Monday 11 May -
Tuesday 4 August 2015
Gateshead International Stadium plays host to Great North
Greats this summer, an exhibition celebrating some of the greatest North
Easterners and their achievements created by Great North Run Culture as part of
the GNR Million ceremony, which took place last September.
The ceremony, celebrated the one-millionth finisher of the
Great North Run with a spectacular event on the banks of the River Tyne hosted
by Ant and Dec, an impressive line up of stars took to the stage to tell the
story of the region.
Now the Great North Greats exhibition, which organisers hope
will inspire people of the region by celebrating the achievements of our
ancestors, is open at Gateshead International Stadium and is entirely free of
charge to visit.
Sally Lockey, Programme Manager for Great North Run Culture said "The exhibition began last September and tours a number of venues that
mark specific points on the Great North Run. This May it comes to Gateshead
Stadium for three months, before reaching its final destination, the Discovery
Museum from August through to November.”
Funded by Heritage Lottery, Arts Council England and Port of
Tyne, Great North Greats, features five of the regions celebrated ‘greats’
include inventor Joseph Swan, industrialists William Armstrong and Rachel
Parsons as well as sporting legends Harry Clasper and Baroness Tanni
Grey-Thompson.
Andrew Moffat, Chief Executive Officer at Port of
Tyne, said: "As part of its commitment to
supporting communities - the Port of Tyne’s sponsorship of the spectacular GNR
Million ceremony has extended beyond the celebration event itself into support
of a year-long programme of art projects, events and exhibitions which
celebrate and explore sport and art through Great North Run Culture."
"The exhibition which
is touring the North East has already been well received and it is great to see
it reach Gateshead International Stadium where many more local and
international visitors will have the opportunity to visit.”
Presented alongside the well-known greats will be a growing
number of stories highlighting the region’s unsung heroes, pillars of the
community as well as those from the world of sport.
Gateshead Council’s Strategic Director for Communities and
Environment, Paul Dowling said "We are
delighted to host Great North Greats at Gateshead International Stadium, we’ve
a long and rich history in the region’s sporting triumphs and we’re keen to
celebrate that with this exhibition.”
Great North Greats is open now and runs until Tuesday 4
August 2015 at Gateshead International Stadium, Neilson Road, Gateshead NE10 0EF.
