Prince William and Catherine Middleton's royal tour of Canada will receive unprecedented coverage with 1,300 journalists expected to attend, says Canada's heritage minister.
The itinerary for the newlyweds' first official trip as husband and wife was released Tuesday.
While in Canada they will visit a number of regions from east to west on an active, participatory trip that will see them take part in a Dragon Boat race and a street hockey game, while meeting young people all along the way.
And throngs of reporters will be in tow to capture every moment, said Heritage Minister James Moore.
"When her majesty the Queen visited Canada last summer 18 international journalists came along on the trip. On this trip 241 international journalists are coming," he told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday.
"The total number we would expect to be about 1,300 journalists covering the trip. It is by far the largest and most covered royal visit Canada has ever seen."
Many have predicted the hype surrounding the royal tour will be akin to the excitement in 1983 when William's father, Prince Charles, came to Canada with his 21-year-old bride Princess Diana.
Crowds poured into the street, hung out of windows and jammed rooftops for the chance to lay eyes on the intriguing young woman and her husband, the heir to the throne.
William and Kate will arrive in Ottawa on June 30, prior to spending Canada Day in the capital, where they will take part in a number of events and ceremonies.
From there they will head to Montreal, then Quebec City, before travelling to Prince Edward Island.
While in P.E.I. Prince William, who is a qualified search and rescue helicopter pilot, will perform a 'waterbird' operation, where the chopper actually splashes down to perform a rescue.
The couple will then fly west to Yellowknife, N.W.T., then on to Calgary, where William will officially open the Stampede and both will be presented with a white Stetson hat.
Though the couple has a jam-packed schedule while in Canada, Moore said there will still be room to go off-script.
"There will be some moments that are not expected or defined by the specifics of the itinerary," Moore said.
"So there will be some interesting moments that people won't expect that I think people will be interested to see."
