Great North Run Joins Great Exhibition Of The North

The Simplyhealth Great North Run – the world's largest half marathon – will form part of the finale of next year's Great Exhibition of the North, Culture Secretary Karen Bradley announced today.

The mass-participation event, which attracts 57,000 runners a year, will be the centrepiece of the Exhibition's final weekend in September 2018. The Great Exhibition of the North is set to be the biggest event in England next year.

The Exhibition, supported by £5 million of Government funding, will showcase the best of art, culture, design and innovation across the Northern Powerhouse.

Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “The Great North Run is a British sporting institution that has raised the profile of Tyneside across the world. It is a fantastic example of how events like these can change a city's culture and I am thrilled it is partnering with the Great Exhibition of the North.

“The event will be the perfect finale to the three month exhibition, which will celebrate the very best of art, design and innovation across the whole of the North of England and help boost investment and tourism in the region to leave a lasting legacy.”

Brendan Foster, founder and chairman of The Great North Run, said: “2018 will be another milestone year for the Simplyhealth Great North Run as the centrepiece to the Great Exhibition of the North's final weekend.

“The region is at the very heart of mass-participation running and this partnership should help to inspire even more people to get active and take part in running, the most accessible and inclusive sport of all.”

Newcastle and Gateshead's world-class venues and unique outdoor spaces are hosting the Exhibition, which will feature a summer of amazing exhibits, inspired technology, and cutting edge culture.

The space suit worn by astronaut Helen Sharman when she visited the Mir Space Station will be on display in the North of England for the first time.

It will be exhibited at the Great North Museum alongside a range of star items, including the last piano John Lennon ever played. Sharman, from Sheffield, was the first British astronaut and the first woman to visit the Mir Space Station in 1991.

The 22lb suit she wore after being selected from over 13,000 applicants to represent the British Juno Mission has never been displayed in the North before.

It has been loaned by the Science Museum and will be one of the star exhibits at the Great North Museum next year.

Helen Sharman said: “It's fantastic to see that the Sokol space suit from my 1991 journey to the Mir space station will feature in the Great Exhibition of the North 2018. I'm delighted that the loan of my space suit by the Science Museum Group will help the Great Exhibition of the North to celebrate the many incredible scientific, technological and cultural contributions made by northerners.

"I hope that the story of a young person from Sheffield becoming the first Briton in space will inspire young visitors to believe that they too can achieve something completely unexpected.”

Also on display will be John Lennon's Record Plant Piano that featured on Double Fantasy, the last album he released before his death in 1980.

The piano, which has also been used by the likes of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, and Elton John, has been loaned by the Beatles Story attraction in Liverpool.

Martin King of The Beatles Story said: “Any exhibition of great things from the North of England should reference The Beatles, or at least one of them. John Lennon's favourite piano from his New York years featured on many of his solo works and, poignantly, was the last instrument he ever played.

"We hope visitors will look upon it and think about the four lads from Liverpool who are still, 50 years on, considered to be the world's greatest ever band.”

Sir Gary Verity, Chair of the Board for the Great Exhibition of the North, said: “The programme highlights we've announced today reflect what an exciting event the Great Exhibition of the North will be 2018. We're telling the story of the North through its people, music, art and inventions.

“Never before have pieces such as Helen Sharman's space suit and John Lennon's Record Plant Piano been on display together in one venue. They'll be joined by many more iconic objects from across the North. We'll also be celebrating the North of England's strengths in digital, health and innovation, and how Northern inventions continue to shape the world we live in.

“Today's announcement is just a flavour of what people can expect when the Great Exhibition of the North takes over the buildings, streets and public spaces in NewcastleGateshead next summer.”

Visitors will be able to discover the story of the North of England through three walking routes themed around art, design and innovation, beginning at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Sage Gateshead or Great North Museum: Hancock.

The BALTIC will present the best in Northern contemporary art including a new solo show from Turner Prize nominee Michael Dean. The Newcastle-born artist is renowned for creating sculpture out of words, using everyday materials such as concrete, steel, soil and sand.

The Sage Gateshead will be home to great musicians of every genre during Great Exhibition of the North, celebrating music that has defined the North. There will be live music, events, exhibitions and weekend festivals for all ages.

The Exhibition will also highlight the North's strengths in key sectors, including digital, health innovation and energy, as well as profiling great Northern innovations such as Graphene, which was discovered by scientists working at the University of Manchester in 2004.

It is expected to attract an additional 1.2 million visitors to Newcastle and Gateshead and bring a £184 million boost to the North East, showing how cultural investment can benefit and inspire entire communities.

For more information visit www.getnorth2018.com