We Just Became One of the Top Two Best Attractions in the Country!
- 5th Jun 2025
- Author: Elliott Langley - Marketing Administrator
If you passed through Leicester this morning, you may have felt a minor seismic event as our team collectively jumped for joy. We are absolutely over the Moon (pun very much intended!) to announce that the National Space Centre has won the Silver award for Large Visitor Attraction of the Year at the 2025 VisitEngland Awards for Excellence! What a result! I believe the phrase “get in” is appropriate?
Over 1,800 applications were submitted from across the country, with just 360 making it to the national competition across 16 categories. Of those, only 52 finalists reached the final stage - with a mere three per category. And we were one of them.
This is the first time in the (almost) quarter of a century since we opened that we have received national recognition such as this. To be acknowledged as one of the two very best visitor attractions in the country is, you guessed it, out of this world!
While I’m a big believer in staying humble, I do think having a bit of a shout about the news is in order. After all, it’s only thanks to the people who show up for work every day that we won; the people who make sure everything is as it should be in the galleries, the passion they pour into making every experience count, the level of care and warmth they put into making sure visitors feel welcomed and safe.
And there also happens to be a very significant and personal reason why this means so much to me in particular.
The Path to Winning
Cast your mind back to July 2024, when we were contacted by the team at Leicestershire Promotions. The yearly Tourism Award ceremony has become a highlight of the year for us, and it was time to enter ourselves into the running again.
In quite an unexpected turn of events, I was asked to write and submit the application. Having worked here for a decade now, both on Space Crew and then in Marketing, I have the benefit of knowing the Centre really well. I had been involved with implementing the Ethos and Values project a few years ago, had attended previous Tourism Awards ceremonies, and also have the benefit of having worked closely with all the different teams behind-the-scenes.
It was flattering to be asked, and an exciting opportunity, as not only would we be entering the local award; should we make it through to the regional finals, our application would be put through to the national Visit England award. No pressure then!
Crafting a Winner of an Application
The first step was to compile a long list of achievements, ongoing redevelopment projects, a wealth of visitor feedback, and of course, some tasty statistics — because who doesn’t love data? Then came the writing. Several drafts, lots of fact-checking, many cups of coffee, and multiple rounds of proofing later, the application was ready.
And then... we waited. Weeks passed. Finally, we got the news in December last year that we had won the regional awards, and were through to the nationals!
Malika and Neil made the long journey down to Brighton yesterday to attend the lavish awards ceremony. There they had some time to enjoy the seaside, and naturally, a portion of chips, which some of the locals seemed to take issue with (see photo). Then the time came to attend the Awards ceremony and represent the National Space Centre in the runnings.
The team shared a table with our friends at King Richard III Visitor Centre and the Griffin Inn, both of whom took home an award, as well as a representative from Visit England and Leicestershire Promotions.
A fabulous night was had, excellent food was eaten and then... the result came in: we had won the Silver award!
Full Circle
The fact that the application scored us the Silver award is particularly sentimental to me for another reason, though. Whilst I may have started working here in 2015, the first time I actually set foot within the National Space Centre was all the way back in 2002. The Centre had been open for just eight months, and I came for a day out with my granddad, Roy. I was 13-years-old, deep in my grunge phase (plot twist: it wasn’t a phase), and without the slightest idea of what the future held.
There are three very distinct memories from that visit that I can recall. The first is being absolutely fixated with the “shampoo circulation” exhibit in what was then known as Orbiting Earth, a replica globe that simulated the Coriolis effect. The second is eating a vegetarian sandwich in Boosters for lunch and learning that I really do not like beetroot. But mainly, I remember having a day out that was just me and my granddad, a rare chance for the two of us to bond. Whilst the rest of the day is a bit of a blur now, I remember the feeling of being thoroughly wowed by the Centre, and hoping that one day I would get to come back
Well, I got my wish! Fast forward to the present, where I get to be part of a team that helps create similar experiences for other people every day, so that they too can make lasting memories. I never would have imagined back then that, 23 years later, I would not only be working here full-time, but that I would be given the opportunity to represent the charity on a national level. It’s hard to put into words, but seeing the National Space Centre win this award feels personal; it feels like coming full circle.
But, this certainly isn’t my victory to claim. This award comes from all the hard work of so many talented and passionate people who make this place so special. Even all these years later, there are still so many people discovering the Centre for the first time, and new generations of children are learning about space with us every day. Winning the silver award for Large Visitor Attraction of the Year is such a huge milestone, and will not only raise the profile of the National Space Centre even further, but help the charity to continue growing.
So to everyone who has visited us, supported us, worked here, or cheered us on – thank you. We could not have done this without you! And to my grandad, thank you for bringing me on that day out all those years ago. I may not have enjoyed the sandwich you bought me, but I did end up enjoying the career I found here instead.
