Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and President Of Comcast Universal Studios speak about the new UK theme park
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you. It's really fantastic to be here with all of you to announce this new world-class theme park and resort in Bedford.
00:13What an amazing thing. And as you can imagine, when I took over as Prime Minister, people warned you that there are tough days that you're going to face.
00:23You know, responsibility for the armed forces, for fixing the NHS, sorting out the economy. So you can imagine that when someone comes and says, would you like to launch an open theme park, that's a completely different day.
00:40And that's why I was so delighted when Mike came to Downing Street yesterday. And we were able to shake hands on this deal, this new universal UK resort and theme park.
00:53What a momentous day. What's such an important day. And it's not just the first one in the United Kingdom. That would be pretty good.
01:00It's the first one across Europe. And that is really, pretty good. And it's going to put Bedford on the map for millions of people. Film lovers, people coming here for fun, people building their careers here.
01:15It will create thousands of jobs for the local community. And the statistic for that is really impressive. 80% of the jobs are going to be local jobs.
01:25So just looking behind me, these are going to be the jobs of yourselves and your colleagues for years and years to come.
01:32And we will make sure that those jobs go to the people who absolutely need them, because that's part of our plan to get where you work in.
01:41It will develop skills for students like those here at Kimberley College and at Bedford College.
01:47I think it's fantastic that already the work has started to look at what courses are going to be necessary, how we get the pipeline of different jobs, different talents.
01:56That will be some of the jobs in construction, design, architecture, etc. But then the jobs are actually running this theme park.
02:04The new apprenticeships, internships, training opportunities. It's going to be really fantastic.
02:09I'm so pleased that we've got some of the young people here, because this is some of the work that you'll be engaged on.
02:17Because this is a five or six year project to build. That means we'll be starting on this very, very quickly.
02:23And I know curriculums are already being discussed, programmes to train local people and jobs for the future.
02:30And of course, it will boost our world class creative industries.
02:35And it is well, creatives, we are world class, we punch them well above our weight.
02:40And of course, that's a key one of our industrial strategy careers.
02:45So this will drive growth here and across the country.
02:49Higher tourism, improved transport links and billions of investment, generating an estimated 35 billion over the coming day.
02:57That's a huge amount of money right here in Bedford.
03:02And, you know, people said to me, a government will be a roller coaster, and I can testify to that.
03:10I don't think this is quite what they meant.
03:12But look, this is our plan for change in action, bringing investment, bringing opportunity, growth, jobs, and of course, joy to Britain.
03:21And then I have to say, I've got two children, one 16, my boy, one 14, a girl.
03:28They don't take that much interest in the announcements I'm making every day.
03:31I have to admit, this one has really caught their eye because they can envision themselves at this theme park,
03:38like millions of other children for decades to come, coming and enjoying it.
03:43So I look forward to being here, seeing this roll out, and then, of course, come to fruition.
03:48But this is a really, really good day for the country, but particularly for Bedford and the local community,
03:54which is going to absolutely be turbocharged by what's happening here today.
03:58So thank you all for being here.
04:00Thank you particularly to the students, because I think it's probably yourselves more than anyone
04:06that we direct ourselves to today as we think about the jobs, the opportunities,
04:11and the joy that will come from this theme park.
04:14So fantastic day.
04:16Thank you very much, everybody.
04:17And thank you for being here.
04:18Thank you for listening.
04:21Thank Mark and Mike and the whole team for everything that you've done to get this over the line.
04:28Universal could have chosen anywhere in Europe to make this investment.
04:32The fact that they've chosen Britain, the fact that they've chosen Bedfordshire,
04:37is a real sign of confidence in the local economy and in the national economy.
04:42And I'm delighted that we're able to make this announcement today.
04:47Along with the amazing theme park, comes so much more.
04:53£50 billion benefit to the UK economy, 28,000 jobs in a whole range of sectors.
05:00Obviously, construction, that's going to be a massive part of it in the next few years.
05:05But also, they're in retail, hospitality, creative industries, performing arts.
05:10Things that this country is brilliant at.
05:12And the really exciting thing is that young people, people in Bedfordshire and across the region,
05:17across the country, are going to be able to access those jobs.
05:20And this partnership with the college here is really crucial for making a success of the theme park,
05:26but making it work for local people as well.
