David Hempleman-Adams MBE, OBE – who in September became the first man to cross the Atlantic solo in an open wicker basket – is paying tribute to the airline industry …
David Hempleman-Adams MBE, OBE – who in September became the first man to cross the Atlantic solo in an open wicker basket – is paying tribute to the airline industry and the pioneering spirit of the Wright Brothers when he officially opens World Travel Market.
The Opening Ceremony will take place at the WTM Stage at 11.30 am on Monday 10 November and relayed on to giant screens in the Central Boulevard.
This year’s leading business event for the global travel and tourism industry coincides with the anniversary of powered flight on December 17 when the Wright Brothers left their cycle shop in Dayton, Ohio and defied the sceptics by flying their heavier than air machine above the dunes, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
“It was an historic moment that has shaped the international travel and tourism industry ever since,” said Fiona Jeffery, Group Exhibition Director. “We could not let this moment pass without paying tribute to Orville and Wilbur Wright, who demonstrated such bravery and determination and whose legacy has had a sustaining affect on travel and tourism even today. Or to other aviation pioneers, such as Germany’s Otto Lilienthal, whose exploits inspired the brothers to take to the air.
She continued: “Bravery and determination also best describe the characteristics that kept David Hempleman-Adams going on his own historic flight across the Atlantic.
“David will be talking at World Travel Market about what the Wright Brothers discovery has meant to the airline industry and also more about his own achievement in September.”
After the Opening Ceremony, Mr. Hempleman-Adams will be attending World Travel Market’s Captains of Industry Lunch at which the speakers are Stefan Pichler, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Cook AG and five-times Olympian Gold Medal winner, Sir Steve Redgrave. Mr. Hempleman-Adams will be joining more than 100 chief executives, managing directors and directors from the commercial sector.
The invitation only lunch is in aid of World Travel Market’s international charity appeal ‘Just a Drop’, raising money for clean water and sanitation projects worldwide.
David Hempleman-Adams
Mr. Hempleman-Adams endured more than 84 hours of cold, surviving sleep deprivation, hail, high winds and snow to make his hazardous and record breaking trip across the Atlantic.
In 1984 he was the first person to successfully complete a solo expedition to the Magnetic North Pole without the support of dogs, snow mobiles or air supplies. In 1992 he lead the first team to walk unsupported to the North Geomagnetic Pole and has also directed seven other Arctic expeditions. He is only the third Briton to have climbed all seven continental summits.
In 1996 he became the first Briton to walk solo and unsupported to the South Pole and sailed to the South Magnetic Pole, becoming the first person to do so in the same year. He also led the Ultimate Challenge, a team of novices, to ski to the Magnetic North Pole, gaining some notable firsts – again becoming the only person to ever reach both North and South Magnetic Poles in one year.
On 29 April 1998 he reached the North Geographic Pole, completing the Adventurers’ ‘Grand Slam: he has climbed the highest mountain on each continent and reached the North and South Geographic and Magnetic Poles.
David received the Gold Star Award in 1984, the RADAR Person of the Year in 1992; in 1994 he was awarded the MBE for Services to Polar Exploration; and in 1996 he was voted ‘Pertex’ Outdoor Person of the Year. He was awarded the OBE in1998.
The Museum of Flight
During the Opening Ceremony, Ms. Jeffery will be introducing a short film on the story of Kitty Hawk and the achievements of the Wright Brothers. The film produced in association with The Museum of Flight, Seattle, one of the largest air and space museums in the world. The independent 12-acre museum has more than 135 historically significant air and spacecraft as well as a considerable collection of documentation on the duo.
Bombay Dreams
The cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash hit epic musical ‘Bombay Dreams’ will form the finale of the opening ceremony.
Performers will provide a colourful ten-minute medley of songs which combines the world of teeming Bombay with fashionable Bollywood.
The performance is supported by leading ticket agency, Group Line who are arranging a major ‘Bombay Dreams’ ticket promotion during World Travel Market, offering all exhibitors and pre-registered visitors the special price of £27.50 per ticket. The promotion saves £15 on each ticket for the show at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre and is subject to availability. Tickets will be sold online prior to the event and at the Group Line stand in the UK section UK13042.
WOW
A spectacular 15-minute riverside fireworks display, choreographed to party music ends the opening day with a WOW – short for World Travel Market Official Welcome.
Stilt walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and skaters dressed in stunning carnival costumes will mingle with delegates at the quayside outside ExCeL. A total of 10,000 special sparklers will be handed out to guests and fireworks and lasers, sponsored by World Travel Market and ExCeL, will cascade across the river, starting at 6.30 pm,
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
