'Popular' tulip field's Wicked fame delights fans

Film fans said it was "surreal" to see a tulip field they had visited appear in a Hollywood blockbuster.

Belmont Nurseries near King's Lynn in Norfolk was used as a backdrop for Wizard of Oz spin-off Wicked, which stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as witches Glinda and Elphaba.

Nine million tulips were planted on the 25-acre (10 hectares) site, where hundreds of extras brought fictional Munchkinland to life.

Wicked fan Jamie-Louise Phillips was unaware of this when she visited in 2023 after seeing it online and said it was "so strange" to think she had been there.

Ms Phillips, from Norwich, has been back twice since the film hit cinemas a week ago.

"I absolutely love Wicked, I was a big fan of the Wizard of Oz when I was little, so I've always been a fan of the story," she said.

"That whole scene, regardless of being there, that is my favourite landscape in the whole film, it just looks beautiful... it's the best film I've seen all year so far, it felt surreal."

Field owners Mark and Susanne Eves met a location manager and set designer in 2022 to plan the look of the field and made sure they got the "right colours in the right place".

For the past four years, they partnered with The Norfolk Hospice Tapping House and raised £93,392 for the charity in 2022 through entrance fees.

The hospice said about 30,000 tickets would be available for 2025.

Community and corporate fundraising manager Lindsey Atkin said: "We have always found that the demand for tickets far outweighs our capacity.

"We need to be mindful with visitor numbers due to the rural location, proper car parking facilities, country roads and access etc.

"However, with careful planning and with the success of the movie Wicked, we do anticipate demand will increase in 2025 as people wish to visit Munchkinland!"

Iona Thomas, 30, from Kesgrave, Suffolk managed to visit the field in 2023.

"Before I went to see the film, I saw that the tulip field's Instagram posted they had been keeping a secret and they had been planning it since 2022... we were all oblivious when we were there, but I knew to look out for it as soon as I got into the cinema."

She said next year, organisers were going to need a "bigger website".

"They are probably going to have quadruple the amount of people and even less opportunity to get the tickets but I think that makes it even more special.

"I took my little boy to see Wicked. I said to him when we were watching, 'that's where mummy went last year', and he wants to go, so we will definitely be back, but I do like that we went before it was 'popular' - excuse the pun!"

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