ELEPHANT PARADE ARRIVES AT INTU ELDON SQUARE

On Monday 14^th October, Elephant Parade’s instantly recognisable elephant statues will go on display at intu Eldon Square for four weeks. Having trailblazed around the world – visiting Singapore, Amsterdam, Milan, Southern California – Elephant Parade’s debut in Newcastle forms part of the 14-stop UK tour presented by intu shopping centres. Elephant Parade brings artists, celebrities and businesses together to create vibrant public art creations on elephant statues to raise awareness of, and funds for, The Asian Elephant Foundation, a charity which supports elephant conservation projects (www.intuelephantparade.com) Since 2007, Elephant Parades around the world have raised millions for Asian elephant conservation and have drawn contributions from top public figures, including Ricky Gervais, Leona Lewis, Tommy Hilfiger, Jack Vettriano, and Joss Stone. Claudia Schiffer, BBC One Show’s Alex Jones and Rylan Clark are among the public figures taking part in the intu national tour this year. The UK tour of Intu shopping centres has offered local schoolchildren the once in a lifetime opportunity to design an elephant to join the tour. Already, after only four tour stops, more than 2,000 design ideas have been submitted. In the North East, pupils from Thomas Bewick, Trinity Deneview, Church and Central High Schools  have all designed elephants in celebration of the national tour and six students from the schools were selected to paint a smaller scale elephant  exhibited at intu Eldon Square during the month long exhibition. Phil Steele, General Manager of intu Eldon Square said: “We’re all very thrilled to be welcoming Elephant Parade to Newcastle upon Tyne. We’re part of a national tour that is bringing the 100-strong elephant herd to over half the UK population, making it the longest-running Elephant Parade to date. The elephant tour has something for everyone – from a cheeky pirate elephant to a beautiful princess, a cathedral concept to a jet plane. Fine art and pop art combine in what promises to be a wonderful festival of colour.” For the first time, the Elephant Parade will be supported by a digital tour, giving everyone a chance to participate rather than simply observe. In addition to the tour elephants, thousands of design images from people of all ages and walks of life will be broadcast in the shopping centre. A number of the tour elephants will be avialable to buy, money raised going to the Asian Elephant Foundation. Local businesses also have the opportunity to sponsor an elephant for the Newcastle stop of the tour.