Here's a thoroughly English attraction for families to experience in London this fall: VisitLondon, the NSPCC and STUDIOCANAL have revealed 15 of the statues for The Paddington Trail, a family-friendly attraction that places statues of the popular children's book bear all over town for people to find. The statues were accompanied by some of the celebrities and artists who designed the artworks that will go on display across the city as of Tuesday.
Bears revealed included David Beckham’s ‘Golden Paws’, Emma Watson’s ‘Flutterby’, Benedict Cumberbatch’s ‘Sherlock Bear’, Peter Capaldi’s ‘Paddington Who?’, Stephen Fry’s ‘Paddington is GREAT’, Nicole Kidman’s ‘Blush’ and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s ‘The Bear of London.’
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| The Mayor and the Bear |
Visitors will be able to follow the protagonist of Michael Bond's children's books, visiting locations across the capital from as far west as Heathrow through to the O2 in the east, taking in some of London’s key cultural and landmark hotspots such as The Royal Opera House, Museum of London, Horse Guards Parade, the Museum of Childhood, Selfridges and, of course, Paddington Station.
VisitLondon.com has a dedicated section of its website that details a full list of designers and their designs and will enable visitors to London to find out more about the trail and download the trail map, share their pictures and discover the stories behind each statue and location.
The final four statue designers were also revealed as: Artist Marc Quinn, architect Zaha Hadid, supermodel Kate Moss (whose ‘Goldiebear’ is currently in the Christmas-themed window of Selfridges) and Hollywood star Sandra Bullock, who has created a Gravity- inspired design of Paddington in an astronaut’s outfit. (We hear this bear will be hung from the ceiling at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.)
Hugh Bonneville, who plays Mr Brown in the upcoming Paddington film (set to open in UK cinemas on November 28), joined fashion designer Lulu Guinness and others to reveal their designs of all 50 bear statues in time for fans and visitors to London to see them up close and personal from Tuesday, November 4.
London-based design company 3DEye has helped to create the three-foot six-inch-tall statues, which will be auctioned online by Christie’s from December 10 to raise vital funds for the NSPCC and its ChildLine service.
The list of designers also includes other stars of the Paddington film Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters and Ben Whishaw, Hollywood actor Michael Sheen, director Guy Ritchie, Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, photographer Rankin, fashion designer Matthew Williamson, painter and street artist Inkie, illustrator Hannah Warren, presenters Davina McCall, Ant McPartlin & Declan Donnelly and Jonathan Ross, explorer and survival expert Bear Grylls, and both Chelsea football team and the England rugby union team.
Good to know: Selfridges is the Trail’s retail partner and will be selling a selection of statue miniatures from a dedicated Paddington concept store showcasing a variety of Paddington related products and artifacts.