First wave of Gromit sculptures 'unleashed'

Gromit Unleashed will see 70 giant gromits fill the streets of Bristol, all in aid of charity. Credit: ITV News West Country

The first four of 70 Gromit sculptures to be designed by internationally-renowned artists have been revealed in Bristol.

Amongst the first wave of sculptures to be uncovered include designs by fashion icons Sir Paul Smith and Cath Kidston; Simon Tofield, award-winning illustrator and animator of the cartoon series Simon’s Cat; and Richard Williams, the director of animation for Disney’s acclaimed film ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’. They join comedian Harry Hill’s ‘bald’ Gromit that was revealed last month.

The freshly designed sculptures are for the Gromit Unleashed campaign, a charity initiative to raise funds for Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.

Project organisers, Aardman and the Bristol Children's Hospital charity, Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal, have revealed an assorted line-up of famous names who will each design a giant Gromit sculpture for the high-profile public arts trail taking place this summer from July 1.

With the support of tourism agencies Destination Bristol and VisitEngland, the project will see around 70 giant Gromits fill the streets of Bristol, hoping to raise the profile of the city to tourists across the UK and beyond.

Lauren Vincent, Fundraising manager of Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal, says "hundreds of hours" of work has gone into designing and hand-painting the Gromits:

Around 40 local artists from Bristol will also be taking part in Gromit Unleashed by putting their own mark on the giant statues.

The triple Oscar-winning character will populate the city of Bristol for ten weeks from July 1 and will then be auctioned to raise funds towards Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal's campaign to support the expansion of Bristol Children's Hospital.

Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal has already raised over £22 million for Bristol Children's Hospital, one of only a few specialist children's hospitals in the UK providing life-saving surgery, care and treatment to children on a local, national and international scale.

You can watch the full report by Tamsin Eames here: