'Big Hoot' owls move into Birmingham overnight

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The Big Hoot
Sunday 19 July 2015 at 4:57pm

165cm tall owl sculptures will be perching across Birmingham for ten weeks during the summer. Credit: ITV News Central

From pirates to penguins and even a minion! This summer Birmingham is playing host to 100 giant owl sculptures dotted around the city.

It's been described as the biggest ever mass-participation, public art event in the city and it's aptly named - The Big Hoot.

Birmingham Children's Hospital have teamed up with Wild in Art to get local artists and community groups to decorate many of the owls.

Overnight, the brightly coloured statues have taken up residence in the city, with the aim of encouraging children to search for them all over.

Louise McCathie from the Birmingham Children's Hospital told ITV News Central:

"It's been a fantastic opportunity for artists locally and over the country to just get involved so it's a mass participation event and it's free."

Thousands of maps will be available for families to locate the owls and afterwards they will be auctioned off to raise money for Birmingham Children's Hospital.