Gromit Unleashed raises 2.3 million for Bristol Childrens Hospital
Posted on: 04 Oct 2013Bristol Children’s Hospital have enjoyed a huge boost Gromit Unleashed statues were auctioned for sale after a 10 week stint bringing novelty and colour to the streets of the city.
Arranged by Sothebys and presented by Tim Wonnacraft from televisions Bargain Hunt the auction raised an incredible £2.3 million as part of Wallace & Gromits Grand Appeal in aid of the hospital.
A total of 81 statues of the world famous Aardman Animations character were produced with with each being individually decorated by guest contributors including celebrities, artists and organisations as diverse as The Beano, Harry Hill, Jools Holland, Zayn Malik, the Royal Mint and Pixar Animations.
The highest amount raised by a single statue was the £65,000 fetched by Gromit Lightyear designed by Pixar and based on their famous Toy Story astronaut. Gromit Newshound, designed by Nick Park the Oscar-winning creator of Wallace and Gromit, raised £50,000.
The chairman of Aardman, David Sproxton says that there are hopes to repeat the project in future with another popular character “We keep being asked ‘what’s next?’ and it’s certainly going to be a challenge to top this. The project partners are keen to see if we can scale up the idea with Shaun the Sheep in 2015 and roll it out nationally - or even internationally.”
The appeal organisers have estimated that the Gromit Unleashed art trial and subsequent exhibition was viewed by over 1.1 million people with 900,000 being visitors to Bristol, raising in excess of £75m in tourist revenue for local businesses.
Appeal Director Nicola Masters said: “The figures are astonishing but the economic impact is only part of the equation as the project has not only helped bring people to visit this wonderful city, but got Bristol people out to explore parts of the city they have never seen before. We hope the auction will raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for us,” she said.
“People have taken Gromit Unleashed to their hearts and have been very proud of it.” She added: “We know that Bristol Children’s Hospital is the heart of the city but it also provides a major service throughout the South West, South Wales and further afield.”
“We want the patients treated in Bristol Children’s Hospital to have the very best chance and access to the very best equipment they possibly can to help their journey throughout their treatment.”
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Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
