NZ Memorial Dedication in London Wins Top Award
Media Release, 13 December 2007
The dedication ceremony for the New Zealand Memorial in London – designed as a place where Kiwis can feel at home – has won a prestigious UK award.
The event has won the International Visual Communication Association award for projects that inform and educate their audiences.
The Memorial at Hyde Park Corner, commissioned by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, reflects the enduring bonds between the two nations, not only through the sacrifices of the two World Wars, but in cultural, trade and immigration links.
The Ministry’s manager for Heritage Operations, Brodie Stubbs, says he is delighted the dedication ceremony – which was widely acclaimed – has been recognised.
“The Memorial speaks strongly of New Zealand as a nation and of our special relationship with the UK. The dedication ceremony was an equally powerful and moving expression of our identity,” he says.
This is the third major award the Memorial has won.
The dedication, on 11 November last year, took place in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen and other members of the royal family, as well as Prime Ministers Helen Clark and Tony Blair, and 3000 invited guests and onlookers.
It included a 120-strong military march to Hyde Park Corner, a spectacular fly past above the park, and the emotional participation of over sixty New Zealand and UK veterans who fought in WWII, Japan, Korea and the Malayan emergency.
Performances by Dave Dobbyn and Hayley Westenra, and karanga and haka, expressed the strong cultural significance of the occasion.
Note: Media can access photos of the ceremony and Memorial at
http://www.mch.govt.nz/projects/memorials/london-media-gallery.html#ceremony
Contact:
- Brodie Stubbs: Manager, Heritage Operations, 04 496 6347 / 027 425 1378
- Shona Geary: Communications, 04 496 6185 / 027 256 7778