A teacher from America who has landed in London after winning a once-in-a-lifetime trip today said she could not believe her luck.
Professor Stephen Hawking, Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter and Tim Henman are a few of the famous people who will be offering Adaeze Uyanwah a guided tour of the capital.
The primary school teacher from California beat 10,000 other applicants to be crowned London’s Official Guest of Honour, in a Visit London campaign to promote the capital.
Miss Uyanwah, 24, said the VIP treatment began as soon as she landed at Heathrow: “I walked into arrivals and there was a red carpet, a crowd of people waving flags, a stage, a town crier and a band. It was incredible.”
Later she was taken to Piccadilly Circus, where her face was beamed from a billboard. Yesterday she was given £5,000 to spend on an Oxford Street shopping trip with Glamour magazine editor Jo Elvin.
She bought a £1,500 Prada handbag, clothes and jewellery, which she modelled in a shoot with Fenton Bailey, son of David Bailey. She said: “London is so much better than I expected it to be. The most exciting thing is the people. I’ve met a lot of fun personalities.”
Over the next two weeks, she will be given a tour of the Science Museum by Stephen Hawking, enjoy a meal cooked by Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton and visit the Royal Opera House with ballerina Darcey Bussell.
She will also raise Tower Bridge, fire the guns from the HMS Belfast and be a guest editor on the Evening Standard’s London Life section. To win, Miss Uyanwah had to submit a short film or image and in 70 words describe her perfect day in London. “I had joked I wanted to wake up in Buckingham Palace, but I’m still holding out for that,” she said.
More information: www.visitlondon.com/guest
