Press Releases
Lumiere media and influencer visits shine a light on Durham
Journalists and social media influencers from across the UK and beyond descended on Durham last week as the UK’s light art biennial made its dazzling return.
Visit County Durham worked in partnership with Lumiere producer Artichoke to deliver a group media visit and Instameet to showcase the event and wider destination.
Fourteen national journalists attended the trip, representing a range of arts, lifestyle and travel publications, including The Yorkshire Post, The Tablet, This England Magazine, American in Britain Magazine and Catherine’s Cultural Wednesdays.
And as well as viewing the Lumiere artworks in Bishop Auckland and Durham City, the group joined exclusive tours of the county the following day, to experience key attractions and exciting developments taking place. Half of the journalists explored Durham City before visiting the Durham Dales, where they took a tour of Raby Castle and learnt about the Rising development.
The other journalists explored the county’s newest attraction, The Faith Museum in Bishop Auckland, which opened last month, followed by a tour of The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle.
Maximising content on social media for Lumiere and the destination was a key priority, with 20 influencers from the North East, London and the West Midlands attending an exclusive preview event organised by Visit County Durham and Artichoke.
Before attending the event on the night, the influencers enjoyed a high-level tour of Durham Cathedral and had free time to explore the city’s other attractions, shops, eateries and riverside walks to create content for their channels.
VisitBritain also joined the group to capture footage and images of Lumiere and Durham City for its global channels.
Michelle Gorman, managing director of Visit County Durham, said: “Lumiere is the jewel in Durham’s cultural crown and presents a fantastic opportunity to showcase the county’s wider visitor offer. We are thrilled with the media interest in this year’s event and Durham as a destination, and we are really looking forward to seeing the coverage that results from the trip.
“The influencer preview event was also a great success, and I would encourage you to view some of the amazing content created by the attendees by searching for the #LumiereDurham and #LoveDurham hashtags on Instagram and TikTok.” To find out more about Lumiere 2023, read the Lumiere Durham post-event release.