THE ODYSSEY 2020-2023

Share Your Feedback

COASTAL FUND

Our Partner

Active Filey is a group created to promote a healthy lifestyle through activities and sports opportunities like cycling and running. The groups ethos is to get folks active and create lots of local opportunities for participation that are inclusive of age and ability.

AO LOGO
Aura
image6
Structure with title

Funding Info

The detail:

  • The Odyssey is a commitment to bringing 50 events that will retell the tale, in a futuristic version of the Yorkshire Coast.
  • Events are guaranteed for delivery outside of peak visitor season.
  • Materials are recycled and events have a zero waste commitment so areas are left in a better condition to before they arrived.
  • All events will be publicised locally/regionally/nationally via a mixture of print materials, social media and PR coverage.
  • Wherever possible, BID businesses will be approached first to become venues.
  • All events will be crafted with members of the business and resident community.
  • All events will be as inclusive and diverse as possible to ensure that everyone is able to enjoy.
  • All events will be FOC to the public as this is fully funded by ourselves.

Community Support

Due to COVID-19, the original delivery schedule had to be delayed meaning that events started in 2021.  

However, business, community and school outreach by producing at home materials and guides were produced which has led to huge community support throughout the entire area since the start.

To date there has now been in excess of over 600 people contribute in different ways to the Odyssey, from music production, prop building and even contributing towards the Trojan Horse, which achieved a Guinness World Record.

At the end of the series, a full wrap up of the story, voiced by over 400 members of the community will be produced .

IMG_5777
Odyssey filming 2
Odyssey filming
Lighting up the Coast

CHAPTER 1

A MEETING OF THE GODS

“The ancient Gods and Goddesses of Olympus find themselves in a world where humankind has almost forgotten them. To restore their powers of old they must intervene, as Zeus yearns for dominion once again”.

 
To launch the beginning of The Odyssey, the large lighting structure toured all six towns as a way to introduce the story and its themes of community, love, power and hope.
Storytellers, performers and musicians throughout the area not only contributed to the audio played through the structure, but can also be heard in full on the stories produced as geolocation trails.  
The video can be viewed on YouTube:   https://youtu.be/B-hs_pQ4cfU

LOCATIONS:  Whitby Seafront . Scarborough Seafront . Filey Seafront . Bridlington Seafront . Hornsea Seafront/Promenade . Withernsea Seafront/Promenade
TIMINGS:  NOV 20-FEB 21

CHAPTER 2

THE SEA GODDESS
“Thetis, daughter of Poseidon is forced to marry the King, but an uninvited guest throws the Olympian Gods into disarray with the unexpected gift of a magical apple”.
 
 
Audio collated throughout the development has been turned into geolocation story trails, so when you enter a designated “zone” while using the ECHOES App, you can listen to the story itself, voiced by people living and working on the Yorkshire Coast.
The trails cover the same areas as Route YC, covering multiple villages as well as all six towns.
Available from Jan 21 – Ongoing
ODYSSEY SEA GODDESS
ODYSSEY HELEN OF SPARTA

CHAPTER 3 - 6

FROM ACHILLES TO HELEN OF SPARTA

From mystical apples, to love, these chapters take you on a journey of power, politics and love.

 
One of the ways that Animated Objects has maintained strong awareness of The Odyssey is via their unusual, but bespoke beach art that they have regularly created throughout all of our beaches on the Yorkshire Coast.  Each piece has told another piece of the story, and provided visitors the opportunity to not only photograph, but also find out more about the larger up and coming events.
This approach to alternative methods of marketing has proved successful with great social engagement and regional coverage of the project.
TIMINGS:  2020-ONGOING

CHAPTER 7

A THOUSAND SHIPS

“His actions trigger the start of the Trojan Wards, as Agamemnon raises a fleet of thousand ships to sail in search of Helen”.

 
To symbolise the fleet of a thousand ships, artists from the Yorkshire Coast were asked to create designs, which were transferred onto papers with origami kits which were sent out to over 1,000 residents and schools in the area.  
 
All of the Ships were then sent back to Animated objects who put the ships on display in different locations throughout the area with information about this important milestone in the story.
 
LOCATIONS:  Pannet Art Gallery, Whitby . Brunswick, Scarborough . Evron Centre, Filey . The Spa, Bridlington . Floral Hall, Hornsea . Meridian Centre, Withernsea

TIMINGS: Summer 21 

1000 Ships 1
THOUSAND SHIPS
1000 Ships 4
TrojanWarsposter

CHAPTER 8

 

THE TROJAN WARS

The Trojan Wars, in short, happened after Paris of Troy took Helen from her Husband the King of Sparta, and he asked his brother, Agamemnon, to lead a voyage to find her with the help of Odysseus and other Greek Heroes joining him on this adventure.

