Two hundred elephants are on their way to London — fiberglass, that is.
The collection of adolescent-sized brightly-coloured model Asian elephants will be displayed across London next year. The exhibition, known as the Elephant Parade, is the brainchild of father and son Marc and Mike Spits, who wanted to draw attention to the Asian elephant, threatened with extinction. The statues will be auctioned off by Sotheby’s following the exhibition. The plan is to raise more than £1 million to go to Elephant Family, the largest elephant charity in the world. The duo have already raised around €700,000 for the organisation after successful parades in Rotterdam and Antwerp.
France-based Marc Spits, 72, tells People: “I was on holiday in Chiang Mai and I went to visit an elephant hospital. In came an injured baby elephant called Mosha, who was in a horrible state. I became very interested in the animals and decided that I would use my background in copywrighting to launch a campaign.” He teamed up with his son, 45 year-old Mike, who has a marketing background. Mr Spits junior says: “It is a campaign that is about more than making money. Businesses can buy a statue and use it to promote their firm, with money going to the elephant cause.”
The project is backed by London mayor Boris Johnson, and celebrities Joanna Lumley, Michael Palin and Stephen Fry.
The elephants, which are 1.5 metres high,1.8 metres long and weigh 65 kilos, will be in Amsterdam this autumn. After London, the parade will move to New York and Milan.
