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The park's logo
SegaWorld London was a SegaWorld theme park opened at the Trocadero in London, England's Piccadilly Circus. This theme park kicked off at the height of its mascot Sonic the Hedgehog's popularity on 7 September 1996. It featured a number of indoor rides, coin-op arcade machines and a Sega merchandise shop.
Sonic the Hedgehog[]
Promotional art of Sonic.
SegaWorld London was heavily promoted in the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions. Objects relating to Sonic the Hedgehog could be seen all over the theme park, ranging from merchandise, to statues of Sonic himself and a costumed Sonic character being seen wandering around the park. He also had a playplace themed around him which was placed on Floor 2 of the Trocadero. Arcade machines of Sonic the Fighters and SegaSonic the Hedgehog were placed in the SportsArena floor of the building.
Closure and legacy[]
SegaWorld London (which had started to become a loss-making venture) eventually closed on September 7 1999, exactly three years after it opened. Shortly after, it was taken over by a new management which renamed the establishment "Funland", another arcade. The arcade housed some Sega games, but not as many as its SegaWorld predecessor. The building was not refurbished, with many indoor fixtures remaining, providing clues of what used to be there. The main entrance (known as the "Rocket Escalator") was not taken down, and simply blocked off with a vending machine (though as of May 2011, it was finally taken down). In July 2011, Funland was closed due to ongoing disputes between the owner and landlord, although the amusement park moved elsewhere from the Trocadero. The fate of the SegaWorld part of the Trocadero is unknown, although there have been rumors of plans to convert the Trocadero into a pod hotel. Nowadays, the building's SegaWorld space leaves almost no remains of any SegaWorld branding.
The original appearance of the statue, at Sega World London.
In July 2019, the signature statue of Sonic balancing a globe on his fingertip, which was formerly seen after guests rode the Rocket Escalator (the main entrance to the park), was located by an anonymous person, who supplied photos of it.[1] In December 2022, Mark Hughes would pass this news on to Sega's community manager, Danny Russell, who took interest in the idea of restoring the statue.[2]
In August 2023, it was announced that Sega had acquired the statue, and fully restored it, fixing its damages, and placing the restored statue in a Sega office for display. It was also announced that the statue would be displayed at Sega's Gamescom 2023 booth in Germany.[3]
Gallery[]
Sonic statue[]
Videos[]
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ The Sega World London Statue Has Been Found!. Youtube (July 22, 2019). Retrieved on July 22, 2019.
- ↑ Danny Russell on Twitter. Twitter (August 21, 2023). Retrieved on August 21, 2023.
- ↑ Lost and found: The SEGAWORLD Sonic statue!. Youtube (August 21, 2023). Retrieved on August 21, 2023.
External links[]
- Official website (archived)