Gory pictures of the blood-thirsty live shows at a French historical theme park can today be revealed as its owners announce they are planning a £600m version in the UK Cotswolds.
Puy du Fou has just announced plans to build a massive new park near Bicester in Oxfordshire, bringing its unique brand of immersive, history-themed attractions across the Channel.
The boss of the firm behind the park has exclusively told the Daily Mail that plans that the UK version has already been tirelessly developed in secret for the past two years.
Forget high-thrill rides and classic coasters – this park will allow visitors to step back in time and witness centuries of history brought to life, including gladiator tournaments and Viking invasions.
Already a hit in France and Spain, Puy du Fou parks draw millions of visitors each year with its spectacular live shows, recreated period villages and jaw-dropping special effects.
The company submitted an outline planning application to Cherwell District Council on 1 September, with hopes to open the UK location in stages starting from 2029.
Guests will be able to explore four fully recreated period villages – each designed around a different era in British history.
There will be 13 live shows each day, ranging from theatrical performances to musketeer battles. The park also plans to build three themed hotels, each styled to reflect a different historical period, along with a large conference centre.
A portion of French frights: A new £600million theme park that recreates some of history’s most bloodthirsty moments is heading to UK shores in 2029 (Pictured: A live re-enactment at Puy du Fou theme park)
Fire and brimstone: The French theme park specialises in re-telling history, including some of its biggest battles (A horse-rider aflame at a live show)
The company submitted an outline planning application to Cherwell District Council on 1 September, with hopes to open the UK location in stages starting from 2029
To blend in with the surrounding natural landscape, the park will feature 40 acres of wildflower meadows, lakes and more than 20,000 planted trees.
The UK site is expected to generate around 2,000 direct jobs, plus another 6,000 through local hospitality and services – which is set to boost the local economy by up to £500 million.
Publicity shots from Puy Du Fou’s managers in France are filled with stunning images showing daring acts of heraldry on horseback and awe-inspiring battle scenes.
But exclusive pictures of the original and massively popular French Puy Du Fou theme park taken by Daily Mail in Nantes show what is coming our way might prove all a bit too much for more sensitive parkgoers.
Visitors can watch blood-drenched re-enactments of scenes from the Roman, Medieval and Viking times, where warriors are beheaded, women are thrown around like rag dolls and beaten to a pulp, and actors and animals are set on fire.
In one of 20 jaw-dropping shows, called Le Signe Du Triomphe and set in 3AD, in a full sized ancient Roman circus maximus stadium seating thousands of spectators, we photographed Centurion Damien, the hero of this particular show, slashing his Gallic opponent’s neck with a 25-inch iron sword sending an arc of blood spurting into the air.
Moments later, a kneeling Roman soldier is decapitated by Gallic rebels sending more blood spurting. In return, a female Gallic rebel’s head is split open with a giant hammer sending blood showering down for metres around.
At the end of the furious fight scene, limp bodies are stretchered off and women are carted away in chains as slaves, before a chariot race takes over.
Who needs big dippers when you’ve got neck slashing? The park doesn’t hold back with the guts and the gore during its live shows, with ten or more often taking place each day
A blood-spattered swordsman pictured at a live show at the flagship Puy du Fou park in the Pays de la Loire region of Western France
In another show on the enormous Puy Du Fou site nestled between the chateaux of the Loire Valley and the beaches of the Atlantic coast, a Viking war is recreated, set in France in the Middle Ages.
Here, as another gory battle rages, we see a full-sized Viking drakkar warship explode in a fireball, sending bodies flying through the air and a monk shockingly set fire to and flailing around in his death throes.
Later amongst the bedlam, a Viking warrior astride a galloping horse drags a man on a rope by his feet across the set. The horse and rider is then set on fire as it gallops back.
In a third show, Le Secret De La Lance, an epic medieval tale set during the Hundred Years War in France, there are jousting and sword fighting knights. But most shocking is the particularly brutal treatment of a young shepherdess called Marguerite who finds herself alone in a chateau when the enemy arrives.
