Today saw the much-awaited launch of Shaun the Sheep on the Tyne, and our flock of sponsors, school children, partners and curious passers-by gathered at Newcastle Civic Centre to declare the trail open!
The event kicked off with welcome speeches from the St Oswald’s Hospice team, Libby Fryer, Trail Lead and Steph Edusei, Chief Executive, who then handed over to Nick Kemp. Leader of Newcastle City Council, who are Headline Trail Partners. Representatives from Learning Programme Partner Northumbrian Water and Community Partner NorthStandard, said some words and we also heard from Rob Goodchild, Commercial Director at Aardman, who of course are the creators of Shaun himself!
Unveiling the final sculpture!
Then it was left to Jude and Emily from St Oswald’s Catholic Primary School in Gosforth to unveil the final statue, which until this point had been covered up to add an air of mystery.
To much applause, the 45th and final big Shaun sculpture, The Wrong Trousers by Mik Richardson was revealed and the trail was declared officially open!
Guests then has chance to pose for selfies while local media filmed pieces to camera, capturing the excited reactions of the children on seeing the sculptures for the first time.
It was also opening day at our Trail HQ at the Civic Centre, a hub for all things Shaun on the Tyne, where visitors can pick up trail maps and browse the huge range of merchandise, much of which has been handcrafted by talented volunteers from across the region.
Despite the wet weather, a short walking tour concluded the event, with sponsors enjoying a stroll through Newcastle, spotting sheep along the way.
Thank you to everyone who joined us and make the launch a baa-rilliant success, especially our trail sponsors and supporters, St Oswald’s Catholic Primary School, The Civic Centre and Newcastle Council team, Aardman, Gorilla Media who provided our big screen, St Oswald’s Hospice Volunteers and Sorted PR.
The trail will run until Wednesday 27th September so there is plenty of time to find all 115 big and little Shauns. All money raised during the trail will support the work of St Oswald’s Hospice.
Download the trail app, or if you prefer to go old school, you can pick up a paper map at selected vendors across the region. Browse our merchandise online and discover more about the trail and St Oswald Hospice, here.
