace, which stands proud in the small village of Falkland in Fife.  Steeped in rich history and blessed with stunning views of natural beauty, Tay Country is one of the top places to visit when coming to Scotland.

Did you know that you can fly to Dundee airport direct from London?  This connection lands you in the heart of Tay Country, ready to explore this fantastic area.  Tay Country is also within easy reach of Edinburgh, Glasgow and the central belt roads network.  Or take advantage of the convenient rail and bus links to Dundee, with several trains and buses running every day.

This fantastic guide also highlights some of the many seasonal events that take place in Tay Country throughout the year allowing you to plan the perfect visit to this stunning part of Scotland with ease.

Tay Country is one of the sunniest spots in the country, with Dundee being officially the sunniest city in Scotland.  Tay Country is the best place to come for a fun filled break full of nature and culture.

To see the “Delve into Scotland” eBook, click here.

by Dundee City
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