International edition of Monopoly: Advance three squares…
and discover first place winner Montréal!
Montréal, 20 August 2008 – The most coveted, highest rent property square on the board of the latest international edition of the ever popular game of Monopoly—MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition—has been named in honour of Montréal. Following a contest among 20 world cities seeking inclusion on the board, Hasbro officials yesterday announced the order of the finalists in this hotly contested challenge which aroused the passionate interest of thousands of Web-based participants from around the world. And the winner of this virtual competition: none other than our very own Montréal!
“I am delighted, not only for Tourisme Montréal but also for our tourism industry as a whole. The outcome of this contest speaks volumes about Montréal’s influence on the international stage and the strength of Montréalers’ attachment to their city,” stated Charles Lapointe, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tourisme Montréal. “Montréal is set to make a proud entrance into thousands of households this fall. It is our hope that, as a result, we will attract many new visitors to our city in the not too distant future. Never could we have imagined a more effective means of promoting our city on such a scale, and wish to thank heartily all those who invested time and effort to ensure that Montréal came away with top honours.”
In a Web-based contest launched by Hasbro in early 2008, participants were asked to select their favourite city from among an initial listing of 68 entrants. Twenty were then shortlisted for inclusion on the latest version on the game board, with the highest rent property squares being awarded to the cities having obtained the greatest number of votes.
Thanks to record participation by Montréalers, the city found itself in first place by February 7th. Then, to raise the stakes and heighten the suspense, Hasbro ceased publishing results during the last few days of voting.
Developed by Charles Darrow over 70 years ago, the game attracted the immediate attention of Parker Brothers, which marketed the inaugural edition in 1935. Since then, over 250 million copies of Monopoly have been sold in 37 languages, in 103 countries.
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Source:
Pierre Bellerose
Vice President
Public Relations, Product Research and Development
Tourisme Montréal
(514) 844-2404
