Doctor Who exhibit opens to fans in Cardiff - BBC Wales
Posted: Friday, 20th July 2012
BBC News Wales
20 July 2012
A Doctor Who attraction which has specially built sets and interactive features is opening to fans in Cardiff.
The Doctor Who Experience based next the BBC's Roath Lock studios in Cardiff Bay is expected to attract up to 250,000 visitors a year.
Exclusive filming with Doctor Who actor, Matt Smith, is one of the features at the exhibition as well as a replica of the Tardis.
Thousands of tickets have been bought by fans ahead of Friday's opening.
Previously, a temporary Doctor Who exhibit visited the city, but the latest development is in a new Cardiff council-built building, and the idea is to have an evolving visitor experience during its five year lease.
Philip Murphy, the managing director of BBC worldwide live events, said putting everything into place had been a "massive job", but everything is ready for Friday's opening - including a Tardis at the end of a jetty.
"It has created work too, because a lot of local people have been hired to create this, and through the additional tourism it'll bring in," Mr Murphy added.
When a Doctor Who convention was held in Cardiff in March people travelled from around the world to attend, and global visitors from places as far apart as Australia, Paris, Holland are expected to make the journey this time.
