Google trikers snap away at Stadium
20th July 2009, 4:15 pm By Principality Stadium
The Millennium Stadium has become the first venue to be captured by the Google Street View cameras – after UK internet users voted it one of the top tourist attractions in the UK to be immortalised by Google Street View.
The 18-stone mechanical Trike arrived with two Welsh riders at the iconic venue early this morning to capture 360 degree images of the 74,500 capacity multi-event arena that will be joined by Stone Henge, Angel of the North, Loch Ness, the Eden Project, Warwick Castle and Bamburgh Castle over the next few weeks.
The ‘tryclists’ from Newport and Pontypridd will travel throughout the UK this summer as Google honour their bid to get the public’s favourite tourist attractions on Google Street View.
A Google spokesperson said: "We’ve seen a tremendous amount of enthusiasm from British people to get their favourite places onto Street View. Now it’s down to our super fit tryclists to get cracking and photograph these places so that curious historians, students and tourists all over the globe can soon admire the country’s heritage and plan their next weekend away."
WRU head of communications John Williams was delighted to find the Google Trike at the Millennium Stadium this morning. He said: "The Millennium Stadium has developed an international reputation which presents an image of Cardiff and Wales which is admired the world over, the Google Street View vote proves the Welsh nation has a building to be proud and one which is recognised around the globe as a true modern icon."
Each tourist attraction will take its place on the virtual map, accessed through Google Maps or Google Earth tempting people at home and abroad to explore Britain’s historic and culturally significant landmarks in an exciting new way. Additionally, they can benefit from the Street View technology by embedding Google Maps directly into their websites for free. Here they can add layers of information such as parking locations and upcoming events information.
Google & VisitBritain started the campaign last month by asking the British public to name their top tourist treasures within 5 categories; Castles, Coastal Paths, Natural Wonders, Historic Buildings & Monuments and (Sports) Stadiums. 10,000+ suggestions were received and whittled down to 16 which went to the final public vote, resulting in today’s winners. These 16 finalists were: Angel of the North, Bamburgh Castle, Cheddar Gorge, Colchester Castle, Corfe Castle, Durdle Door, Eden Project, Ironbridge (Blists Hill Victorian Town), Kenilworth Castle, Lands End, Leeds Castle, Loch Ness, Millennium Stadium, Pembrokeshire Coast, Stonehenge, Warwick Castle.