By Christopher Crowson
As part of its efforts to promote British culture in Armenia and encourage closer bilateral ties across all spheres, the British Embassy hosted the premiere of the latest release in the Paddington film series, Paddington in Peru on Thursday.
The event, which took place at the Yerevan Mall KinoPark, was a family affair, attended by British Ambassador to Armenia John Gallagher, his family, embassy staff, the Canadian ambassador to Armenia and his wife, as well as employees and children from the Lousé Foundation – a rehabilitation center for disabled children.
Ambassador Gallagher told CivilNet that the event was “fundamentally about introducing people to the British icon and helping people understand Britain a bit more.”.
Paddington Bear, or simply Paddington, is one of the United Kingdom’s most beloved fictional characters. He first appeared in 1958 in a children’s book A Bear Called Paddington by British author Micheal Bond and has subsequently been the star of three film adaptations.
Gallagher stated that, “Paddington is a big brand and the British creative industry is huge, so we hope that through this, it will really showcase British film making. But also… encourage people to take more interest in the UK and hopefully visit or study there or do business there.”
Upon entry into the jovial event, one could not help but notice the British-themed décor. A Union Jack and a classic red telephone box stood beside a large film promotion banner, and tables draped with mini–Union Jacks offered guests a range of British specialities, including cucumber sandwiches, tea and cakes and, of course, Paddington’s favourite; orange marmalade on toast.
It was not the first time that the British embassy had organised such an event. In 2021, the embassy made use of another British icon, James Bond, to promote British culture in Armenia via the release of the latest Bond film, No Time to Die.
In his bid to encourage more Armenian interaction within the UK, Gallagher told guests how Paddington is representative of the global character of modern Britain.
“Paddington] is in fact not British… he’s a migrant to the UK, but he has been welcomed in and is part of the community and has made a real contribution,” the ambassador said.
Paddington, indeed, hails from the depths of the Amazon rainforest in Peru. In this latest release of the Paddington series, viewers discover more about Paddington’s native land and how he came to be adopted by a model British family, the Browns.
Mr Gallagher found another link between Paddington and Armenia, which will next year host the COP17 on Biological Diversity. ‘From what I understand of the film today, we’re going to see (Paddington) going back to Peru and specifically back to the Amazon rainforest. And I think that fits really well with Armenia’s new commitment to supporting biodiversity, which is going to be a huge event next year,’ he said.
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