Between the end of April and the beginning of May, the LRE Foundation, with the help of Bart Giepmans from Eastbound PR, organised two press trips to promote the Liberation Route Europe. Journalists from various newspapers in Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands took part in the two journeys.
The first press trip began on April 23 in Portsmouth, where the group, guided by LRE UK Director Ben Mayne, visited museums such as the LRE Foundation member D-Day Story, memorials, and landmarks associated with the preparation for D-Day on the Liberation Route hiking trail connecting London and Southampton. The journalists then travelled to Normandy with LRE France Director Isabelle Lebreton to visit some of the sites on the D-Day beaches-themed route, including the Juno Beach Centre and the D-Day Landings Museum in Arromanches, among others. The trip concluded on April 28 in Jersey, where Visit Jersey and Jersey Heritage welcomed the group that had a chance to visit some of the main sites along the two Liberation Route Europe themed routes on the island.
The second press trip took the journalists on a historical tour of the Luxembourg and Belgian Ardennes, visiting sites connected with the Liberation Route Europe themed route dedicated to the Battle of the Bulge, including the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch and the Bastogne War Museum. This second trip concluded on May 5 in Germany, where the group visited some parts of the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest themed route, such as the Vogelsang Complex, as well as some points of interest in Remagen.
“The two press trips, which were funded by the German Foreign Office, were an excellent opportunity to raise awareness of the Liberation Route Europe project and the values it represents.” says Gert-Jan Jacobs, LREF Press and Communication Advisor, “We are grateful for the LRE Foundation network’s collaboration in supporting such cultural and tourism initiatives. A special mention goes to the guides that took us along the route, their contribution was crucial for the realisation of these trips. We hope that the media attention generated by these press trips will introduce the Liberation Route Europe to new audiences from a broad range of countries.”
We would like to express our appreciation to our partners who provided support throughout these trips: The D-Day Story, Brittany Ferries, Normandie Tourisme, Région Normandie, Visit Jersey, Jersey Heritage, Juno Beach Centre, the Luxembourg General Directorate for Tourism, the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch, the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, Bastogne War Museum, the Vogelsang complex, Remagen.
