Huge I♥EBN sign unveiled in Eastbourne

The two-metre-high letters spelling out ‘I♥EBN’ appeared at the Eastbourne Winterland near the Enterprise Centre.

The Love Letters will remain there throughout the opening of the Lightning Fibre Ice Rink until January 5, and will then tour the town at surprise locations during 2022.

The initiative is a joint project between the Eastbourne Hospitality Association, the Eastbourne Shed at Fort Lane and VisitEastbourne.

The Eastbourne Hospitality Association executive team spokesperson said, “The EHA is very proud to bring this initiative to Eastbourne, in collaboration with our partners, Visit Eastbourne & The Eastbourne Shed and hope residents and visitors alike, engage with this creative project to spread the word of Eastbourne far and wide, using the hashtag #ILoveEBN on their favourite social media platform.”

The letters have been crafted by the people at Eastbourne Shed, an Age Concern scheme which brings together a community of individuals aged 50 plus to work on woodwork projects, as well as helping to tackle loneliness and dementia with community initiatives.

Made using recycled wood, the construction also includes used wood from the groynes along Eastbourne seafront. In-built solar lighting will also provide illumination at night for evening photography.

Eastbourne Borough Council’s Lead Member for Tourism and Culture Councillor Margaret Bannister said, “We know how much our visitors love Eastbourne, so creating this stunning Hollywood-style backdrop is a great opportunity for visitors and proud residents to share their love for our wonderful town.

“Generating positive recommendations and word of mouth is an important element of marketing and will help us to attract new audiences.

“Our sincere thanks go to the hard working volunteers at The Shed for their support in this exciting project, they really have done a first class job in creating this stunning installation.”

Vitus Sukoco from The Shed (Age Concern Eastbourne), Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, said, “It has been a challenging project for The Eastbourne Shed but the Shedders have had great fun and have enjoyed every minute of it.

“We are also very pleased that we could deliver some love to our community, and can’t wait for more projects to come.”

Visitors and residents are being encouraged to take selfies and photos of the Love Letters and share on social media – across the country and the globe – using the hashtag #IloveEBN.