PASSENGERS at Birmingham Airport are sure to be in for a surprise this summer – as a bear will be setting up home there as part of the Big Sleuth.
Over the summer there will be up to 100 giant bear sculptures will leave their paw prints all over Birmingham and Solihull as part of the latest adventure from Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity and creative producers, Wild in Art.
The design chosen by the Airport is called Solar Polar and is painted by artist David Graham.
It represents the famous Northern Lights or ‘the aurora borealis’.
The bright dancing lights of the aurora are the result of collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere and can be seen in the sky.
David Winstanley, Chief Operating Officer at Birmingham Airport, said: “It’s a fantastic privilege to be involved with another city art trail project.
“We jumped at the chance to be a sponsor again and we are really pleased with the bear design that we have chosen.
“It is very relevant for Birmingham Airport seeing as we have four Icelandair flights a week to Reykjavik, a gateway city for visitors of the Northern Lights.”
The highly anticipated ten-week trail, named because ‘sleuth’ is a collective noun for a group of bears, will see the individually designed, 165cm tall, sculptures appearing throughout the region, inspiring residents and tourists to uncover cultural gems and discover areas they may not have explored before.
The bears will then be auctioned to raise valuable funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.
Elinor Eustace, Deputy Director of Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, said: “The Big Sleuth is incredibly important to us as we know it will encourage residents and tourists to get active and enjoy being outdoors – whether they decide to walk, jog, run or cycle the trail.
“We are absolutely delighted to have Birmingham Airport involved, as thanks to them and our other corporate partners we will ultimately be able to fund some important projects for the children and young people at our hospital and for that we’re immensely grateful.”
The Big Sleuth comes hot on the heels of The Big Hoot which attracted more than 800,000 visitors and in total raised over £625,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
At the end of the 10 week trail the giant painted bears will be auctioned off with all proceeds going to the hospital.
To find out more about the project, visit www.thebigsleuth.co.uk
