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PEOPLE & ARTS Monday 23 SepteMber 2019

A stitch in time: Tapestry immortalizes "Game of Thrones"

By CLAIRE PARKER The work was commis-
Associated Press sioned by the tourism office
BAYEUX, France (AP) — Fa- of Northern Ireland, where
mously, Arya Stark always HBO filmed many of the
preferred her sword Needle scenes. Irish officials hope
to needlework. Still, even the Bayeux exhibit will boost
she would be impressed tourism to Northern Ireland.
with the giant tapestry now Its "Game of Thrones" sites
on show in France that re- are already a big draw, at-
counts the plot of "Game of tracting 350,000 visitors in
Thrones" in glorious and, of 2018 alone.
course, gory and salacious "We consider the Bayeux
detail. Tapestry as the grandmoth-
With the award-winning er of our 'Game of Thrones'
saga about power strug- tapestry," said Séverine
gles in mythical Westeros Lecart, director of market-
poised for more success at ing in France for Tourism
the Emmy Awards on Sun- Ireland.
day, the tapestry's unveiling Obvious parallels between
this month in the Norman- the two tapestries include
dy town of Bayeux could the embroidery styles, col-
hardly be better-timed. ors and structures. Both
The show's 32 nominations In this photo taken Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019 Loic Jamin, Bayeux's deputy mayor for tourism and are divided into three seg-
broke a single-year record. museums, poses with the "Game of Thrones" tapestry during an interview with the Associated Press ments, with their central
Fans who have flocked in in Bayeux, Normandy, France. storylines running through
their thousands to see the Associated Press the middle bordered by
embroidered artwork are smaller panels displaying
giving it a thumbs-up. Boston, said as she pored the tapestry is longer than Norman invasion of Eng- motifs like winged beasts or
"It's fantastic. You can see over the tapestry this week. the width of a soccer pitch land in 1066. That tapestry weaponry. The two works
kind of the story, how it all "They did a nice job — and longer than the fa- served as an inspiration for evoke similar themes of vio-
lays out," Amanda Zides, great color, great detail." mous 11th-century Bayeux the "Game of Thrones" loo- lent conquest and feudal
visiting from a suburb of At 87 meters (285 feet), Tapestry that recounts the kalike. loyalties.q