London is the world’s most visited city and a global blockbuster brand with record-breaking international visitor numbers year-on-year. But it’s tough at the top. London's official tourist board must continue to excite and inspire the world to visit.

In November 2014, London & Partners, the city’s promotional company, brought together the capital’s most famous residents and locations to create a city break made up of extraordinary experiences.

An international search was launched to find London’s Official Guest of Honour. The world responded with 6.5 million views of the video invitation, 650,000 VisitLondon.com visits, 100,000 registrations and 10,000 entries. After a rigorous judging process Adaeze Uyanwah was named the Official Guest of Honour.

From arrival to departure – it was an unforgettable stay. Imagine afternoon tea with Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter at Lord’s Cricket Ground, performing in Mamma Mia! in London’s West End, touring the Royal Opera House with internationally famed ballerina Darcey Bussell, raising Tower Bridge and a private tour of the Science Museum with Professor Stephen Hawking.

And that’s just the beginning. The result? The campaign’s PR activity generated global media coverage worth £5.6M across 42 countries in outlets such as Quest Means Business on CNN/CNN.com, France2, USA Today, BBC, Sky News, The Times, Huffington Post, The Telegraph, Sydney Morning Herald, Il Giornale, Travel + Leisure, Grazia (France), Yahoo! and NBC. With 66% of all UK adults reached, a global audience of 300 million and 1.2 billion opportunities to see - it is London’s most legendary tourism campaign yet.

During summer 2014 we targeted top-tier celebrities requesting support for the Guest of Honour campaign.

In September Phase 1 media pitches began to outlets including CNN and France2, offering exclusive celebrity access. A full sell-in to target markets ran from October with the team offering celebrity interviews, feature content and Guest of Honour visits for handpicked media. A campaign crest projection onto London’s City Hall, alongside Tower Bridge, provided an iconic launch image.

The team secured global media coverage including France 2 and USA Today, helping generate 10,000+ applications. Ahead of the visit the campaign was featured on Richard Quest’s CNN programme. During Phase 2 – the Guest of Honour’s visit – the media team identified specific PR moments, with outlets such as LA News Group, France2 and Huffington experiencing them alongside the winner. Behind-the-scenes footage of Professor Hawking’s Science Museum tour aired exclusively on CNN before being broadcast worldwide.

Guest of Honour is our most successful international campaign to date, generating 1,400+ articles across 42 countries, 1.2 billion global opportunities to see, worth an advertising value equivalent of £5.6mn. In the UK, the campaign reached an astonishing 66% of adults. A Gorkana campaign report found all analysed coverage was favourable in tone – 55% strongly so.

In Phase 1 – the search for the Guest of Honour – coverage helped drive more than 650,000 to VisitLondon.com, 100,000 registrations and 10,000 entries.

In Phase 2 – the Guest of Honour’s visit – coverage helped deliver 22.5mn+ views of the short documentary films, 2.4mn visits to VisitLondon.com, and an engaged audience driving 716,000 applications to win their own trip to London on the back of the campaign. With a total reach of 300mn the campaign caught the imagination of the world, delivering an estimated £16m of value to London’s economy.