Press Release Seven giant sculptures of Shaun the Sheep designed and painted by British artists welcome guests to star studded premiere of Shaun the Sheep The Movie History was made in Leicester Square earlier today as seven giant sculptures of internationally-acclaimed animated character Shaun the Sheep made their debut on the green carpet for the premiere of Shaun the Sheep The Movie, created by Bristol studio Aardman Animations. Whilst Leicester Square has been the site of some of Britain's greatest film premieres, this is the first time that seven giant (5ft) Shaun the Sheep sculptures designed and decorated by British artists have graced a star-studded gala. The sculptures made their international debut ahead of this year’s hotly anticipated Shaun in the City arts trails which will see 120 sculptures of Shaun the Sheep placed in iconic locations and green spaces in London and Bristol in 2015 in aid of Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation, the group charity raising funds for children in hospitals across the UK. Adding to the green carpet glamour were Shaun the Sheep sculptures Yeoman of the Baaard, Ewe-nion Jack, Lenny, Shaun, Mossy Bottom, The Pearly King and Petal, which will be among 50 Shaun in the City sculptures placed in and around London from 28th March to 25th May 2015. The eight-week trail will see fifty giant sculptures springing up in key, central locations around the capital including the City of London, Westminster, Southbank and iconic tourist destinations. Shaun in the City is being organised by the team behind Bristol’s multi-award winning Gromit Unleashed arts trail in 2013, which raised over £2.3 million at auction for The Grand Appeal. All funds raised by the Shaun in the City arts trails will support children in hospitals around the UK as well as Bristol Children’s Hospital. Shaun the Sheep creator Nick Park is closely involved with the project and will be designing one of the sculptures on the trail himself. Nick Park said “It’s wonderful to see these vibrant and witty sculpture designs showcased on the green carpet for the Shaun the Sheep premiere. I’m looking forward to seeing more designs in iconic locations across the capital this spring. I think London is in for a treat!” Nick Park will be joined by an eclectic array of high-profile artists, designers, celebrities and local talent, who will each bring their individual talent to customise a giant sculpture for the major tourist attraction. The line- up of prestigious artists and celebrities will be revealed soon. Nicola Masters, Director of Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation, said “Shaun the Sheep is one of Britain’s best loved characters and we’re delighted to be staging the world’s first Shaun in the City trail this spring by bringing 50 decorated sheep to the heart of the capital. The sculptures are expected to draw international attention with visitors from across the globe, whilst raising vital funds to support children in hospitals.” After the London trail, a further trail of 70 giant Shaun the Sheep sculptures will be displayed in Bristol during July and August. Following both trails, in autumn 2015 the two flocks will go on display to the general public, prior to a grand auction to raise money for sick children in hospitals across the UK. ENDS London: For more information about Shaun in the City contact Heidi Dyson at [email protected] Bristol: For more information about Shaun in the City contact Lauren Howard at [email protected] Notes to Editors Shaun in the City is a public arts trail from Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation, the team behind the award- winning Gromit Unleashed trail in 2013. 120 5ft sculptures of Shaun the Sheep will be designed and decorated by famous artists, designers and celebrities, and placed in iconic locations in London (28 March – 25 May 2015) and Bristol (6 July – 31 August 2015). The trail will culminate in a public exhibition and charity auction in autumn 2015. The sculptures unveiled today will appear on the trail in London. For more information, visit www.shauninthecity.org.uk The Charity: Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation is the group charity (no 1043603) raising funds for sick children in Bristol Children’s Hospital and hospitals throughout the UK. Since 1995, the multi award winning charity has enjoyed a unique relationship with Aardman Animations, whose Oscar-winning characters Wallace & Gromit spearhead the fundraising. The founding Directors of Aardman Animations, David Sproxton and Peter Lord, as well as the Creator of Wallace & Gromit, Nick Park are Trustees of the Charity. Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Foundation has two major fundraising initiatives supporting sick children in hospital: Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Charity is a national charity raising funds to support and improve the lives of children in hospitals and hospices throughout the UK. The Charity supports a network of children’s hospitals and hospices in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, granting funding for projects that provide comforts and facilities for patients including state of the art equipment, family accommodation, art, music and play therapy as well as direct costs for hospice care, respite care and sensory equipment. Wallace & Gromit’s Children’s Charity will benefit from funds raised from the flock of 50 sculptures placed in London during spring 2015. For more information, visit www.wallaceandgromitcharity.org The Grand Appeal has raised over £28 million to support sick babies and children at Bristol Children’s Hospital and the Special Care Baby Unit at St Michael’s Hospital providing life-saving equipment, patient activities, new services and family accommodation. The Appeal runs Cots for Tots House – a 12 bedded family accommodation unit for the parents of critically ill babies treated in the Special Care Baby Unit. Bristol Children’s Hospital is one of the UK’s leading children’s hospitals treating patients from across the South West, South Wales and beyond with life-threatening illnesses and serves as the paediatric intensive care centre for the whole South West region. The hospital is an international, national and regional specialist centre of excellence for a range of services including neurosurgery, burns, cardiac, leukaemia and bone marrow transplants. Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal will benefit from funds raised from the flock of 70 Shaun in the City sculptures placed in Bristol during summer 2015. For more information, visit www.grandappeal.org.uk Gromit Unleashed 2013: A major public arts trail organised by Bristol Children’s Hospital Charity, Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal, and Aardman Animations. The trail saw 80 giant sculptures of Gromit displayed in Bristol and the area during the summer of 2013, each individually decorated by artists and celebrities. The award-winning campaign continues to raise funds through exclusive Gromit Unleashed charity merchandise, to support Bristol Children’s Hospital. Gromit Unleashed arts trail contributed a record breaking £123 million to the local economy 1.2 million visitors took part in the trail £2.3million raised from the auction for Bristol Children’s Hospital 1.7 million hits on the Gromit Unleashed website 45,000 downloads of the Gromit Unleashed app which reached No. 1 in the iTunes App chart To date, Gromit Unleashed has helped to raise over £4.5 million for Bristol Children’s Hospital Gromit Unleashed has recently made its mark in the Far East, with the launch of Gromit Unleashed Hong Kong, an exhibition of giant Gromit sculptures based on the original Bristol trail, at the city’s prestigious Elements shopping mall. Visit www.gromitunleashed.org.uk Aardman Animations & Shaun the Sheep Aardman Animations is an award winning British animation studio that has an outstanding global reputation for creating enduringly popular characters and quality family entertainment. Shaun the Sheep is one of Aardman’s best loved characters with over four and a half million fans on social media and TV series which are broadcast in 170 territories world-wide. Shaun the Sheep made his debut in 1995 in the Oscar-winning Wallace & Gromit short film, A Close Shave. Since then he’s gone on to become a global superstar with his show on TV in 170 territories. His first feature length movie will hit cinemas in February 2015. Shaun was recently voted the nation’s best loved BBC children’s character of all time in a survey by the Radio Times: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-07-15/shaun-the-sheep-voted-the-nations-best- loved-bbc-childrens-tv-character. Sculptures on display Lenny, designed by Vivi Cuevas Ewe-nion Jack, designed by Laura Cramer The Pearly King, designed by Ruth Broadway Mossy Bottom, designed by Sylvie Bull Yeoman of the Baaard, designed by Vivi Cuevas Shaun, designed by Aardman Animations Petal, designed by Emily Ketteringham .