Universal Destinations & Experiences has held its first public event for its planned theme park in the UK, with hundreds queuing to hear about the project.
Plans for a UK theme park were confirmed by Universal in December after the company bought a 476-acre parcel of land south of Bedford.
Page Thompson, president of new ventures at Universal Destinations & Experiences, has told the BBC there is “a lot of work to do before a decision”.
“We’ve been amazed by the incredible welcome in Bedford and the enthusiasm for this project,” he added.
Universal’s first public event was held on Saturday (13 April) at Kimberley College in Stewartby.
“All we can really tell people today is that we’re interested in exploring the feasibility of building a theme park here,” said Thompson.
He added: “This is really a transformative project for the whole Bedford area. It’s going to create thousands of jobs, both during the construction period and after we open, when we’ll have about 8,000 people working for the park full-time. It’s a tremendous opportunity.
“What I hope people take away from this is that we’ve done this all over the world, we’ve built these great resorts that people love and we can do it here in the UK, as long as the project makes sense.”
Universal plans theme park in Bedford
Universal would “have a better idea” about whether it could move forward with its Bedford theme park plans by the end of the year.
The next public event will be held tomorrow (16 April) from 4.30pm until 8pm at Bedford College.
Residents and businesses from the local area can also review Universal’s information pack on the project website and provide feedback via an online survey, which is open until 3 May.
In February, the UK government said it would support plans for a new Universal Studios theme park.Â
Images courtesy of Universal
