International celebrities, designers and artists
to lend their artistic talents to London's Paddington Trail,
November 4 - December 30, 2014
LONDON -
Today VisitLondon.com, the NSPCC and STUDIOCANAL
announced the first of the exciting internationally
renowned celebrities, designers and artists signed
up to THE PADDINGTON TRAIL. The list includes stars
of the Paddington film Hugh
Bonneville, Peter Capaldi, Nicole
Kidman, Julie
Walters and Ben
Whishaw, Hollywood actors Benedict
Cumberbatch, Michael
Sheen and Emma
Watson, director Guy
Ritchie, stars of the music world Nick
Mason and Frankie
Bridge, globally renowned photographer Rankin,
leading fashion designers Christopher
Kane, Lulu
Guinness and Matthew Williamson, painter and
street artist Inkie,
multi-talented artists Tom
Phillips and Hannah
Warren and
world-famous ex-footballer and underwear designer David
Beckham.
Actor Hugh Bonneville, who stars in the forthcoming
Paddington film, which opens in UK Cinemas November
28, is among the designers and comments: "Paddington
is an explorer - this trail is a wonderful way of
bringing this to life and I hope it makes people
look at London with fresh eyes. I am delighted to
have been asked to design one of the bears and have
created an ode to Paddington' s favourite preserve.
I can't wait for people to see it."
The star-studded Paddington design team also
includes former Royal Ballet principal dancer Darcey
Bussell, presenters Davina
McCall, Ant
McPartlin & Declan
Donnelly and Jonathan
Ross, explorer and survival expert Bear
Grylls, the Chelsea
football team, the England
rugby union team and
Mayor of London Boris
Johnson.
The first of the designs were also revealed today:
'Paddington Bear' by Michael Bond, 'Paddington
Shakesbear' by Michael Sheen, 'Paddington Sparkles'
by Frankie Bridge and 'Paddingtonscape' by artist
Hannah Warren.
Michael Sheen, who designed 'Shakesbear Paddington'
says: "It is such a privilege to be designing a
statue for The Paddington Trail, especially as it is
raising money for the NSPCC a charity I?m
proud to support. I am delighted to have been able
to create Shakesbear and combine my love of the bear
with my passion for the bard!"
These adventurous designers are working on some of
the 50 Paddington Bear statues, which will be placed
across the capital ahead of the highly anticipated
release of PADDINGTON in UK cinemas on November 28,
2014. This exciting and inspiring trail will take in
museums, parks, shops and landmarks, all with a
colorful, Paddington-inspired flavor. London is
Paddington's favorite city: full of adventure and
opportunities to explore the wonderful art, culture,
innovation and entertainment that are so prominent
in the capital.
Visitors will be able to follow in the furry
footsteps of the world's favorite Peruvian explorer
visiting locations across the capital from as far
west as Heathrow through
to the O2 in
the east, taking in some of London's key cultural
and landmark hotspots such as The
Royal Opera House, Museum
of London, Horse
Guards Parade, the Museum
of Childhood and,
of course, Paddington
Station with
the trail ending in Selfridges,
from November 4 ?December 30, 2014.
VisitLondon.com has
also launched a dedicated section of their website
which will enable visitors to London to find out
more about the trail and, later in the month,
download the trail map, share their pictures and
discover the stories behind each statue and
location. Visit
www.visitlondon.com/paddington
Paddington's origins date back almost sixty years to
when his creator, Michael Bond, bought a small bear
from Selfridges on
Christmas Eve 1956, as a present for his wife, and
named him after the nearest railway station to which
they lived.
Selfridges is
the Trail's retail partner and will be selling a
selection of statue miniatures from a dedicated
Paddington concept store showcasing a variety of
Paddington-related products and artifacts. The
Paddington Curiosity Shop will be created especially
to celebrate the historic link between the store and
the famous bear as well as raising funds for the
NSPCC.
In Michael Bond's original tales, the young bear
finds himself alone in a big and unfamiliar city.
Taken in by the Brown family, he finds a warm
welcome and a safe place to stay and sets out to
discover more about his adopted city.
London-based design company 3DEye is helping to
create the three-foot six-inch tall statues, all of
which will be auctioned later in the year to raise
money for charity partners* including the NSPCC; a
charity whose work is all about protecting
vulnerable children and making them safe through its
services including ChildLine.
Due for release in the UK on November 28, 2014, the
big screen debut of PADDINGTON will showcase many of
the trail locations in the capital, including his
first port of entry Paddington station. The
film from STUDIOCANAL and Heyday Films is written
and directed by Paul King (Bunny and the Bull, The
Mighty Boosh) produced by David Heyman (Gravity,
Harry Potter) and boasts an all-star cast including
Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Peter
Capaldi, Jim Broadbent and Nicole Kidman with Ben
Whishaw as the voice of PADDINGTON.
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