Shrewsbury’s Battle of Shrewsbury Anniversary programme has helped to generate nearly £1 million worth of press coverage. Since January, Shrewsbury has been featured in over thirty different publications ranging from The Times to the Stoke Sentinel. Coverage of Battle of Shrewsbury events was also shown on regional television on several occasions, and the Battle was featured in the TV series 'The History Detectives'.
The campaign started in January when Battle publicity officers linked the impending F.A. cup 'battle’ with Chelsea to the historic battle, 600 years ago. Throughout the spring and summer national and regional media picked up on Shrewsbury’s commemorative year. As well as the national press, the Battle was also covered by specialist publications like 'Living History’ magazine, and even overseas magazines like American glossy 'British Heritage’. Several journalists visited Shrewsbury to see the town, the Battlefield and the memorial church for themselves.
Shrewsbury & Atcham Borough Council’s Tourism Officer, Alison Patrick reflected on the year: 'We are really pleased with the amount of press coverage this year, a huge proportion of which has been generated by the Battle of Shrewsbury. It seems to have captured people’s imagination and has drawn a lot of attention to Shrewsbury as a historic place to visit.’
At their final meeting, organisers of the Battle Anniversary programme also thanked the local press and media for their support which everyone felt had played a big part in making the year so successful.
Although the 600th anniversary year is nearly over, even more coverage is expected in the New Year. Two television series currently in production are set to feature the Battle of Shrewsbury.
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