A different kind of pride will be in Exhibition Park from today as 25 life-sized bronze lions have arrived in the city centre beauty spot.
International wildlife charity Born Free brings Born Free Forever to Newcastle in partnership with Urban Green Newcastle which manages Exhibition Park, to raise awareness of the plight facing the world's lion population. It follows a stint in Waterloo's Millenium Green in London and will be opened by star of 1966 film Born Free, Virginia McKenna.
The exhibition's installation in the North East is particularly poignant for Virginia and her son Will Travers, who are co-founders of the charity. Born Free Forever is part of a year of action for lions in memory of Virginia's late husband and Will's father Bill Travers MBE, a wildlife campaigner born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne who would have turned 100 this year if not for this sudden and tragic death in 1994.
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The free exhibition has been is the largest of its kind in the UK and each lion has its own story, highlighting the grave threats facing these big cats both in captivity and the wild. The number of wild lions have drastically declined from an estimated 200,000 a century ago to just 20,00 today and they could become extinct across much of their wild range in the next 30 years.
Animal campaigner Virginia and Born Free's Executive President Will, will be joined by 10-year old Thea Caine, a Born Free Junior Ambassador and 50 of her classmates from Burnopfield Primary School who will be taking part in a lion-based art workshop led by Northeast based wildlife artist Jane Lee McCracken.
Virginia McKenna OBE, Born Free Co-Founder and Trustee, said: "I am deeply moved to be bringing our beautiful lion exhibition Born Free Forever to the Northeast, the region where my beloved husband Bill was born and raised. He always remembered his roots, his loyalty and affection for the community never dimmed, and I know the people here will share his desire to save the majestic lion."
Virginia and Bill are fondly remembered around the world for their portrayal of George and Joy Adamson in the 1966 film Born Free , which tells the true story of the efforts to rehabilitate and orphaned lioness called Elsa and return her to the wild. The exhibition's centrepiece features a representation of Elsa, who is the inspiration for the charity, standing on top of a 4 x 4.
Will Travers OBE, Executive President and Co-Founder of Born Free, said: "Lions face many challenges, both in the wild and in captivity. We simply cannot ignore the calamitous decline in numbers for a moment longer.
"This life-size, outdoor, bronze sculpture exhibition, featuring iconic lions, including the world-famous Elsa on top of a 4x4, tells the true stories behind the issues they face. I encourage everyone to visit us in Newcastle, a city with deep family connections, not only to marvel at the exhibition and learn more about the plight of these emblematic and majestic creatures, but to help us fundraise and campaign so that there is a forever for lions."
A Forever Lions Fund has been set up in honour of Bill Travers, with money raised from the exhibition and other donations to help protect wild lions, resolve human-predator conflict, care for rescued lions and stop the slaughter of lions for trophy and canned lion hunting. For more information, visit the Born Free Forever website.
Born Free Forever will be on display in Newcastle's Exhibition Park from April 4 until June 30.
