Free Entry to Top Uk Attractions: World Book Day

Vicky Parry 4th Mar 2024 No Comments

Reading Time: 5 minutes

World Book day is far from just a day to dress your kids up as their favourite character from literature. It is a week long celebration of literature and there are free events and incredible opportunities across the UK to celebrate.

Find everything you need to prepare for your World Book Day celebrations in education settings and at home on the Celebrate World Book Day page, including a Primary School Pack, Secondary School Pack and Early Years pack, fun activities, resources, display and celebration materials.

There are also some fabulous competitions, including the ever-popular Design a National Book Token competition in partnership with National Book Tokens, and a chance to win a set of costumes for your school with Rubies.

Free Entry to Top Attractions

To get into the spirit of World Book Day® and encourage children to share their passion for reading, some of the UK’s leading attractions are partnering with the charity to celebrate the fun this year.

Leading destinations including the lastminute.com London Eye, Warwick Castle, Shrek’s Adventure! London, Cadbury World, LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre in Manchester and Birmingham, Madame Tussauds Blackpool and SEA LIFE Centres nationwide will all be offering complimentary entry to children who come dressed as their favourite book characters or carrying their favourite book this World Book Day, happening on Thursday 7th March.

The attractions are partnering with the charity to celebrate and promote reading for fun among kids of all ages. Children aged from 2 to 15 years old and dressed in book-themed costume – whether it’s Zog, everyone’s favourite green ogre Shrek, a shark, a witch or a magician to name but a few – and are accompanied by an adult with a pre-booked promotional ticket can enjoy a complimentary ticket for the attractions between March 7 –10.

Complimentary tickets at the selected attractions can also be redeemed for children who want to bring their favourite book. 10 percent of each ticket sold will be donated to World Book Day, and 5 percent will be donated to Merlin’s Magic Wand charity.

Nick Brigden, Head of UK Brand Partnerships at Merlin Entertainments which owns the attractions involved, said: “We are very much looking forward to sharks, Queens, bunnies and dragons visiting us across World Book Day weekend.

“If your children love a great read, we’re hoping to inspire their future reading through our attractions. World Book Day provides us with the perfect opportunity to ignite the spark of imagination in the hearts of children, encouraging them to explore the wonders of reading.”

Cassie Chadderton, Chief Executive of World Book Day, said: “It’s wonderful to partner with some of the top UK attractions to celebrate the enjoyment of reading. We hope these fabulous days out in amazing spaces such as SEA LIFE and Warwick Castle inspire families and children to have fun with books, so that many more can grow up with the life-changing benefits of reading for pleasure.”

To gain a complimentary ticket from Thursday 7 March through to Sunday 10 March, all children aged 2-15 have to do is arrive dressed as their favourite book character or carry their favourite book with a fully paying adult.

The following attractions are involved in the initiative: the lastminute.com London Eye, Warwick Castle, Shrek’s Adventure! London, Cadbury World, LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre in Manchester and Birmingham and SEA LIFE Centres across the UK.

EXCHANGE UNWANTED FOR FREE BOOKS

Families can list their unwanted books and exchange them for a free one in a UK-wide book swap. Neighbourhood app Nextdoor is marking World Book Day with the community-based initiative.

Completely free to take part in, it is aimed at ensuring everyone and particularly families, can celebrate World Book Day without costing them any additional expense within the current climate. All families need to do is list their unwanted books on Nextdoor’s ‘For Sale & Free’ feature or collect a book nearby to them.

Families can also list and shop fancy dress and costume ideas locally, without buying these items brand new.

Laura Roche, Managing Director of Nextdoor UK, says: “One of the benefits of Nextdoor is that there’s such a wide variety of items on the platform that are free, meaning all families can take part in World Book Day for little or no cost. Last year, we saw popular demand for a range of items on the platform, from books to fancy dress and toys, with families using the platform to create great costumes, find new books, and share their looks on the day.”

“We want families to join in the fun of World Book Day and make it as easy as possible to enjoy, all without worrying about the costs. The For Sale and Free feature is a really simple and cost-effective way to do this.”

Nextdoor is completely free to download. To sign up or to find out more, visit www.nextdoor.co.uk

More about World Book Day

With a programme of exciting events, brand new activities for home and school, and a fantastic line-up of £1/€1.50 books, World Book Day on 7 March 2024 is shaping up to be the best ever.

See below for an exciting list of events and resources, starting with:

THE £1/€1.50 BOOK SELECTION

There’s a great line-up of £1/€1.50 books for 2024 that children can choose for free with their £1/€1.50 book token. With books for beginning, early, fluent and independent readers, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Alongside the 12 titles available across the UK, there are also two exclusive books for Ireland and a new World Book Day Welsh title.

The books will be available from booksellers from 16 February 2024 – find your nearest participating bookseller. Thursday 15 February until Sunday 31 March 2024.

Find out everything you need to know about the books and token exchange here.

For more information about World Book Day 2024, you can check out these FAQs.

EXCITING EVENTS FOR 2024

This year sees some great online events for you to integrate into your celebrations. For all the details visit the events page.

FUNDRAISING FOR WORLD BOOK DAY

In the UK, up to 500,000 children (1 in 15) don’t have a book of their own. This goes up to 1 in 10 for children receiving free school meals. Having access to books and developing a love of reading for pleasure is vital for a child’s future.

World Book Day’s vision is to see more children, from all backgrounds, developing a life-long habit of reading for pleasure and benefitting from the improved life chances this brings them. By making a donation or raising funds for World Book Day, you can help to change lives through a love of books and reading.

Download Fundraising pack

If you love reading then read our 6 Ways to Make Money Reading article here.