Brighton and Santa Monica might be 5,478 miles apart but they are being brought closer together in a new marketing pact, designed to boost tourism between the Sussex city famous for the Royal Pavilion and the Los Angeles suburb which is home to Muscle Beach.
The Friendship City Pact will kick next month when Santa Monica Travel & Tourism (SMTT) will host a series of events and experiences at key locations around Brighton throughout the month.
The pact aims to deepen the relationship between the two cities, promoting cultural understanding between their residents, as well as offering an exchange of ideas and activities through school curriculums, events, and tourism experiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
Brighton & Hove mayor Lizzie Deane and her Santa Monica counterpart Kristin McCowan this week unveiled a dedicated mural on Brighton’s Palace Pier to mark the collaboration by Santa Monica artist Ruben Rojas.
The partnership is designed to mark a new chapter for the tourism industries of Brighton and Santa Monica as they partner to celebrate the parallels between the culture, history, food scenes and creative communities of the two cities, and their iconic piers, both over 100 years old, which opened a decade apart in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
As part of the events programme, SMTT representatives will also take part in several key trade events, including the Visit USA Summer Affair in London on July 6 as well as hosting a number of events for at Brighton’s Shelter Hall, including a Michelin-star studded dinner.
SMTT president and chief executive Misti Kerns said: “The desire to collaborate, support each other and exchange ideas between our pier cities and their citizens is really what drives this synergy. The two cities share iconic piers, beautiful coastlines, rich cultures and vibrant communities and so the partnership was a natural fit for us.
“By showcasing some of the best of what Santa Monica has to offer and creating memorable experiences for the public throughout July we therefore hope to give locals and visitors a true taste of Santa Monica in Brighton to inspire them to visit our city.”
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