Wake The Tiger has been called an Amazement Park by its founders, who have also trademarked that term. It will open this coming summer in the St Phillips area of Bristol, UK, in a space formerly used to store the sets for Boomtown’s annual August gathering in Winchester, Hampshire.
Blurring the lines between an art gallery, theme park and film set, Wake The Tiger will welcome up to 300,000 guests a year. Invited to step through a secret portal into the world of Meridia, visitors will experience a multi-layered maze of immersive environments, secret passageways, hidden forests, temples, ice caves and mesmerising wonders.
Just like Boomtown, there will be a strong storyline with a playful twist that encourages guests to build a better world. However, it is envisaged the indoor experience will attract a broader range of visitors than the five-day summer music festival, which is known for its hedonistic atmosphere and elaborate staging.
Wake The Tiger: where festivals and attractions collide
“This project is two years in the making and the result of decades of creative input from some of the best technologists, storytellers and creative minds working across festivals and attractions in the UK,” says Wake The Tiger founder and managing director, Graham MacVoy.
Originally known as Boomtown Fair, the festival that spawned the upcoming attraction in Bristol welcomed 1,500 revellers during its inaugural year in 2011. The most recent event at the Matterley Estate in Winchester, in 2019, attracted closer to 70,000. The first Boomtown since the pandemic this coming August will feature themed districts such as Botanica, Area 404, Metropolis, Grand Central, Copper County, Old Town and Origin.
Over £1.5 million ($1.95m) of seed investment has already been secured from private investors to help make Wake The Tiger a reality. The fantastical, psychedelic experience will feature the work of over 100 artists, poets, scenic artists, robotics experts, fabricators, costume makers, architects, videographers and prop makers. A Crowdcube fundraiser is set to be launched this month to secure an additional £350,000.
Re-awaking the summer
Irrespective of Boomtown’s roots in the city, Bristol is viewed as the perfect location for Wake The Tiger. Situated within easy reach of London, the Midlands and Cardiff, it boasts two of the UK’s biggest international universities and a thriving music and arts scene. In 2019, the city welcomed 16 million visits.
As the music festival industry emerges from a bruising two years during the pandemic, the promoters of Boomtown can expect a summer to remember for more reasons than one in 2022. The exact opening date for Wake The Tiger will be announced soon.
Elsewhere in the city, the Bristol Zoological Society recently shared more details about its plans for Bristol Zoo Gardens as well as new concept art for the 186-year-old site, which closes to the public later this year. Bristol Zoo is closing on 3 September 2022 ahead of its relocation to the Wild Place Project in South Gloucestershire. The new Bristol Zoo is set to open in 2024.