Scenes show her battered with a studded ball and chain, and thrown around like a rag doll by the armour-wearing intruders as she tries to defend herself with just a wooden pitchfork before her eventual heroic victory over them.
Another gritty and frighteningly realistic World War One immersive show, which comes with a warning that it might ‘may offend the sensibilities of young audiences’ is played out across a sprawling 1,800-metre set.
Another gritty and frighteningly realistic World War One immersive show, which comes with a warning that it might ‘may offend the sensibilities of young audiences’ is played out across a sprawling 1,800 metre set.
Not for the faint-hearted: The re-enactments don’t shy away from the brutality of Viking invasions, battles and executions
A horseman leaves an opponent for dead as the audience looks on at a recent show
Puy du Fou parks draw millions of visitors each year with its live shows, recreated period villages and theatrical special effects
…but the squeamish might prefer to look away when the fake blood erupts
Les Amoureux de Verdun reveals the horrors of the trenches of Verdun in 1916 based on source material from hundreds of letters soldiers sent to their loved ones.
Others immersive shows at Puy du Fou in Nantes include: one taking to the high seas for a legendary scientific expedition, under the command of King Louis XVI, in 1785, aboard one of the ships of explorer La Pérouse; one set in a French chateau in the Renaissance where in every room ‘the paintings talk to you, the mirrors watch you, the ghosts are still dancing, and the statues are waking up’.
Various night shows bring spectacular light and water effects lighting up the sky.
The pyrotechnics and deafening soundtrack accompanying all the shows is pumped out by 50ft speakers surrounding the audiences producing a truly thunderous level of noise.
Olivier Strebelle, managing director of Puy du Fou, said British shows are already being developed, with the likely historical areas of interest as the trenches of World War 1, the Vikings, the legend of King Arthur, the Romans and Medieval knights.
The immersive, history-themed attractions have proved a huge hit in France and Spain
A maiden is carried off; the new UK park will also feature three themed hotels
Bringing a little West End to the Cotswolds: Audiences can expect high drama with a French twist
He said the company is in advanced talks with planners and councillors in Oxfordshire and has already begun working out solutions to planning matters raised at a public consultation which happened this summer.
Strebelle admits he is very confident they could overcome any planning hurdles which may arise in areas such as traffic and noise after successes at the parks in France and Spain.
On when it would open, Mr Strebelle said ‘everything relies on the approval of planning’ and the ‘planning timeline of course is quite uncertain’ but that ‘between December 2027 and December 2028’ is realistic.
‘We would be delighted to welcome planners and councillors to see the park in France. But of course there are rules to follow as far as that goes. Our best argument is to come and see us.
‘What we do is unique and before you experience it, it is very hard to understand the way it is. A destination with live shows talking about historical events, we are the only ones who do that in Europe.’
To blend in with the surrounding landscape, the UK park will feature 40 acres of wildflower meadows, lakes and more than 20,000 planted trees
According to its UK website, Puy du Fou also says it’s committed to sustainability, with a strong focus on preserving nature and encouraging the use of public transport
Mr Strebelle also revealed that the Puy Du Fou teams were working at developing a site in northern Italy, where he said there were ‘multiple options’ of sites.
Asked about the parts of British history the UK Puy Du Fou park will feature, Mr Strebelle said that Vikings, Romans, the Legend of King Arthur, medieval jousting and sword fighting, and the trenches of World War One at Verdun were clear areas of interest which already feature at the French park.
‘We will really walk with Britain on the historical content. We are also working with UK history experts. We will have to put 20-30 minutes of emotion into every show surrounding historical events. But we are not UK history experts.’
He added: ‘It is really important to us that there is a link to the local people, the local history. So you have stories about local normal people and the storylines are linked to the larger British history. We are very aware that the representation of history can cause tensions and we don’t want to do that. This is how we did it in Spain.
Mr Strebelle also revealed that the Puy Du Fou teams were working at developing a site in northern Italy, where he said there were ‘multiple options’ of sites.
He added: ‘At this stage we are focusing on the UK. But we shall see in future. As far as other future sites go, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands. Those would be nice. We are that many people outside of France – the UK for example – have not heard of us.’
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