The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) has announced the new slate of TEA Thea Awards recipients, honouring people, projects and technologies representing excellence in the visitor attractions industry.
In Europe, the parks receiving awards in 2020 are Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Europa-Park, Parc Astérix and PortAventura World.
The prestigious TEA Thea Award is one of the attractions industry's greatest honours.
The 27th annual award recipients will be celebrated with a series of Thea Awards Digital Case Studies rolling out from July - December 2021.
The awards were founded by the Themed Entertainment Association in 1994. From hundreds of nominations received each year, the TEA Thea Awards Committee deliberates at length to produce the annual slate of recipients, which is submitted to the TEA International Board of Directors for approval.
27th Annual TEA Thea Awards Recipients in Europe:
Descriptions provided by the TEA Thea Awards Committee.
Thea Classic
Blackpool Pleasure Beach
As Blackpool Pleasure Beach turns 125 years old next year, it stands among few comparables in the world of themed entertainment, connecting the industry’s past and future by thriving through more than a century of cultural, social and technological change.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach was founded in 1896 by A.W.G. Bean and his partner John Outhwaite, and soon became known for its innovative thrills as the site became packed with all sorts of unique attractions over decades of expansion. Today, the overall footprint of the development occupies 42 acres with 38 rides that span thrills, coasters, dark rides and family rides, not to mention a collection of shows and unique walk-through attractions. Most notable is the park’s surviving collection of vintage rides, some of these are the last remaining types of their kind in the world. Their additions in the modern era have been equally impressive.
As one of the world’s first and most iconic amusement parks, it has survived two world wars and the harsh environment of its seaside location while continually providing family fun and thrills for generations while remarkably also being a family-owned and -operated business since its inception, currently under the care of the fourth generation of Blackpool lineage.
TEA Thea Awards for Outstanding Achievement
Snorri Touren (Europa-Park)
The Snorri character, developed for the new water park Rulantica, connects the youngest of guests with ancient Nordic stories in a beautifully lighthearted way, and this new dark ride is a wonderful update and evolution to the classic character-driven family dark ride. The immersive quality of the ride’s highly stylized scenery, combined with its intimate sense of scale, make this an extremely charming and engaging experience. The timeframe to deliver this high-quality attraction is also worthy of recognition; design, fabrication and installation in just over a year’s time is a staggering accomplishment.
Les Quais de Lutèce (Parc Astérix)
To stay at Les Quais de Lutèce hotel is to travel 2,000 years back in history. It is a way to walk, shop, dine, and sleep in a detailed replica of a Gaulish village, an immersive experience in the world of Asterix and Obelix. All the architecture is characterized by a high level of concern for detail. On top of the quality and detail of the design, the management of Asterix has given careful attention to the sustainability aspect of the project.
Sesame Street: Street Mission (PortAventura World)
With a combination of amazing, lifelike characters; a simple, fun, and engaging storyline; a highly approachable gaming system; and an age-appropriate ride experience; Sesame Street: Street Mission creates a unique family attraction worthy of recognition. It powerfully illustrates how major IP-based attractions can be executed with excellence at theme parks anywhere in the world. After years of wondering exactly 'how to get to Sesame Street,' we now know it’s at PortAventura.
