Reader's Digest Joins the Paddington Trail

LONDON, October 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Reader's Digest celebrates childhood with quintessentially British icon - and a National Treasure!

Reader's Digest is proud to announce our support and sponsorship of the Paddington Trail this Christmas, in celebration of the much-loved bear's big screen debut.

The Paddington Trail is a major initiative developed by the NSPCC, VisitLondon.com and STUDIOCANAL to tie in with the hugely anticipated movie, released in the UK on 28th November 2014. London is Paddington Bear's favourite city and 50 life-size Paddington statues (three foot six inches tall), designed by a host of artists, designers and celebrities, will be placed in prominent locations across the capital in a similar vein to the Eggs trail and the recent Book Benches.

The Paddington Trail not only celebrates the film's release, but also the bears tip their hats to London's thriving innovative arts and culture, as seen through the eyes of one of the world's favourite - and most curious - characters.

National treasure Julie Walters is the designer of the Reader's Digest bear, which will be positioned on Primrose Hill. The design will feature primrose flowers and will be in a similar pose to that of the classic Paddington Bear as designed by Michael Bond.  

Julie Walters, who stars in Paddington as Mrs Bird, says, "Paddington is a very sweet and very literal bear - he would undoubtedly think that Primrose Hill was covered in primroses. For my bear I wanted to bring one of the prettiest parts of London to life just as Paddington would have imagined." 

In the coming weeks, the Reader's Digest website will be dedicated to all things Paddington, who will be our cover star in the December issue of the magazine. 

EDITOR'S NOTES: 

• Paddington has 90% awareness among the British public.
• A Paddington Bear was presented by the French to the British when the two halves of the Eurotunnel joined up.
• The Best of British, nostalgia and heritage are the hallmarks of both Reader's Digest and the Paddington Bear stories.
• The celebrity designer of the Reader's Digest bear is national treasure Julie Walters!
• Julie Walters, who stars in the film as Mrs Bird, is interviewed for the December issue of our magazine.
• Julie Walters will also feature in the Reader's Digest first podcast, out in November.
• The cover star of Reader's Digest's December issue will be Paddington - one of the rare examples of Reader's Digest UK featuring a non-human on the cover! 
• Readersdigest.co.uk/Paddington-bear will be packed with a range of content, including features, recipes and competitions.
• A major competition is #RDstarebear encouraging the public to photograph their best hard-stare selfie to win a major prize (one night's stay, for two, at Brown's Hotel, including breakfast at HIX Mayfair and Afternoon Tea in The English Tea Room).
• The Reader's Digest statue has been designed by Julie Walters and will be placed on Primrose Hill.
• The Reader's Digest statue, along with other bears featured in the Paddington Trail, will later be auctioned to raise money for the NSPCC.
• It is hoped that The Paddington Trail and associated activities will raise £500,000 for the NSPCC and its ChildLine service. 

KEY DATES: 

• 4 November - reveal of first few statues and locations
• 20 November - Reader's Digest featuring Paddington and Julie Walters on the news stands
• 10 December - Live auction at Christie's on 10 December featuring some of the statues. Information on http://www.visitlondon.com/paddington where you can register your interest in the auction

Launched in 1922, Reader's Digest has become the largest circulating magazine in the world. With 90 years of trust and a loyal audience, it cuts through the noise of 21st-century communication with a modern, optimistic and engaging approach, combining humour and nostalgia with well-researched, informative and entertaining features. 

SOURCE Reader's Digest