The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) boosted the country’s tourism sector during the UK premiere of ‘The Lion King’ in Leicester Square on Sunday.
At the red carpet, Magical Kenya’s brand logo was displayed where A-listers from across the globe flocked and posed for photos.
“Kenya’s magic is in the air at the London premiere of #TheLionKing,” Tweeted KTB on its official account. “#TheLionking movie was largely inspired by the diverse landscapes and abundance of wildlife in #MagicaKenya’s National parks and Reserves. This Affirms Kenya as the undisputed home of safari and Adventure.”
Kenya's magic is in the air at the London premiere of #TheLionKing https://t.co/cYAZAgzaJC
— Kenya Tourism Board (@magicalkenya) July 14, 2019
Among the many stars in attendance were Beyonce, who voices Nala in the film, and her husband, Jay Z. Meghan Markle, the duchess of Sussex, and her husband, Prince Harry.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the European Premiere of #TheLionKing alongside cast and filmmakers. Check out pictures from tonight’s event now 👑 (1/3) pic.twitter.com/q4MYPlk0t5
— The Lion King (@disneylionking) July 14, 2019
Parts of the Disney’s The Lion King scenes were shot at Hell’s Gate National Park. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was also filmed here.
Beyoncé has also produced an accompanying album called The Lion King: The Gift album. Announcing the news on Instagram, Disney’s official account wrote, “Just Announced: The Lion King: The Gift, a new album of songs featuring global recording artists and steeped in the sounds of Africa, produced and curated by @Beyonce Knowles-Carter, will be released July 19. ‘Spirit,’ the single from the album and from the soundtrack for The Lion King, will be available later tonight.”
Disney in its global conservation campaign has announced ‘Protect the Pride’ to mark the movie’s release. With conservation partners and the Royal Foundation, the drive aims to raise awareness and support efforts to recover the dwindling lion population across Africa. “The Lion King “Protect the Pride” campaign focuses on protecting and revitalizing the lion population, with Disney lending its support to the Wildlife Conservation Network’s (WCN) Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) and their vision to double the lion population across Africa by 2050 through efforts that engage communities to ensure a future for African wildlife and their habitats.”
‘The Lion King’ will feature Donald Glover starring as Simba, Beyonce as Nala, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Chiwetel Eijofor as Scar, Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, John Oliver as Zazu, John Kani as Rafiki, Seth Rogen as Pumba, Billy Eichner as Timon, Eric Andre as Azizi and Florence Kasumba as Shenzi.
Disney’s new version of “The Lion King” opens in theaters July 19.
KTB is a State Corporation whose mission is to drive and support the effective Marketing of Kenya’s tourism products.
