Broadcaster Gary Robinson tells The Courier why he’s feeling particularly happy this morning.
This morning Dundee cemented its position on the world stage as its contribution to the ‘Happy’ viral video series was launched.
The video features hundreds of local Dundonians, famous faces and visitors to the city filmed in iconic settings around the area singing and dancing to the hit song Happy by Pharrell Williams. It went online at 8am this morning.
Other cities across the globe, including New York, Abu Dhabi, Sydney and London have produced similar videos with varying degrees of success. Having viewed a handful of these, it occurred to me that our City of Many Discoveries could attempt a version. After all, we are as international as any of the other cities aren’t we?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=bFugJzhrsUM%3Frel%3D0
I wanted to demonstrate to the world that the city is a truly international destination where the people are warm, welcoming and genuinely happy.
Local film-maker and photographer Scott Sigsworth and I took to the streets to put together a video.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=audy0aHjdyg%3Frel%3D0
Happy Dundee stars local people of all ages and backgrounds alongside a number of well-known faces including Lorraine Kelly, the STV News team, Oor Wullie and Lord Provost Bob Duncan.
The famous settings include RRS Discovery, City Square, McManus Galleries, DC Thomson headquarters at Meadowside, Dundee Law and views of the road and rail bridges. Dundee’s reputation as the “sunniest city in Scotland” also came to the fore. From butchers, bakers and newsagents to an over-50s dance group in Douglas led by a very sprightly 94-year-old to young people dancing on the streets, we captured a true cross-section of the city.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=IYFKnXu623s%3Frel%3D0
To encourage more hits, viewers are being asked to identify as many local landmarks as possible and there’s a chance to win a luxury break at Forbes of Kingennie.
Producer Scott Sigsworth says: “It’s important that people share the video within days of it being released to ensure that it becomes highly ranked. The higher the ranking, the more likely it is that Happy Dundee will go worldwide so please share it with everyone you know.”
For more on this story see Thursday’s Courier. You can also read more about the project at www.happydundee.com.