How a tulip farm in Norfolk grew to become the shock breakout star alongside Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Wicked
A tulip farm in Norfolk is bracing itself for an influx of film fans after it was revealed that it played a crucial role in the filming of the new Wicked starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
Belmont Nurseries, near King’s Lynn, has seen Bollywood flans turn up looking to recreate the scene of a romantic ballad Dekha Ek Khwab from the movie Silsila.
However the couple behind the nine million tulips, are now preparing for the flocking of Wicked fans to visit the field.
Mark and Susanne Eves were initially approached in 2022 after a viral video of their fields was seen by the film’s director, Jon M Chu, looking for a set for the Wizard of Oz origin story.
‘I still pinch myself that we got involved,’ Mr Eves told The Times.
The couple first started opening their tulip fields to the public in 2021 as a way to deal with the number of people trespassing on their land.
They decided to open the fields for the two weeks that tulips flower which is in April and May.
Wicked Movie, starring Ariana Grande, right, as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba
Belmont Nurseries, near King’s Lynn is bracing itself for an influx of film fans after it was revealed that it played a crucial role in the filming of the new Wicked starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo
They decided to open the fields for the two weeks that tulips flower which is in April and May to raise money for the Tapping House, their local hospice which had cared for their friend’s son in his final weeks. Picture: Farm worker checking a tulip field near King’s Lynn in Norfolk
This was to raise money for the Tapping House, their local hospice which had cared for their friend’s son in his final weeks. So far they have raised thousands of pounds.
Mrs Eves said: ‘We get a lot of the Indian and Asian populations wanting to recreate some Bollywood songs,’ Mrs Eves said. ‘We have a diverse spectrum of visitors to the field.’
After the two weeks the tulips are beheaded to make sure the bulbs are strong enough to ‘force’ flowers ti grow under glass out of season.
The fields were spotted by Hollywood producers at the time the Wicked production team was working on the sets for the film, when Mr Eves filmed the fields using a drone and posted the footage online.
A location scout visited the farm and it was when they saw the daffodil field that they ‘fell in love with it’, Mrs Eves said.
The film’s production designer, Nathan Crowley, told Variety magazine that each bulb cost around $0.04 and the tulips were comparable in price to using special effects so meaning it cost Universal Pictures about $360,000 in bulbs alone.
Unfortunately none of the film’s stars shot their scenes in the fields, however that did not stop locals from gossiping they had spotted Ariana Grande in a local butchers
The film’s production designer, Nathan Crowley, told Variety magazine that each bulb cost around $0.04
A village from the fictional realm of Munchkinland has sprouted out of the ground in the Chilterns
The film set has been erected in Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire, for the Hollywood adaptation of hit musical Wicked
Singer Ariana Grande (right) has been cast as Glinda the Good Witch, while Cynthia Erivo (left) will play Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west. Pictured: The pair leave Ronnie Scott’s in London on April 7
Unfortunately, the field the film-makers wanted to use in Norfolk didn’t have the ideal conditions for the flowers .
Mrs Eves said: ‘My husband had quite a lot of sleepless nights about what it would look like, and then luckily it was all in its glory. It was fairly stressful.’
Unfortunately none of the film’s stars shot their scenes in the fields, however that did not stop locals from gossiping they had spotted Ariana Grande in a local butchers.
She said: ‘It’s surprising how quickly rumours and village Facebook pages fill up. We didn’t see any of the stars but we did take the directors into the local pub.
When it came to filming of the movie, the Eves and their daughter all appeared as extras standing among their flowers.
However, those looking to see the tulip field, will be disappointed to find out it’s not a field of rapeseed.
When the film was finally released last week, Mrs Eves admitted she found it emotional.
She said: ‘I loved it and I cried at the end. I don’t know if it was the emotion of the whole experience coming to a crescendo.’
She also said their multicoloured tulip fields feature at the start and the end of the first film.
Since people have found out about the field’s role in the film, they said their website has been flooded with traffic and the believe tickets will sell out very quickly for next year’s opening.
Tapping House hospice has to raise £4.1 million each year to stay open and the £320,000 raised this year by the tulip fields will fund one month of hospice care.
