150 lions arrive for Pride of Yorkshire art trail

One hundred and fifty life-sized sculptures of lions will arrive next month as part of a charity art trail.

The Pride of Yorkshire event has been organised by the Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity and the lions will be installed in locations across Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham.

The trail celebrates the 150th anniversary of the hospital and all 150 sculptures have been designed by British artists.

There will also be 150 cubs designed by schools and community groups that can be seen at landmarks such as Meadowhall, Doncaster Racecourse, Oakwell Stadium and Gulliver's Valley.

Other locations include City Hall, Fargate, Barkers Pool and the Cathedral in Sheffield city centre, as well as in parks, such as the Botanical Gardens and Weston Park.

The Yorkshire Wildlife Park will have a sculpture alongside its real pride of lions, and other Doncaster locations are the railway station, Frenchgate and The Dome.

Barnsley's lions can be found at historic sites such as Elsecar Heritage Centre and Monk Bretton Priory, as well as the Glass Works in the town centre and rural locations such as Penistone.

In Rotherham, visitors to Gulliver's Valley, Magna Science Adventure Centre and Wentworth Woodhouse will be able to see the sculptures.

The cubs will also be situated around the area at a number of locations including Weston Park Museum, Firth Park Library, Grimm and Co, CAST in Doncaster and Barnsley Civic.

The major football stadiums in the region will also have a lion.

Visitors will be able to follow the trail using a dedicated website and printed map, allowing them to track their progress, discover each sculpture and unlock rewards as they go.

John Armstrong, chief executive of Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity, said:

"Pride of Yorkshire is a celebration of 150 years of Sheffield Children's and everything the hospital means to children and families across this region and beyond.

"This summer, the lions will bring colour, creativity and joy to communities right across South Yorkshire, while helping to raise vital funds for the next chapter in the hospital's story."

The Pride of Yorkshire follows the success of the charity's previous sculpture trails, Bears of Sheffield and Herd of Sheffield. It is the first time the sculptures have extended to Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham.

The charity hopes to raise £2.8m towards a £20m transformation of Sheffield Children's Hospital's emergency department.

The full trail will open on 8 June and the full list of sculptures can be found here.

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