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China's first Legoland opens to visitors in Shanghai

China's first Legoland opens to visitors in Shanghai

SHANGHAI (AP) — A giant 26-meter (85-foot) Lego figure named Dada welcomed visitors to the new Legoland resort in Shanghai.
The resort, which opened Saturday, is the first in China. It is one of 11 parks across the world and was built with 85 million Lego bricks.
Among the main attractions is Miniland, which replicates well-known sights from across the world using Lego bricks. It features landmarks across China like Beijing's Temple of Heaven and Shanghai's Bund waterfront. There's also a boat tour through a historic Chinese water town built with Lego bricks.
'My first impression is it is a good recreation, like a real fairyland of Lego,' said Ji Yujia, a Lego fan who was there on opening day.
The resort was developed in conjunction with the Shanghai government by Merlin Entertainments and the LEGO Group.
Visitors were greeted by performances featuring Legoland characters. Tickets range from $44 (319 yuan) to $84 (599 yuan).
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Lego built F1 trophies for the British Grand Prix. Here's how they did it
Lego built F1 trophies for the British Grand Prix. Here's how they did it

New York Times

time2 hours ago

  • New York Times

Lego built F1 trophies for the British Grand Prix. Here's how they did it

SILVERSTONE, UK — When Formula One brought 10 full-size, drivable Lego cars to the Miami Grand Prix for the pre-race drivers' parade, few could have predicted the move's success. 'The fact the cars were moving was a huge surprise, but then what the drivers started to do when they got into the cars, that was even more surprising,' Julia Goldin, Lego's chief product and marketing officer, told The Athletic in an interview. 'Because we told them, 'Don't race!'' Advertisement F1 drivers being F1 drivers, they of course ended up racing and crashing into one another, despite being limited to a maximum speed of 12mph. The footage went viral. F1 and Lego announced a partnership in Las Vegas last year, which included launching an extensive product range. A car from the Speed Champions range, which includes all 10 F1 teams, apparently sells every two seconds. But Miami drivers' parade action proved such a huge hit, it left fans to wonder what might be next. So after Lego cars, now come Lego trophies. At Sunday's British GP, as F1 celebrates 75 years since the world championship started at Silverstone in 1950, the top three finishers of the race, plus the winning team, will be presented with full-size trophies made entirely out of Lego. The actual winner's trophy for the British Grand Prix is the iconic, solid-gold Royal Automobile Club Trophy. This will still be presented on the podium to the race winner along with the Lego trophy. It was the key source of inspiration to the designer of the Lego version, Samuel Liltorp Johnson. Johnson is a Lego creative lead, who normally designs model sets so large that families can build together, and has worked on projects such as Lego's 'Doctor Who' editions. He was approached back in April — before the Miami drivers' parade — with the task of making a trophy for the British GP. 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'Lewis Hamilton holds it like a baby and George Russell punches it to the sky,' he said, explaining that he'd pick the trophy up and wave it above his head to ensure it stayed together. One incident that caught his eye was Lando Norris's champagne bottle smash in Hungary two years ago, which inadvertently knocked Max Verstappen's porcelain winner's trophy off the top step and caused expensive damage. 'It's glued to ensure it doesn't fall apart,' Liltorp Johnson added. The trophies are the next big moment for F1 and Lego, but Liltorp Johnson knew the spotlight would grow after the Miami drivers' parade 'race'. 'I was in the middle of making this, and that was a 'no pressure' moment,' he said. 'Now they've made this global moment and maybe I have to compete with that. These cars are massive. It was so cool. 'That made me really excited, because you could see how happy the drivers were. It's Lego directly impacting their enjoyment of those moments.' The Lego trophies were only revealed one hour before the start of the Silverstone race by design. In Miami, it was only when the drivers' parade began that people knew the cars could actually be driven. Goldin said that F1 and Lego would be 'selective' in their major marketing projects, as they 'need to be unique and surprising.' She also talked up F1 'Easter eggs' they could work on together, such as designing the braking marker boards that have been at points of the tracks in Austria and Silverstone to imitate Lego bricks. Advertisement 'I think if we did something every week, it would not feel as special,' added Emily Prazer, F1's chief commercial officer. 'It's about making sure the ideas that we come up with collectively do feel like part of the race weekend and don't feel like we've done it for the sake of it.' Prazer said the reaction to the Miami drivers' parade had surpassed F1's expectations. 'It was wild,' she said. According to Goldin, the Lego cars parade generated a collective 24 billion views. But to keep the element of surprise, Goldin said that if the drivers' parade was repeated in the future, it would be 'not in exactly that form. It has to be something special and different.' The next major F1/Lego event is planned to take place in Las Vegas, according to Prazer, to mark one year since the partnership announcement. 'We'll do something fun,' she said. Silverstone's podium may be just the next step for Lego's F1 involvement, but for Liltorp Johnson, it will be a career high. 'What am I supposed to do now?' he joked. 'Everything's going to be boring after this, right? I feel like I can really feel when something's once in a lifetime. If I don't invest my whole self into this, when am I ever going to get that chance again? 'So that's what I've done. I've really just tried to give myself to this and just give it what it deserves.' (Top image: via Lego)

China's first Legoland opens to tourists in Shanghai
China's first Legoland opens to tourists in Shanghai

Yahoo

time19 hours ago

  • Yahoo

China's first Legoland opens to tourists in Shanghai

Thousands of local tourists poured into China's first-ever Legoland as it opened its gates in Shanghai on Saturday, the latest theme park hoping to capitalise on a domestic tourism boom. The Chinese branch of the British-owned theme park franchise is the biggest Legoland in the world. It drew in early customers who flocked to attractions including a miniature train ride and a dragon-themed rollercoaster. "I personally love to play with Lego blocks and we have many sets at home... so I wanted to come to Legoland at the earliest opportunity," said Shi, a 35-year-old resident of nearby city Hangzhou, who was visiting the park with his wife and child. Despite the Chinese economy's sluggish growth in recent years, domestic tourist spending grew 18.6 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous year, according to statistics. "Ever since the pandemic, I've made very few trips abroad," said Shi, adding his family now travels to theme parks around China "many times a year". Eager Lego fans rushed into the park as soon as it opened, wearing themed shirts and waving branded flags as they enjoyed the 318,000-square-metre (78.5-acre) compound in scorching temperatures. Beijing has announced subsidies intended to make travelling within the country more affordable for Chinese citizens, and is pushing local governments to heavily market their attractions on social media. Companies have taken note of the wider local tourism boom and stepped up their plans in China. A new "Spider-Man" attraction at Shanghai Disneyland broke ground in May, while Warner Brothers is set to open a Harry Potter experience in Shanghai by 2027. Toy giant Hasbro said this week its giant Peppa Pig park in the city was now "in the phase of creative design". Chinese collectable toy maker Pop Mart has also opened an attraction in Beijing featuring life-sized versions of its popular Labubu toys. "The various provinces are putting a lot of effort into expanding their tourism industries, and all of them have special attractions," said Xu, a 34-year-old parent visiting Legoland on Saturday with his children. But profitability remains a problem, especially for local companies with less brand recognition. As of late 2024, around 40 percent of parks were still failing to turn a profit, according to state media reports. Yet analysts point to a growing population of retirees and job market changes as key factors pushing more locals to visit domestic attractions. "The labour market is turning more flexible," said Ernan Cui, China consumer analyst at Gavekal Research. "More people have leisure time to travel around." tjx/jfx

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