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Media Release

For immediate release: 01 June 2010

World Premiere - A Resounding Success
Wild Wonders of Europe in The Hague, May 27


Images: Peter Cairns

The Hague, Netherlands - Thursday 27 May, HRH Princess Irene of The Netherlands inaugurated the World Premiere of the Outdoor Exhibition, "Wild Wonders of Europe" to much fanfare and celebration.

The Grand Hall of Knights, normally used once a year by Queen Beatrix to open the Dutch Parliament was the setting for this momentous occasion, attended by over 200 invited guests.

The underlying theme amongst the keynote speakers was one of celebration and inspiration, HRH Princess Irene emphasising the need for us all to re-connect with Europe's nature, whilst emphasising the sense of urgency required to ensure we protect this unique, shared natural heritage for future generations without losing it forever. Staastbosbeheer Director, Chris Kalden, encapsulated the importance of the message in three succinct words "Biodiversity is Life", and without this vital resource, human beings cannot exist on earth.

Whilst WWF Netherlands Director Johan van der Gronden took the opportunity to introduce the organisation's Wild Europe Field Programme, a ground-breaking project aimed at re-wilding vast areas of wilderness by utilising abandoned agricultural landscapes.

The invited guests accompanied Princess Irene across the short distance to the Lange Vijverberg where 50 children were assembled to unveil each of the 100 images in domino effect to a rolling drumbeat, following Princess Irene's cue. They revealed a breathtaking exhibition of the highest professional quality which will remain in situ now until 30 August.

Lining the avenue of trees along the Lange Vijverberg, the exhibition is freely accessible during the day or night to millions of visitors. The aim, to inspire a respect and awareness of their shared European natural heritage, and to demonstrate that conservation does work!

(All exhibition prints are printed by Epson printers on specialist Epson media, details below.)

Image: Anders Geidemark

About Wild Wonders of Europe and The Hague Exhibition

Wild Wonders of Europe reveals the stunning natural treasures of our continent to 700 Million Europeans and the world. Animals and landscapes, many of which most of us wouldn’t know exist. Wild Wonders of Europe, a unique pan-European initiative, is about the beauty of nature. About what we can admire now, but are at risk of losing. An exhibition that shows why European nature is important for us. And why we need to protect it.

100 life-size nature photographs taken by 69 of Europe’s finest photographers can be admired on the Lange Vijverberg in The Hague from May 27 to August 30. Selected from almost 200.000 images taken over a period of fifteen months for this unique project, the quality of these pictures brings to the exhibition an enormous emotional power. Each European country is represented with at least one photo and many more can be seen on the Wild Wonders of Europe website.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the municipality of The Hague and Staatsbosbeheer made it possible for the Wild Wonders of Europe Exhibition to come to The Netherlands. The Hague will host the World premiere of this unique cultural event during the International Year of Biodiversity. As 2nd UN-city in the world and greenest city of The Netherlands this Outdoor exhibition fits The Hague perfectly. Wild Wonders of Europe is one of the events during The Hague Festivals 2010 from 10 to 27 June (www.thehaguefestivals.com). The outdoor exhibition is intended to then tour all 48 European countries and North America in the coming years.

NOTE for journalists:

At www.wild-wonders.com you will find lots of background information about the project. Among other things latest news, blogs, videos, the photographers and the photos. A selection of more than 10,000 of the best images from the project are available from our exclusive agent Nature Picture Library.

Coinciding with the exhibition is the release of the photo book Wild Wonders of Europe published in ten languages with a Dutch edition by National Geographic and Carrera publishers. More information about this superb book can be found at http://www.wild-wonders.com/the_book.asp.

This press release and related material is available on www.wild-wonders.com/press_room.asp

Free Press Images and Free Web Banners are available for media usage.

These images are copyright protected and can only be used to illustrate the above mentioned media release in the context of Wild Wonders of Europe. A maximum of three (3) of the images plus the front cover of the book and the Director’s portraits are free to be used without cost or previous agreement at any given time. But only under the condition that they are used in direct connection with reports on Wild Wonders of Europe, with the project's website www.wild-wonders.com mentioned and with the photographer's credit published beside the images, like this:
Photo: Photographer's name / www.wild-wonders.com.

Any other subsequent rights are not allowed and are subject to approval by Wild Wonders of Europe.

Individual photo credits are mandatory. Credit information is available from the IPTC file info of the downloaded images or you can download a separate text file with the relevant information.

About the Main Partners:

The Wild Wonders of Europe Outdoor Exhibition is organized by Life Exhibitions www.lifeexhibitions.com who in the past were responsible for touring other hugely popular exhibitions including “Spirit of the Wild” and “Earth from Above”.

