news release

(London) – Espro Acoustiguide is pleased to announce the signing of a five-year agreement with the Royal Pavilion Brighton, for the provision of an inclusive audio guide service offering five tours on 400 exSite Classic wands.

From 24th April 2006, using funds secured as a result of an independent disability audit of the Royal Pavilion in 2003, audio guides will be available free of charge to the Pavilion’s 300,000 visitors per year. The Acoustiguide audio tour is the first ever to be offered at the Royal Pavilion; five tours are offered on the exSite Classic wand, including English, French, German, a visually-impaired tour, and a basic English tour ideal for foreign tourists and other visitors who wish to take the tour in a simplified and highly-accessible version.

John Nash’s extraordinary architectural design together with the important historical collection within, have ensured the Royal Pavilion’s status as an enduring and much-visited landmark. The Pavilion's lavish interiors combine Chinese-style decorations with magnificent furniture and furnishings. Daring and inventive colours feature throughout, and there are many original items on loan from HM The Queen.

The audio guides are designed to complement information provided by the site’s Information and Security Team, guidebooks and guided group tours already available at the Pavilion. Speaking of the new audio tour service, Councillor Sue John, Deputy Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council said “The Pavilion is such an iconic building and with its intriguing royal history, it deserves to be made easily accessible and clearly explained. This is a way of making sure everyone, including overseas visitors and visually impaired people, get the best possible value from the experience.”

David Wynne, Managing Director of Acoustiguide Limited said “We are delighted to have won such an important contract at this much-loved site. Providing an audio tour service here is an ideal way of allowing visitors to fully appreciate the visually stunning interiors without being distracted by too many written information boards. The tours were carefully constructed by our creative team to ensure bottlenecks were avoided whilst allowing visitors to listen to commentaries at their own pace.”

For information about the Royal Pavilion, Brighton please visit www.royalpavilion.org.uk