Open Day to be part of Metro 40th Anniversary celebrations

2020 is the 40th anniversary of the Tyne and Wear Metro and to mark the occasion a series of community events will be taking place – including a heritage open day at South Gosforth Depot on Sunday 2nd August. As well as the open day there will be community art, dance and drama performances as well a full size mock-up of a carriage from a new train and exhibitions at museums looking at the history of the Metro.

More than 1.5 billion have been carried on the Tyne and Wear Metro since it opened on 11th August 1980 and 2020 will be a year of celebration as Nexus not only look back but also forward to a bright new future with unprecedented levels of investment including the high-profile new fleet of trains.

The Metro Community Takeover arts programme is supported by Arts Council England and will take place throughout the school summer holidays giving thousands of people the opportunity to take part in or experience artistic events as part of their journey. There will be a silent disco inside a landmark station, a new app showcasing the best of where the Metro can take you and celebrate the history of the network and up to a dozen stations will have new visual art created with unique performance days taking place in concourses and on board trains.

Huw Lewis, Customer Services Director at Nexus, said: “Metro is Part of Everyday life and its story does not belong to us. It is the story of more than 1.5 billion passengers who have travelled by Metro in the 40 years since the system opened on 11 August 1980. We are thrilled to say that Arts Council England is supporting our plans for the Metro Community Takeover, which will see people from across the towns and cities we serve come together to celebrate through visual arts projects, dance, song and storytelling. We will be working with leading arts and community organisations in North East England to bring to life the way Metro connects the people and places we serve.”

The open day at South Gosforth Depot on Sunday 2nd August will be the last opportunity for the public to see behind the scenes here before it undergoes a multi-million pound refit and will be first full-scale open day since the 30th anniversary which surprisingly enough was 10 years ago.

Once the main summer events are over there will be more to enjoy as well with the autumn seeing the arrival in the north east of a mock-up carriage of the new trains giving the public the chance to see the new order first hand.

Full details of what is planned will be revealed in the spring and a dedicated page has been set-up for all the latest events.

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