Jurassic World, The Exhibition: Enormous immersive exhibit to open at ExCel London

The 20,00sq ft site is being billed as “the closest you’ll ever come to living dinosaurs”

A brand new exhibition themed for the Jurassic Park film franchise is set to open at the ExCel centre in east London later this summer. It is being billed as “the closest you’ll ever come to living dinosaurs.”

Jurassic World: The Exhibition — named for the latest movie, which has just been released — will welcome visitors from August 25. The 20,00sq ft space is designed to mimic the fictional park, complete with its famous gates. Inside will be enormous, life-size models of dinosaurs, including a velociraptor, brachiosaurus, and tyrannosaurus rex, while much of the rest of the space will bring to life prehistoric environments. Elsewhere will be baby dinosaurs, and organisers say the entire thing is family-friendly.

Those using the Jurassic World Alive gaming app will also be able to unlock new features when playing it on site.

Michael Silver of Universal parks and resorts, who with Cityneon are behind the project, said: “What excites us about Jurassic World: The Exhibition is the opportunity to give fans a real-world, immersive experience based on the amazing adventures of the franchise and delivered to a location near them. Visitors will come face-to-face with life-sized dinosaurs and walk through richly themed environments, all inspired by the beloved global franchise .”

Chairman and CEO of Cityneon, Ron Tan added: “I am equally excited that we are launching Jurassic World: The Exhibition in the UK for the first time so soon after the theatrical release of Jurassic World: Dominion. Fans in London, stay tuned for a once in a lifetime experience and see your favourite dinosaurs come to life right in front of your eyes!”

The exhibition arrives in London after something of a world tour. It first launched in Melbourne and has since travelled across America — including stops in Dallas, Denver, Chicago, and Philadelphia — and through Seoul, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai.

The Jurassic Park franchise, based on a science fiction novel of the same name by Michael Crichton, first attracted widespread public attention when Steven Spielberg directed a 1993 film which shared its title with Crichton’s book. It starred Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sir Richard Attenborough. There have since been five sequels, including this year’s release.

Tickets start at £13, though under-twos go free with an accompanying adult. For more information, visit jurassicworldexhibition.com