Everything we know about plans for new £600m UK theme park 'with no rides'
A French theme park company has announced plans to open a £600m attraction in Oxfordshire that has no rides.
The Puy du Fou resort has been an enormous success in France for more than four decades, centring on historical re-enactments and live shows.
Now its owners have turned their attention to the UK, and plan to open a theme park near Bicester.
Yahoo News UK looks at everything there is to know about the planned theme park.
Le Puy du Fou is a historical theme park in the village of Les Espesses in western France, which opened in 1978 and focuses on bringing French history to life in the form of live reenactments and shows.
It has more than two million visitors a year, and for three years running between 2019 and 2021 it was France's fourth most popular theme park after Walt Disney Studios, Disneyland Paris and Parc Astérix.
Puy du Fou has 26 live shows, with each one lasting about 30 to 40 minutes, featuring Vikings, knights, gladiators and chariot racing. There is also a falconry show, while rooks are also trained to pick up litter around the park.
In 2019, the second Puy du Fou opened in Toledo, Spain, and has since expanded into a park with five shows and four villages.
A public consultation has been launched on proposals for the £600m park near Bicester.
It will include four period villages and 13 live shows in which visitors will be able to 'immerse themselves in British history'.
Those behind the project are hoping to begin construction next year with a view to open the park in 2029. It will be open to the public between April and October.
The plans include three themed hotels connected to different periods of British history, restaurants, a conference centre, ponds, lakes, gardens, and more than 40 acres of wildflower meadows and 20,000 new trees.
Puy du Fou is asking the public to comment on the proposals online at a dedicated website which contains detailed plans for the park.
There will also be three public consultation events next month at:
– Weyland Hall on North Street, Bicester, on 6 February between 12pm and 7pm.
– Whately Hall Hotel in Horse Fair, Banbury, on 7 February between 12pm and 7pm.
– Bucknell Village Hall in Middleton Road, Bucknell, on 8 February between 10am and 5pm.
According to Olivier Strebelle, chief executive of Puy du Fou, the £600m investment will take place over the next 10 years and employ 700 people, as well as creating up to 2,000 new jobs at hotels, suppliers and other local businesses from its first year of opening.
He said: 'We want to create a setting of beautiful gardens and wildflower meadows, and the first new forest in Oxfordshire for generations, covering 50 acres and with 20,000 new trees being planted.
'I look forward to listening to local people and businesses as we work on finalising our plans for this exciting project.'
Universal has plans for a 476-acre theme park in the town of Bedford, Bedfordshire.
Universal Studios United Kingdom will have rollercoasters, a 500-room hotel and its own train station.
Universal already has theme parks in the US, Singapore, China and Japan, with their rides featuring hit movie franchises such as Harry Potter, Shrek and Jurassic Park. It hope to open the UK park by 2030 or 2031.
The £250m Therme Manchester spa and water park is planned on the former site of the EventCity exhibition centre, and is scheduled to open in 2027.
It will feature an indoor beach, sauna, an urban garden, a water park, mineral pools, a spa, a vertical farm, a rooftop garden, botanical gardens and restaurants.
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