March 07, 2013
To celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who, BBC Worldwide will bring thousands of the Time Lord’s fans together for a very special three-day event, across the anniversary weekend. The Doctor Who 50th Celebration Weekend will be held at ExCeL in London, beginning on Friday, 22 November, with tickets for over 15,000 fans.
More details about the Doctor Who 50th Celebration Weekend, including guests, intinerary, ticket prices and booking information will be revealed soon, alongside a host of other surprises. Fans should sign up to the doctorwho.tv newsletter to be the first to hear about plans for the celebration.
Saturday November 23, 2013 will mark 50 years to the day since the Doctor first appeared on British TV screens and since then his global appeal has continued to grow, with viewers across generations in over 200 territories around the world and over 3 million Facebook fans.
Throughout the year, Doctor Who fans across all of space and time will be able to join in the celebrations closer to home. BBC America are marking the anniversary with a number of original programme commissions which will look back at the Doctor throughout the years. The programmes will focus on a different Doctor each month in chronological order, and kicked off with William Hartnell’s Doctor in January before culminating with the current Doctor, played by Matt Smith in November. The programmes will also be made available internationally.
In New Zealand, BBC Worldwide Australasia has collaborated with the New Zealand Mint to produce a Doctor Who commemorative coin featuring the TARDIS which will be classified as legal tender to the value of $2(NZD).
A huge range of new products will also be released throughout 2013. A set of 11 celebratory Doctor Who stamps will be available to purchase from March 26 and Harlequin Goldsmiths has created a collection of Limited Edition Sterling silver and 9ct gold statuaries, together with a range of jewellery for both ladies and gentlemen.
Amanda Hill, Chief Brands Officer at BBC Worldwide said: “Generations of fans young and old have been captivated by the Doctor and we’ve seen Doctor Who go from strength to strength, enjoying something of a global march over the past few years attracting new followers from Turkey to Brazil to South Korea. This year long celebration is an opportunity for fans around the world to come together and celebrate the glorious past, present and future of Doctor Who.”
