When Leicester beat 5000 – 1 odds to win the premier league they took on the giants and did the unthinkable – they won! Gary Lineker, Leicester boy, former England player and lifelong supporter of the team described it as the biggest sporting shock of his lifetime, as supporters went wild with celebrations that they had never dared to dream of, and a few even won some big money! But what else is it that makes Leicester so great? It is one of the UK’s oldest cities, and has a rich and diverse history. If you are hoping for a spectacular place to spend Diwali, but the budget doesn’t stretch to a flight to India, then go to Leicester, where you will find the biggest Diwali celebrations in the world outside of India. There is a huge light switch on and many celebrations throughout the day to join. It may be a little chillier than India so take a coat!
However, if you are planning on taking a holiday, Leicester was the home of package holiday creator Thomas Cook! His statue is in an appropriate place for his love of travel – outside the railway station! Leicester is also the home to another famous traveller of the world, the great Sir David Attenborough. He grew up and attended school in Leicester, and it was at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall where he attended a lecture given by Archibald Belaney, known as ‘Grey owl’ on the environment and eco system and importance of maintaining it that greatly inspired him to pursue the career that he has had. There are certainly numerous people would work as a Motivational Speaker that have attended the city to discuss their life and work.
A much older famous resident of Leicester is King Richard III, who died during battle. In 2012, Leicester University took on an ambitious project to hunt under a car park for the long-lost body of the king. A body was discovered, as well as the Grey Friars, but needed to be tested and analysed to see if this was the King. On 4th February 2013, Leicester University made the announcement to the amazement of the world that the body they had uncovered was indeed King Richard III!
Leicester is also home to an out of this world place – the National Space Centre. This amazing futuristic building is home to the UK’s largest planetarium, the forty-two-metre-high rocket tower (home to the Blue Streak and Thor Able rockets), actual moon rocks and outer space events (check the website for details of what is going on there). The Space Centre is a great example of how far technology has come. It is a real tribute to the great advances in technology and the exploration of our universe.
Of course, the UK’s 10th biggest city needs some shops for all those people – and it is home to the biggest indoor market in Europe – not to mention back in the 1960; s it had the biggest Tesco as well!
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