Evel Knievel’s iconic memorabilia is set to head off on a world tour starting at Gateshead Metrocentre.

Evel Knievel was the original daredevil, who defied the odds, thrilled audiences and was an inspiration to millions of people the world over. Now – for the first time – Evel’s original motorbikes, famous jump leathers, personal memorabilia, and untold photos and stories are being exhibited on a world tour for everyone to see his death defying achievements. The True Evel Tour launches on Saturday 4th December at the Metro Centre, Gateshead.

With the throttle wide open Evel Knievel went head to head with danger and lived to tell about it. Despite failure, crashing and injury, he always rose to perform again. This unconventional attitude to do things that had never been done before is exactly what made him so famous.

Evel Knievel was an inspiration to people – young and old – who recognised that they wanted to take control of their own destiny.

The tour is set to inspire fans and families to “Dare to Dream” – Knievel was the daredevil who aspired to entertain and show that nothing is out of your reach. Now parents and their children will get the chance to see his famous Harley Davidson Jump Bike which crashed jumping a tank of live sharks, the X-2 Sky Cycle from the Twin Falls, Snake River Canyon, the Wheelie Dragster Car, and of course the instantly recognisable blue and white leather suits, still scuffed from crashes, plus lots more.

The tour will be in the Metrocentre for one month from 4th December and will be located in the Red Mall next to the Town Square. After the grand opening, the “True Evel” tour will then be loaded onto a specially constructed lorry to embark on its journey around the world, including;  Italy, Spain, Austria, The United Arab Emirates, France, Ireland and  Hungary.

To announce the launch of the tour, Knievel’s oldest son, Kelly, will be in attendance. Kelly commented, “My dad was an inspiration to millions of people and it is my honour to share some of his most treasured possessions and stories with his fans and kids around the world.”

When Evel Knievel died in 2007, his career had spanned over 25 years. Evel’s first jump was in 1966 at the National Date Festival in Indio, California. From that point onwards, Knievel’s stunts became more ambitious and more dangerous. Some of his most memorable jumps include Caesars Palace (1967), Madison Square Garden (1971), Twin Falls – Snake River Canyon (1974) and of course the famous Wembley stadium jump (1975). In addition to the amazing daredevil achievements, Evel’s unique lifestyle allowed him to meet some of the most famous people from the last three decades and led to him becoming the only real life person to be turned into a comic book hero.

Evel currently holds the Guinness World Record for the most broken bones, with 35. Over the years Knievel had spent over 36 months in a hospital recovering and although he did not break every bone in his body he gave it a good go!

His pain was well received. When USA ABC’s Wide World of Sports collated the top twenty most watched sporting moments of all time, Evel featured five times – including the top spot. In one of his first jumps for ABC Wide World of Sports, Knievel successfully jumped 50 stacked cars at the Los Angeles Coliseum in front of a crowd of 35,000. This performance lead to a world record where Evel jumped 14 Greyhound buses at King’s Island amusement park in Ohio in 1975 which remains ABC Wide World of Sports highest rated show ever.

For more information about Evel Knievel and images of his life go to www.evelknievel.com

By Dave on November 22, 2010