According to research carried out by local company Focus Consultants, the discovery and subsequent reinterment of King Richard III brought almost £60 million to the Leicester economy.

The report states that the boost to the local economy came from the increased tourism to the city, higher hotel occupancy and a spike in new business creation – which also aided the job market in Leicester.

The report analysed the period between September 2012 and March 2015

Focus examined the period from September 2012 to 20 March 2015, in the run up to the actual reinterment, and found that the number of visitors to Leicester increased to more than 600,000, with spending up to £54.4m.

The busy two-weeks of reinterment activities in March is estimated to have generated approximately £4.5 million.

Focus spokeswoman Heather Frecklington said:

“This was a unique event in history. As experts in economic impact appraisals, Focus Consultants was very pleased to be commissioned to be a part of the team that looked at the effect the discovery of the remains of King Richard lll had on the city of Leicester. “The effects were felt widely on the economy in many ways, including creating jobs and bringing in income.”

In terms of job creation, Focus found that the equivalent of around 1,000 full-time jobs were created as a direct result of the discovery of Richard III’s remains. This is based on a standard formula which states that, for every £54,000 spent in the local economy one new job is created.

The value of volunteering to the economy was also analysed. More than 8,000 volunteering hours were calculated, which adds up to an approximate value of £144,000.

On top of the report by Focus, the University of Leicester also looked at the value of media coverage generated by the discovery and reinterment of Richard III. With 366 million people around the world given the chance to watch the coverage of the reinterment, they found the value of the coverage to be £12 million.

Commenting on the report, and the overall impact of the reinterment, Leicester city mayor Peter Soulsby added:

“The discovery of King Richard lll and his subsequent reinterment has had a greater impact on the city than we could ever have anticipated. “There is no doubt that we are welcoming more visitors to the city than ever before, and judging by the increased number of visits to our museums and heritage sites they are finding out about the rest of our rich history and not just Richard lll.”

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