TV presenter Julia spent the night camping on top of the O2 Arena as part of a joint celebration of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award’s (DofE) Diamond Anniversary and The Camping and Caravanning Club’s annual National Camping and Caravanning Week (NCCW).

Julia completed the 350m walk to reach the top of The O2 at dusk on 24 May, before pitching her tent on a platform 52m above ground level, the equivalent of almost 12 London buses. After waking up to a 360 degree view of London, Julia made her way back down at around 9am and happily placed her feet firmly on the ground again.

As a passionate supporter of both organisations and of the great outdoors, Julia took on this challenge as part of the DofE’s Diamond Challenge, a one-off initiative encouraging people of all ages to do something adventurous and get out of their comfort zones in 2016, the DofE Charity’s Diamond Anniversary year. This stunt launches National Camping and Caravanning Week, which runs from Monday 30 May to Sunday 5 June 2016.

Speaking ahead of her challenge, Julia said: “I hope my night camping on the roof of The O2 inspires everyone to get out there and challenge themselves with an outdoor adventure of their own. I’m proud to be supporting two iconic organisations in the outdoor world. Both the DofE and the Club are doing inspiring things to motivate people to get outside. I’m looking forward to being one of very few people to have spent the night on top of The O2!”

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award CEO Peter Westgarth said: “We’re delighted Julia agreed to support us in our Diamond Anniversary year. Camping overnight in the outdoors can be daunting to some, but to camp on top of a London landmark is certainly a first. Doing a Diamond Challenge this year is the perfect opportunity for everyone to have a go at something new while raising much-needed funds for our charity to help us reach out to even more young people. With seven months left, it’s still not too late to sign up and do your very own Challenge.”
Robert Louden MBE, Director General of the Club, said: “National Camping and Caravanning Week is the Club’s annual campaign to get the British public engaged with this fabulous means of exploring the great outdoors. What better way to kick start the week and promote the fun and excitement of camping than our Club President Julia Bradbury successfully completing this incredible challenge? We’d love you to join us on our week-long roadshow from 30 May to 5 June to find out more about the joys of camping.”