The Elephants have been given their marching orders

July 12, 2023

The elephants of Herd In The City have been mounted onto their plinths, ready to stand proud ahead of the trail launching this Friday.

Herd In The City – created by Havens Hospices and Wild in Art - will see more than 45 large elephant sculptures and 72 baby elephants dotted around the city from Friday 14 July to Monday 4 September, including Shoeburyness and Leigh-on-Sea.

The concrete plinths, which will be keeping the herd firmly on the ground in their temporary homes for the duration of the trail, have been kindly donated by Forterra. Once Herd In The City ends, the plinths, which cost approximately £6,000 to make, will be repurposed and donated to fellow hospice St Giles Hospice in Staffordshire, to use in their upcoming trail, March of the Elephants.

Lauren Eagle-Allen from Havens Hospices says, “We are very grateful to Forterra for creating the bespoke plinths especially for the trail. The elephants are standing proud, and we can’t wait for everyone to see them in all their glory!”

The elephants were manoeuvred onto their plinths by ‘Herd Heroes’ and sponsors of Herd In the City, Revive Digital and A Better Start Southend. Also on hand was Damon Langlois from sponsor Green Light Print Solutions, who added the information stickers to the plinths.

Herd In The City will be raising money for Havens Hospices. In September, the large sculptures will be auctioned to raise money for the charity, which provides specialist care and support for people of all ages who are living with incurable conditions and their families.

Once the trail goes live, trail-goers can purchase a map from any Havens Hospices charity shop and other venues, including the Pier Information Centre, The Forum, Leigh-on-Sea Library and Herd HQ at The Royals Shopping Centre. There is also a ‘Herd In The City’ app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play now.

Havens Hospices provides specialist care and support for people of all ages who are living with incurable conditions and their families. This care and support includes everyone, extending to partners, family and friends to make sure the right support is there for patients and the people who matter to them, where and when they need it.

This care is provided absolutely free of charge and is only made possible thanks to donations and fundraising initiatives such as Herd In The City.

For further information about the trail, visit www.herdinthe.city or follow the herd at herdinthe.city on Instagram and @herdinthecity on Twitter and Facebook.