Aura Sabadus Hundreds of Scandinavian viewers are battling to win a trip to Norfolk as part of an international competition featuring county-filmed series Kingdom.

Aura Sabadus

Aura Sabadus

Hundreds of Scandinavian viewers are battling to win a trip to Norfolk as part of an international competition featuring county-filmed series Kingdom.

Norfolk County Council, Norfolk Tourism, and Hallmark Channel, part of NBC International, have teamed up to fund a contest which will give 12 Scandinavian Kingdom viewers the chance to visit the region.

Premiered in Scandinavia last year, the second part of the series which follows the adventures of solicitor Peter Kingdom in the fictional town of Market Shipborough began to air in Northern Europe last month.

A competition advertisement plugging Norfolk as a travel destination, is running after each episode shown in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, inviting viewers to answer the question - 'in which county is Kingdom set?'

Around 1,000 viewers are believed to have already entered the competition, with the winners' trip featuring a guided tour, which will include the Kingdom trail and a visit to Norwich and the Broads.

Two pairs of winners from each respective country will then be chosen at random when the competition comes to an end in May.

Articles about the programme and competition are also being placed in television listing magazines in each country as part of the link-up.

Stephen Fry, alias Peter Kingdom said: “One of the things that excited me about Kingdom was that it was set in a country town - which I think is a much overlooked part of Britain, and of course, that it is set in Norfolk.

“You feel a loyalty to the place you call home, you belong to a part of the world and you think it's gorgeous - especially when it has qualities that you think are different.

“Having been raised in Norfolk, I would be delighted if in some way I could help give something back to the county, and I would encourage viewers of Kingdom - whether in this country or any other, to come and see what this unique and wonderful place has to offer."

A spokesman for Norfolk County Council said accommodation for the winners' trip has been donated by Best Western, Knights Hill Hotel, Kings Lynn; Best Western, The Hoste Arms, Hunstanton; Best Western, Le Strange Arms, Hunstanton, Best Western, The George Hotel, Swaffham, Manor House Farm, Wellingham and Searles Leisure Resort, Hunstanton.

Christopher How, Cabinet member for Economic Development at Norfolk County Council, said: “Tourism is the county's largest industry, and is worth over £2 billion to the local economy.

“Kingdom has already provided great publicity for Norfolk, even before being screened to international audiences, and we are keen to work with the producers of the show to maximise the positive benefits that the association between the show and the county can bring.

The series contains beautiful footage of the Norfolk scenery.

Gunn Haglund, Marketing Manager, Hallmark Channel said: “Kingdom is a high quality production and one of our programme highlights in 2008.

“We visited the set of Kingdom with Italian journalists last summer and were all amazed by the untouched beauty of Norfolk as well as all the cultural attractions in the area”

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