- WWF International is our main conservation partner and contributed valuable factual content for the project’s communications, great PR work and support for a number of the photo missions.

- National Geographic Society is our main media partner and published the article entitled “The Wild Side” together with the story about the Iberian lynx in 33 International editions across 66 countries. Wild Wonders of Europe was featured as the cover story for many local European language editions. NG.com web site features 750 of our images in different galleries

- Epson is our printing and projection partner who produced all of the outdoor images for the exhibition using the Epson Stylus Pro GS6000 large format printer. The printer was selected to produce the images thanks to its ability to deliver stunning colour clarity and fine detail accuracy, as well as the image durability and UV resistance afforded by its UltraChrome™ GS inks - even in outdoor applications. Epson also provided the projection equipment for use both within the Exhibition Pavilion and for other venues.

"The images generated by the project are stunning and deserve to be brought to life using the best imaging products available. By working with Wild Wonders of Europe, we believe we can help raise awareness of the beauty of nature throughout Europe, and in doing so, aid the preservation of our natural heritage. This is an important objective, and in line with Epson’s broader commitment to supporting the environment and society as a whole,” says Eelco Smit, Environmental Manager, Epson.

About Epson - Epson is a global imaging and innovation leader that is dedicated to exceeding the vision of customers worldwide through its compact, energy-saving, high-precision technologies, with a product line-up ranging from printers and 3LCD projectors for business and the home, to electronic and crystal devices.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises over 70,000 employees in 106 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and the communities in which it operates. http://global.epson.com

About Epson Europe - Epson Europe B.V., based in Amsterdam, is the Group’s regional headquarters for Europe,

Middle-East, Russia, and Africa. With a workforce of 2,400 employees, Epson Europe’s sales for fiscal year 2008 were 1,569 million Euros. http://www.epson-europe.com/

Environmental Vision 2050 http://eco.epson.com/

- Nikon is our photography equipment partner, provided professional quality photographic equipment for the photographers and for the European nature photography competition on our website.

“We all have a responsibility to ensure the continued health of our natural environment. Nikon Europe is convinced Wild Wonders will bring to life Europe’s flora and fauna for many thousands of people, first-hand and through the generation chain. Nikon has been committed to nature photographers for many years now, and many of them trust our equipment in their challenging working conditions. The work they deliver is the best evidence for the great performance of our latest generation of cameras and lenses.”
Yvonne Schaefers, Manager Communications and Marketing Services at Nikon Europe B.V.

- Nokia – is our mobile communications partner.

“Nokia is proud to collaborate with this unique project and help the photographers whilst on their missions by providing devices that will allow them to stay in touch, capture images, upload imagery and video content and tell their story which can be seen via Ovi Share. It’s great that Nokia can help promote this amazing programme that will go down in history as the biggest and best of its kind. We are delighted to partner with an initiative that stands for the positive and good things that Europe has to offer and we are looking forward to helping bring this vision to life over the coming months.”
Will Nicholls, Global Sponsorship, Nokia

- Nature Picture Library is our selected, exclusive image agency for the project, and they hold a key collection of the 10,000 best images from the project, available for direct download at: Nature Picture Library .

For more press information:

Florian Moellers (Communications Director) t: +491709375789 e: florian@wild-wonders.com, Bridget Wijnberg (Media & Exhibitions Director) t: +447972106839 e: bridget@wild-wonders.com

Wild Wonders of Europe wish to thank our great partners:

Main Partners:

…and our many other very important partners for their generous contributions and support! All without which this epic conservation photography project would never have been possible.

WWF - National Geographic - Epson - Nikon - Nokia - Groupe Bayard
Nature Picture Library - Conservation International - Eazyfone - Sandisk - Gitzo
Life Exhibitions - PAS Events - Polar Quest - Aunan Lodge - Norway Nature - Artic Media
Wild Taiga - Finnature - Noble Caledonia - Flatanger Kommune - Innovation Norway
Kuusamo Lapland - Forollhogna - Äventyrsresor - IUCN - EEA - ILCP - Countdown 2010
WILD Foundation - Euronatur - Aefona - Fotonatura.org - Vision Salvaje - Image & Nature
Grasduinen - IFWP - UNEP - Naturapics - Visit Finland - Visit Sweden
NVN - Naturfokus - Naturfotograferna - Reisen in die Natur - Destinasjon Saltstraumen
BirdingInSpain.com - Photo Travel - Hide Photography - Mediwiss Analytic - Objectif Nature
Lanzarote - Madeira Tourism - Patronado de Turismo de Lanzarote - Andorra Turisme
King of the Forest - Ulvsbomuren - Parque Natural da Madeira - Nordic Discovery - DIVE.is
Alladale Estate - Valle d’Aosta

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Press Release