 
The touring exhibition allowed visitors to immerse themselves in what it would have been like as a warrior in the Trojan Wars, including jumping into the green screen and taking home some very bespoke moments!
The story was brought to life in a variety of ways, from film, audio and a set built to show the battle that took place, and this toured the entire Yorkshire Coast.
TIMINGS:  February 2022
LOCATIONS:  Pavillion, Whitby . Spa, Scarborough . Evron Centre, Filey . The Spa, Bridlington . Floral Hall, Hornsea . Meridian Centre, Withernsea

CHAPTER 9

THE SURVIVOR

The story of a young girl, Aura, displaced during the conflict of The Trojan Wars, and the kindness of people she encountered throughout her journey.

 
Aura, the survivor, stood 16 feet about the crowds in towns throughout the Yorkshire Coast, with thousands of people coming along to her in action and learn more about her story.
 
Different groups welcomed and helped Aura to shore, and it was a quiet and moving event to hear her story, see her walk and see how each town had a different approach to what that should look like…Hornsea Mermaids were fantastic!
 
After the events concluded, Aura then took a journey of her own on an open top bus throughout the entire Yorkshire Coast and again, the response was fantastic to see.
 
This wasn’t the end of Aura’s epic adventure, as a partnership was formed with Creative Crawley that included Aura in their own event, taking her even right into the heart of Gatwick, making this one of the biggest awareness campaigns of the Yorkshire Coast we have been involved in to date.
 
LOCATIONS:  Whitby, beach. Scarborough, South Bay . Filey, Beach . Bridlington, South Bay . Hornsea, Beach . Withernsea, Beach.  BUS TOUR:  Travelled through all villages and towns throughout the Yorkshire Coast.

TIMINGS: April-May 2022

Additional events took place in Scarborough and Hornsea as part of the giant blanket that was made with over 500 squares made by the community, that was given to Aura when she arrived on the beaches.

withernsea
ODYSSEY PATCHWORK
ODYSSEY SURVIVOR WHITBY EVENT
ODYSSEY ARTWORK
stacks-image-0a783b0-848x1200@2x

CHAPTER 10

 

THE TROJAN HORSE

The Trojan Horse, was a plan made by Odysseus to end the Trojan War and was designed to be hollow in the middle so that soldiers could hire inside and was wheeled in front of the city of Troy as a gift, with a secret.

A poll from visitors to the Bridlington event felt that the Trojan Horse was  a symbol of HOPE and not WAR.

 
Arguably one of the more well known instalments of The Odyssey, was the Trojan horse, so what fitting way to bring it to life, than to create our very own out of completely recyclable materials!
We had committed to attempting to see if we could achieve a world record for the largest cardboard structure, which meant that different rules needed to be adhered to as part of the build process.
A competition was launched for schools to win the opportunity to build different sections, and community groups invited to keep the build going from building everything from the wheels to the head itself.
We achieved the Guinness World Record, but it is something that all the 100’s of people who took part in the build should share as it was a huge group effort!
Additional activities also took place over the weekend including artist stalls, film screenings, and build workshops.
TIMINGS:  OCTOBER 2022
LOCATIONS:  The Spa, Bridlington 

CHAPTER 11

ODYSSEY EMBARKS

Following the end of the Trojan War, we now follow Odyseussus journey home, with each area he passes, adding a new and fascinating chapter to the story.

 
The Odyssey is coming to an end with a series of events taking place that depicts his final adventures and Whitby was the host to him embarking on the voyage.
 
The event saw a night of illuminated lanterns, some included in a trail throughout Church Street, lighting projections onto the hull of the Endeavour and lots of opportunities for pictures to be taken.
 
LOCATIONS:  Whitby, Dock End

TIMINGS: November 2022

ODYSSEY WHITBY 2022
image6
82075524-1E3C-4759-BAF0-4D72BCA9DCEF
Odyssey withernsea

CHAPTER 12

 

THE LAND OF WONDERS

When Odysseus ended on the island of the Lotus Eaters, his men went to look for food and drink, but they didn’t realise the effects of drinking the nectar from the Lotus Flowers.  It made them lose all desire of home so they would stay forever, and when Odysseus realised, he rounded them up and quickly set sail for home.

