Spa and Torbay Celebrate Hercule Poirot

The City of Spa and the Torbay region (England), Agatha Christie's birthplace, are forging a friendship pact in homage to Hercule Poirot, on the occasion of the centenary of the novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. This connection has linked the two places for nearly a century. Torbay is the novelist's birthplace, and Spa is considered Hercule Poirot's homeland. Agatha Christie was inspired by Belgian refugees she met in Torquay to create Poirot, and the detective mentions Spa as his region of origin in The Big Four. Both regions also share a rich heritage: Torbay is a UNESCO Global Geopark, and Spa is part of the UNESCO Great Spa Towns of Europe. The official signing of this symbolic twinning will take place in September in Torquay, during the Agatha Christie Festival.