Last weekend saw a number of youngsters from across the region audition to become the faces of a new bus campaign. Andrew Wright reports.

Better By Bus, a collaboration between Merseytravel, Stagecoach and Arriva, has been on the lookout for young, local talent to feature in the campaign and propel the message of city-wide bus travel to a regional audience.

Hundreds of aspiring stars auditioned at performing arts school, Rare Studio, after an open call went out looking for talent, aged 6-9. across Liverpool City Region.

The judging panel was headed up by Rare Studio directors, Michelle Faulkner and Lindsay Inglesby, who were also joined by Mia Carragher.

Successful auditionees will win the opportunity to take part in an advert, as well as being the face of a region-wide bus initiative.

Julie Linforth, campaign conductor for Better By Bus, said:

“What a day! It was fantastic to see so many talented youngsters wanting to be a face of Better By Bus. As a team, we know that Liverpool City Region is filled with outstanding talent, but it really hit home to us when we met so many young people that had such an interest and enthusiasm in becoming part of the promotional advert.

“The campaign is all about local people and what better way to demonstrate this than having our young people as the faces of Better By Bus. Now, it’s the difficult part – choosing our stars…”

Lindsay Inglesby, director of Rare Studio, said:

“The talent on the day was simply unbelievable. We are beyond impressed with the high caliber of talent that stood opposite the judging panel, and although this is our job, we will never tire of seeing the talent that the city region has to offer.

“It’s going to be really difficult to decide the final faces of Better By Bus, but we’re looking forward to coaching the next generation and allowing them to bring their own personalities into the fabric of the campaign.”