 
This was inspired by Odysseus’ encounter on the Island of Lotus Eaters and featured lighting, projections, and large scale props in Valley Gardens and along the Promenade.
TIMINGS:  NOVEMBER 2022
LOCATIONS:  Valley Gardens, Withernsea
Additional event appearances took place in December 2022 in Robin Hood’s Bay and Bridlington Old Town

CHAPTER 13

LANTERN PARADE

Inspired by The Land of the Sirens, sees Odysseus meeting the sorcerer Circe, who turns his crew into a host of animals.

 
The event is in 3 parts, lantern making workshops, the parade and then a display of all of the lanterns at The Spa in Bridlington.  
 
The lanterns will be based on the different wildlife that can be seen on the Yorkshire Coast, with even the ever popular seagulls having a place in the parade.
 
Circe herself will be represented by a Giant illuminated figure and the lanterns will all be carried by members of the community and different groups that have all come together for Bridlington finale event. 
 
LOCATIONS:  Multiple:  The Spa, and Promenade
TIMINGS: February 2023
ODYSSEY BRIDLINGTON 2023
BID WEBSITE-3

CHAPTER 14

LANTERN PARADE

This chapter of the story shows some of the perils of Odysseus’ epic journey, as he and his crew encounter a series of weird and wonderful creatures from the deep.

Everyone is invited to join the event for a gentle walk around the gardens, the trail will be open between 5.00 pm – 8.00 pm, and an average visit takes between 15-30 minutes. 

Expect to see some of the characters from previous episodes and a number of creations that have never been seen before – Watch out for the Kraken and the Hydra!

It’s a perfect early evening entertainment for families to enjoy at their own pace. The kiosk will be open for refreshments at Glen Gardens Cafe during the evening, and free face painting and balloon modelling activities will take place on the night.

A free lantern-making drop-in session at Filey Library on Saturday 4th, March from 11.00 am – 1.00 pm for those with children who would like to make a lantern to bring along on the evening of the trail (It takes about 10 minutes to make a lantern).

 

 
LOCATIONS:  Multiple, Glen Gardens and Filey Library, Filey  
TIMINGS: 11th March 2023
adventure on the Yorkshire Coast gold

FUTURE EVENTS

Two final sets of events will take place, including

HORNSEA: 29th April 2023

SCARBOROUGH:  17th June 2023

Additional Information:

BID Video footage of events and the reason behind why we are involved can be viewed HERE.

Find out more about The Odyssey films HERE.

Find out more about Geolocation trails that cover the Yorkshire Coast in over 40 different locations HERE.

See a comic anime version of Odysseus journey HERE.

 

 

Benefits

cropped-Survivor.jpg

BUSINESSES

Footfall to venues and key locations outside of the visitor season

Opportunity to be promoted and directly involved in activity

Opportunity to be a venue partner

Provides an opportunity to showcase the full area for culture and arts built with the community on a national scale

1000 Ships overhead view

COMMUNITY

Inclusive opportunities to engage in workshops and events

Voicing and filming opportunities for members of the community

Opportunities for artists to be involved in everything from music to production

The Odyssey

INVESTMENT

COASTAL FUND:  £240,000 Initial investment increased to cover license fees and production to secure TV coverage of events nationally.

 

UPDATES

Odyssey: The 12 Axes Scarborough Event

Look out for the final chapter of The Odyssey; ‘The Trial of the Twelve Axes’ – a daytime event of free family activities in Scarborough Town Centre on Saturday 17th June from 11.00 – 2.00 featuring giant puppets and live music. You’ll see two larger-than-life puppets moving around the town […]

BID WEBSITE-7

Land of the Cyclops in Hornsea

This month the Odyssey returns to Hornsea with a new event ‘Land of the Cyclops’ – inspired by the island where Odysseus has to use his wits to escape the deadly one-eyed cyclops and a host of other monsters of the deep. Featuring a giant cyclops puppet on walkabout in […]

BID WEBSITE-3

Follow the Odyssey to Filey

The Odyssey will return on Saturday, 11th March, in the beautiful setting of Glen Gardens, Filey, with an illuminated lantern trail for the next chapter of the Odyssey entitled ‘Here be Monsters!’ Everyone is invited to join the event for a gentle walk around the gardens, with plenty of opportunities […]

6

Business Trails for Filey & Hornsea

We are looking for businesses who would like to get involved with The Odyssey installations in Filey and Hornsea in the upcoming Lantern Parades. Filey – Saturday 11th March We are looking for businesses in Filey town centre/seafront who would be interested in displaying a lantern linked to The Odyssey, […]