05:29And alongside that economic prosperity and those jobs,
05:33also comes significant investment in local infrastructure.
05:37We've already made a decision about the expansion at Luton Airport.
05:41And alongside the announcement today,
05:43we're going to be making upgrades at Bedford Station,
05:47a new station at Wixom's,
05:48and improvements for the A421.
05:51So, benefits for the local community,
05:55well beyond what the theme park can bring.
05:58Now, I know that I don't want to make any apologies
06:00for focusing on the numbers on the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
06:04but even I will take a moment to also acknowledge
06:06that the thrill and the excitement of this theme park
06:10for all of the millions of families that will experience it
06:14is also a wonderful thing to bring to our country,
06:17a great show of strength of the UK economy.
06:20So, to the team at Universal Compass,
06:23thank you very much for choosing Britain.
06:26We're really looking forward to this partnership for many years to come
06:29to make a success of it for the local economy,
06:32for the national economy,
06:33and for everybody who will get the enjoyment of visiting.
06:37It's great to be here.
06:38I just want to thank Lawrence,
06:39and I really want to thank the college for hosting us here today.
06:42But to start, really, thanking the Prime Minister,
06:47the Chancellor, Lisa Nandy,
06:50Poppy Gustafson, Chris Bryant, and Johnny Reynolds.
06:55Their work, that team, that collective group,
06:58has been amazing partners to the team
07:00from Universal Destinations and Experiences,
07:03the team at Comcast that is putting this project together.
07:07Beyond that, though, it's been the warmth and welcoming
07:10of the Bedford Borough and the people of Bedford
07:13that have made us feel like this is the right place
07:16for our company to invest the billions of dollars
07:20and the hours and hours of energy
07:22that will go into making a park here
07:24that will be here for many, many decades.
07:28So we couldn't be more excited for the welcome
07:30to the Bedford community,
07:33of which we hope to be a great park.
07:34The UK, obviously, is a logical place
07:40for a park like this,
07:43given the creative industries of the UK,
07:46given the workforce in the UK,
07:49given the importance of tourism to the UK,
07:52the access to transportation,
07:54the access to continental Europe.
07:56So all that, obviously, stacks up nicely,
07:58but really, I want to finish the opener here
08:02by just that team that I mentioned at the beginning
08:05are the ones that brought it over to the finish line
08:07because those were necessary
08:09but not sufficient ingredients.
08:11It was really the collaboration
08:13across all these teams
08:14that really made something very special happen.
08:17And so as we look at it
08:19from the perspective of Comcast, NBCUniversal,
08:24it is a big part of our business,
08:27the theme parks business.
08:28We have parks in Florida, California, and Asia.
08:32Never had an opportunity to find a place
08:34to put a park in Europe.
08:37And so we've looked and thought about it
08:38for years and years,
08:39knowing that when we build a park,
08:42the bar is very high.
08:43It's such an important experience
08:45that we pride ourselves in how well we execute
08:48that it's got to be done
08:49to a perfect level of execution
08:51between the incredible storytelling,
08:55the incredible immersive experiences,
08:57obviously the rides themselves, which are great,
09:00the food that goes around it,
09:02all of that is,
09:04and the people in the parks,
09:06the employees that bring it all to life,
09:09all that is incredibly critical.
09:11But what you then have is a business,
09:15a commercial endeavor
09:16that creates an unbelievable number of jobs,
09:20both in building and then keeping it running.
09:22it will attract millions of visitors to the area
09:26and throw off good economics
09:30for the surrounding communities
09:32and lots of job opportunities,
09:34which is why it's so appropriate
09:35to be here at the college today
09:37because we really see ourselves
09:39being integrated into the community
09:40to try to generate opportunities
09:43and then have our talent
09:45that joins us in the parks
09:47build careers in our parks businesses.
09:49So, with that, I really want to say
09:52how much we, the whole team,
09:54Mark Woodbury over here,
09:55who runs our parks business,
09:57the entire team from Orlando
09:59that's here been working on this
10:01and will stay around and do more.
10:03But we're going to have a lot of work to do
10:05with all the people that made it possible
10:07over these coming years,
10:08but we couldn't be more excited
10:10than to be here
10:11and look ahead to hopefully 2031
10:14when this park opens
10:15and I will be back
10:16for that ceremony as well
10:18and many steps along the way.