The London Elephant Parade 2010: Themed Flanage

[nanila]

Ampersand & me


Last summer, 258 elephant statues temporarily graced the streets and buildings of London before being auctioned off for charity. I spent several weeks combing the city with the aid of the very unspecific map supplied by the sponsors to find them. (Really, that map was terrible. I went through a lot of shoe leather on a couple of evenings just to find one or two elephants.) I eventually managed to see them all, although I had to wait until they were all gathered at the Royal Hospital Chelsea at the end of June to catch the final 25 that I’d missed.

My photos of most of them in their “natural” habitats, from Green Park to Selfridges to Bond Street to Notting Hill, can be viewed in a set on Flickr. I include a small selection behind the cut.

Comments

[solitarywalker]

i'm surprised i didn't hear about this... Years ago Chicago did the same thing with cows. And DC's done it with pandas. Does London have a special link to/association with elephants?

[nanila]

I think it's probably not so much specific to London as it is to England. I imagine the British colonial links with India and Africa have yielded a certain appreciation for elephants here.