Remembering Tigers launch - live and virtual!

As part of the launch of the much-anticipated Remembering Tigers fundraising picture book (the ninth in the Remembering Wildlife series), we are holding a special evening live at the Royal Geographical Society in London about tiger conservation and wildlife photography. As well as a live event in London, we will also be broadcasting the evening virtually, so online tickets are available for those unable to join us in person.

Remembering Tigers, cover image by Sarah Skinner

Remembering Tigers aims to be the most beautiful book on the species ever made and as well as a foreword by Valmik Thapar and contributions from Belinda Wright OBE and Jonathan & Angela Scott, it includes images generously donated by many of the world's top wildlife photographers including include Jonathan and Angela Scott, Art Wolfe, Greg du Toit and many others. Over 280 photographers have now contributed to this series which has raised more than £1.15 million GBP / $1.5 million USD for conservation so far. All profits generated by Remembering Wildlife are donated to conservation.

The evening will include a presentation of images from the book and talks by series founder Margot Raggett MBE (pictured above at the launch of Remembering Bears), Executive Director of Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) Belinda Wright OBE, naturalist, conservationist & writer Valmik Thapar and guide, wildlife photographer & presenter Paul Goldstein.

Belinda Wright OBE, tiger conservationist and wildlife campaigner, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI). Born in Kolkata, Belinda has spent her entire life working with wildlife in India. Before turning to full time conservation work in 1994, she was a wildlife photographer and an Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker who worked for many years for National Geographic. Since then, she has pioneered investigations into the illegal wildlife trade in the Indian Subcontinent, helped expose the trade in tiger parts, and has been instrumental in the arrest of hundreds of wildlife criminals. In 2005, she was a member of the team that revealed the magnitude of the big cat skin trade in Tibet. Belinda was awarded the O.B.E. in 2003 for services to the protection of wildlife in India. Among other awards, she received the Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award in 2005, and was elected an Ashoka Senior Fellow in 2009.
Belinda has been a member of a number of Central and State Government committees. In her capacity as the Executive Director of WPSI, she was a member of the National Board for Wildlife (chaired by the Prime Minister) until 2010. She is presently a member of the State Wildlife Advisory Boards of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. She is also an Honorary Wildlife Warden of NCT Delhi.

Valmik Thapar has spent over 48 years serving the interests of both wildlife and very specially tigers. He is a fierce defender of the tiger and all wildlife that lives in the forests of India. He has extensively engaged with South East Asia and is also passionate about the African continent, spending 6 weeks every year somewhere in Africa.

Valmik has written 39 books on tigers and on Indian forests wildlife as well as writing more than 150 articles in mainstream journals and newspapers. He has been a presenter for international programmes on television connected to tigers and Indian wildlife where he has presented for the BBC and public television across the world.

Paul Goldstein saw his first tiger 27 years ago. Since then he has shown hundreds of people their first in his beloved Bandhavgarh National Park. He guides all over the world but tigers are close to his heart, so much so he has raised hundreds of thousands for them by running 25 marathons in his fabled tiger suit.

RGS VIP ticket holders will be invited to attend a drinks reception (Remembering Lions VIP reception pictured above) where they can mingle with some of the photographers and speakers. The VIP ticket also includes front of auditorium seating, access to a virtual game drive live from South Africa (date and time TBC) plus a *Gary Hodges Remembering Tigers tote bag. In lieu of the drinks reception, virtual VIP tickets will receive a tiger print by Sachin Rai from the book.

VIP drinks reception will run from 18.15-19.15.

Main event starts 19.15 with one interval for a book signing.

*This year's Gary Hodges tote bags will initially only be available as part of the VIP tickets (both live and virtual) and sold at the event. If we have any left, they might be added to our website in future for online purchase but this will be subject to availability.

Extra content for virtual ticket holders!

Virtual tickets (both general admission and VIP) will also include access to some exclusive campfire chats. While the audience in London are in the drinks reception and interval, over in South Africa, from 18.15 UK time, we'll be showing exclusively for virtual ticket holders a pre-recorded campfire chat between some of our amazing contributing photographers and supported projects. Hosted by our friends at Painteddog.tv, Brent Leo Smith will lead a chat about tigers and other Remembering Wildlife species. Expect the chat to range from the stories behind images in the books to the conservation of these incredible big cats.

*Please note that we will not be offering refunds on tickets purchased for this event. If any purchaser of a live event ticket no longer is able, or wishes, to attend in person, we will happily transfer their ticket to a virtual one instead. Equally, if someone purchases a virtual ticket and nearer the time wishes to attend in person after all, then subject to ticket availability, we will transfer a virtual ticket into a live one. If due to any changes in government guidance we are no longer able to hold a live public gathering, all tickets will be converted to virtual ones for an event which will be held that evening.

Banner image credit :Sachin Rai

Host or Publisher Margot Raggett MBE/Remembering Wildlife