Educational guided audio walks Four years ago we introduced the popular Educational Guided Audio Walks into our programmes. We have found that these walks provide interesting, informative, enjoyable, and educational activities to students throughout their time in London. Each of the walks has been carefully prepared by a knowledgeable team of historians and qualified London guides whose material has then been developed by professional script writers and finally performed by the acclaimed radio actor Tyler Butterworth. Each of the walks has a duration in total of approximately two hours from start to finish, and the walks are delivered on a specially branded New Year s Day Parade and Festival, London MP3 Player complete with headphones and batteries, and with all the instructions that you need to complete the walks successfully. In addition two of the walks come with a question paper which students will be able to complete once they have undertaken the walk when they get back to the hotel, underscoring the educational value of these walks. Every group member will receive an MP3 Player loaded with a total of FIVE educational walks. Walk 1 is of the route of the Parade. Not only does this walk describe in fascinating detail the history lying behind the magnificent ceremonial London Parade procession route, but it also manages to give the feel of Parade day with snippets of the Lord Lieutenant s and the Lord Mayor s opening speeches as well as information about where there are grandstands and commentary points along the way. Walk 2 Princes, Palaces and Power, covers London from Big Ben to Buckingham Palace, Prince William to Parliament and is a powerful mixture of Majesty and Might. Walk 3 Art-rageous London! takes you on a stroll through Theatreland, China Town, Musicals and Museums. Walk 4 The Guide and Seek Treasure Trail, is made up of fascinating nuggets of history, mystery, movies and music, hidden throughout London and waiting to be discovered. Walk 5 UK-USA-250 is a special 35th Anniversary tour celebrating 250 years of the special and enduring relationship between America and London. London s New Year Day Parade & Festival Information Pack 13
Speciality guided audio walks THREE fabulous speciality and highly entertaining tours have been produced. These are brand new for 2013-14! Murder, Mystery and Mayhem in Old London Jack the Ripper and other spooky stories of London. London Rock and Roll Capital of the World The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Swinging Sixties, Glam Rock, Punk Rock, Brit Pop and more. Harry Potter s London The London sights and sounds of the world s most famous fictional boy Wizard! * All three of these brand new tours have been researches, produced, directed and acted by the very best in British radio. The tours will be presented each with their own specially printed individual guide and map, and the audio tracks will be on a separate section of the unique MP3 players. * If Harry Potter is not your cup of tea we do have 1 alternative walk that we can offer to your group: London and the Magic of the Silver Screen Discover where in London many scenes of some of your favourite movies and TV shows were filmed. 14 London s New Year Day Parade & Festival Information Pack
Oyster cards After the huge success of the Oyster Cards in recent years they are once again being included as part of the 2013-14 programme, opening up the public transport system to you throughout your stay in London, and making our unique educational and speciality audio tours even more accessible. The Oyster card is by far and away the best way to navigate London and is a truly invaluable resource for you, as well as being an incredibly helpful way to get you to and from the start and finish points of the fabulous audio walks provided. Enough credit to ensure that you can get to the start of the walks, and get back to the hotel at the end of the walks hassle free has been provided already on the Oyster Card. These clever London travel tickets offer the fastest, smartest and most cost-effective way to pay for travel around London enabling you to enjoy the freedom of the city. They will also make you look like a real Londoner as everyone in London has one! Oyster s have a number of advantages: ALL ENCOMPASSING: You can use the Oyster on London s buses, trams, Tube, DLR, London Overground, National Rail and boats. CHEAPER: Single fares are cheaper with the Oyster than paper tickets. An oyster automatically works out the cheapest fare for all your journeys so you ll never pay more than the price of a day travelcard overall. QUICKER AND EASIER: No more queuing for tickets. No need to plan your journey or buy a specific ticket in advance. Your Oyster will be loaded up with credit for you before you arrive in London, so you just need to grab it and go! EASY TO USE: Oyster is an electronic smartcard ticket. Simply touch your card on the yellow reader to get through the Tube gates or on board a bus or other London public transport services. It doesn t even need to be removed from your purse or wallet to work. Try and keep it in a different pocket to your phone though as this can sometimes affect the Oyster card. REUSABLE: If you have used up your credit you can just top up (add more credit) onto the card either by using the self service machine or at the ticket counter. London s New Year Day Parade & Festival Information Pack 15
A New Year s Eve Celebration Party In order to mark this exciting occasion, Youth Music will arrange for your group to attend a special New Year s Day Parade ~ London New Year s Eve Celebration held in your hotel or one close by. New Year s Eve parties have always been successful and enjoyed by the many young musician participants in the Festival. Parties usually commence around 9.00pm and last until half an hour into the New Year. A professional disco and light show and party favours are provided. Refreshments in the form of a cash soft drinks and snack bar will be available. Transport, where necessary, will also be included. Resource staff will help to organise the party in just the way your group wants. Group members often bring their own CD s for the DJ to play. For Performers Each student participant in a group will receive from The New Year s Day Parade organisers: A specially struck 2013/14 London New Year s Day Parade Festival Medal. A 10 x8 print of the Group Photograph that is taken on January 1st 2014 with the backdrop of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. The photograph is presented to each member of the performing group in an embossed card mount. For Non-Performers All supporters, parents, chaperones and band boosters in a group will receive The New Year s Day Parade organisers: A ticket for a seat in the highly coveted New Year s Day Parade Grandstands for the Parade on January 1st 2014. 16 London s New Year Day Parade & Festival Information Pack
Dates of travel 2013/2014 travel dates for US groups are as follows: 26th December 27th December 2nd January 2nd January 27th December 28th December 3rd January 3rd January 28th December 29th December 4th January 4th January 29th December Monday 30th December 5th January 5th January The programme for participants and supporters has a duration of 8 days and 7 nights, six nights in the London hotel and one on the aircraft from the USA to London Important Notes This information pack tells you about London s New Year s Day Parade and Festival. To be in receipt of the pack does not constitute an invitation to perform in the event. If you are selected for possible invitation by the Steering Committee of patrons and organisers you will be contacted by one of our team of senior representatives and consultants who will be able to answer any questions you may have about the event and the performance tour. The first official correspondence you will receive will be from our London Headquarters in the form of a letter telling you that you have been recommended for participation and asking if you would be able to accept an invitation to participate should one be offered. If you want to move forward from this stage you will then work with our Senior Representatives and Consultants to decide on the criteria of a performance tour offer that will be made to you. Decisions will need to be made on the following: Number of places available Dates of travel and departure airport Exact performance programme features Costs and payment schedules Once you have agreed the above information you will be asked to complete a confirmation of approvals form. This form confirms that there is no known impediment to your acceptance of an invitation - i.e. that permissions from Principals, Superintendents, School Boards, Band Boosters, and Parents have been granted. You will then need to return the completed form, along with details of the agreed performance travel programme offer, to your Youth Music representative or consultant. Once we receive the above items from your representative or consultant, we will create and send to you a formal contract based upon the agreed parameters. At this stage you will be deemed to have been officially invited. You will be expected to sign and remit the contract by return. We reserve the right to make alterations to the materials contained in this information pack. This information was compiled in the spring of 2012 utilising experience and feedback gleaned from the 2011/12 event to enhance the programme offered for 2012/2013. After the 2012/2013 programme there may well be some enhancements and adjustments to the programme. We are always seeking to improve our offers and our performance and to ensure that our programmes are the very best available to performance groups of young people from all over the world. London s New Year Day Parade & Festival Information Pack 17