Snooker star enjoying a long break in Yorkshire
Published: 17 March 2011
Snooker superstar Ding Junhui is enjoying his longest break yet after visiting Yorkshire six years ago and making it his new home.
With just weeks to go before the Betfred.com World Snooker Championships begin in Sheffield, the adopted Yorkshireman Ding - who has taken the county to his heart - now hopes to keep the title right here in the great county.
Welcome to Yorkshire - the county's official tourism agency - is backing the Sheffield-based tournament this year with key sponsorship to promote the county as a destination for sport and leisure to an international audience.
Ding, 23, said: "The fact that Sheffield is the home of the World Snooker Championship makes it really special for me. I've lived in Sheffield for six years and I love it here - it's a great city and it's my home in the UK. I'm really happy living in Yorkshire and plan to stay for a long time.
"There's so much history associated with The Crucible and I've been able to appreciate that now that I've played there a few times. When the tournament is on, most of the players have to stay in hotels, but I can stay at home, go to my favourite restaurants and meet my friends."
Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: "What better endorsement is there than an international sports superstar falling in love with Yorkshire. It's always great to hear someone from the other side of the world visiting Yorkshire and adopting it as their own.
"The World Championships are worth around £2.5m to the economy in Sheffield and provide a great international showcase for the city and Yorkshire, which is why we are getting fully behind it."
A spokesman from World Snooker, said: "Sheffield is the snooker city, and the Crucible is to snooker what Wembley is to football or Wimbledon is to tennis. Last year we announced that we are keeping the World Championship at the Crucible until at least 2015, so we have many happy years to look forward to. This year's tournament is set to be a classic and we are anticipating record ticket sales."
Welcome to Yorkshire has also forged an innovative partnership with the country's Chinese students to promote key events like snooker.
This new marketing has already seen success with an extra 440 students attending Sheffield's major table tennis tournament this year - and it is hoped it will see hundreds of extra fans watch the snooker.
Ding added: "I've gained a lot of fans in Yorkshire since I've lived here, particularly among the Chinese community, who love their snooker. The World Championship is one of the biggest events that happens in Sheffield. Hopefully I can win the World Championship one day.
"My favourite other place in Yorkshire is York. We used to play a big tournament there, the UK Championship, and I won it there in 2005. It's a really nice city with a lot of students who have been very friendly to me."
To find out more about tickets for this major tournament visit www.yorkshire.com The tournament runs from April 16 to May 2.
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Editors' Notes:
• Welcome to Yorkshire is the official tourism agency for Yorkshire, working to grow the county's visitor economy.
• Welcome to Yorkshire is funded by Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency charged with improving the Yorkshire and Humber economy.
Key facts include:
• Tourism in Yorkshire is worth £7 billion annually
• The county's industry employs almost a quarter of a million people
• There are 216 million visits to Yorkshire each year
For more news and a free image bank www.yorkshire.com/mediacentre
For further information contact:
Graham Poucher - Press Officer
Email: gpoucher@yorkshire.com
Direct Line: 0113 322 3578
Mobile: 07805 958728
Andy Denton - Press Officer
Email: adenton@yorkshire.com
Direct Line: 0113 322 3537
Mobile: 0785 5812094