Universal Has A Century’s Worth Of Plans For Universal Studios United Kingdom

In his first high-profile interview since the announcement that Universal Studios United Kingdom would be coming to the Bedford area, Page Thompson, Universal’s Destination & Experiences’ President of New Ventures, has confirmed that the corporation has plans for a century for the park.

A new BBC story released as part of a recent interview with BBC Three Counties Radio on a special edition of their breakfast radio show confirmed that the theme park was just the start of Universal’s plans for the area, and that they try to think of the project in the long-term – described as Thompson as ‘the next 100 years’.

Thompson confirmed that the park is the only one at the moment in Universal’s plans for Europe, and that they expected that 30 percent of the park’s visitors in its first year would be coming from outside of the UK. With the park expecting 8.5 million visitors, that works out to 2.55 million non-UK tourists.

He also stated that Universal had ‘a lot more land to develop’, with hopefully more hotels on the horizon beyond the 500-room one already confirmed for the park, and that they would use the land in the most beneficial way for those involved – it would appear this confirms that the park has a lot of room for expansion. In Thompson’s eyes, the first phase of the project is the park, a 500-room hotel and ‘restaurants that people can visit without buying a theme park ticket.’

Thompson also mentioned that the site that Universal had chosen was not the only one considered in Europe, but described the land as the ‘perfect site’ because of it already being slated for prior development, extensive local support and good opportunities for transport links by road, rail and air with the East-West Rail project (and the Wixams expansion), the long-term expansion of Luton Airport, and the impending work to the A421 access roads for the park.

He stated that Universal had been working extensively on the comprehensive document for planning permission for the park, and hoped that it would be submitted in the next couple of months to get planning permission by the end of the year, before construction can begin in 2026, and the park’s opening date of 2031.

The local community spirit also appeared important for Universal picking Bedford, alongside the strong local support, with 92 percent of those surveyed during the park’s public consultation period in mid-2024 coming with positive reactions to the park.

It also lends itself to the extensive amount of local opportunities available for people, according to Page. Universal isn’t expecting filling the 20,000 jobs to be created during the park’s construction to be a problem, given they’ll be working closely with the local schools, colleges and universities to help develop the right skills – this has been echoed recently by Bedford Borough Council’s Chief Executive.

He expected there to be lots of room for workers to progress, as they have in Orlando, where half of the management team started as hourly-paid staff. Wider benefits are also expected for local businesses as tourists stay around the local area to experience more than just Universal.

The one area where Thompson remained coy was on what’s actually going into the park, stating that it was too early to reveal what it would contain, with more details expected as construction and development progresses.

Of course, with the park’s concept art being revealed at the same time as the announcement, we have some ideas and theories of what those attractions may relate to.

As for Harry Potter, we’d already noted that the reason for Harry Potter not being said to be at Universal Studios United Kingdom is because of the exclusivity deal that Warner Bros. is said to have with UK-based Potter attractions that don’t affect Universal elsewhere in the world. These sentiments were echoed by Thompson in the radio interview, alongside a plug for the impending Epic Universe park in Orlando, and a plea for UK theme park fans to go over and experience the already-existing Harry Potter attractions.

Read more about everything we know about Universal Studios United Kingdom.