Darcey dances to the Azura tune
Sunday, 12 Apr, 2010
0
Ballet star Darcey Bussell named P&O Cruises’ £380 million new ship Azura during a dance-themed celebrity naming ceremony on Saturday night.
Acting as godmother to the new vessel, she helped conduct the naming on board the 2,100-passenger vessel in Southampton prior to its maiden cruise to the Mediterranean today (Monday).
The naming ceremony was a departure from tradition while aiming to capture the glamorous spirit of dance and romance with clips from memorable dance sequences in film history, on the ship’s giant outdoor cinema screen, along with a live dance show.
Bussell performed part of a dance routine before formally naming the seventh ship in the P&O Cruises fleet.
More than 1,200 guests were on board including Azura’s consultant Michelin-star chef, Atul Kochhar; TV wine expert Olly Smith, who has a designer wine bar on board; GMTV presenter Emma Crosby; Strictly Come Dancing stars Tom Chambers, Camilla Dallerup and Craig Revel Horwood; Angela Griffin; Mistresses star Shelley Conn and comedian Johnny Vegas.
Bussell said: "It’s a great honour to be involved as Azura’s godmother. For me this is a wonderful event because I am able promote the best of dance within one evening. It’s wonderful that P&O Cruises is carrying on that theme from the old films where dance was so important.”
P&O Cruises managing director Carol Marlow said: "Darcey embodies glamour, vitality and classical elegance, which are also reflected in Azura.
"We are honoured that she has agreed to become godmother. Azura has one of her three magnificent dance floors right at the heart of the ship, so with dancing a real feature, Darcey was a natural choice for godmother and very fittingly will give Azura the best possible start in life.”
The occasion benefited three charities supported by Darcey Bussell – The Prince’s Rainforest Trust, Royal Ballet School and Sydney Dance Company.
See highlights at: http://www.youtube.com/pandocruises
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025