Last year there were elephants in central London, this year there are lions. There were 2 main groups of elephants in 2021. The Kings Road elephants were made from an invasive weed found in India. The Spitalfields elephants were made of bronze. The 2022 pride of lions is also made of bronze.
They are located in Millenium Green, which is a very small park opposite the Old Vic theatre and close to Waterloo station. The sculptures were installed here to raise awareness and money for the Born Free charity.
This charity was founded by actor Bill Travers MBE, and this year would have been his 100th Birthday. Born Free are celebrating his life and work by designating 2022 as Born Free’s Year of the Lion.
Bill Travers played George Adamson in the 1966 film Born Free. It was based on the true story of George and Joy Adamson who were the pioneers of lion conservation in Africa. Having shot an aggressive lion and lioness, they saved the cub called Elsa and returned her to the wild.
Bill Travers's Land Rover that featured in the 1966 film, with Elsa standing on the front, with the Old Vic behind -
It was shocking to read that this lion cub was kept in an apartment in Paris as recently as 2017 -
Black, the last lion to perform in a circus in Bulgaria -
It is good to know that these rescued lions are now living out their days at Born Free's big cat sanctuary in South Africa. Another lion sculpture is of Christian, the cub purchased from Harrods in 1969 and successfully returned to the wild.
Information about the artists Gillie and Marc . They also created the well known Rabbitwoman and Dogman which I mentioned on my elephants in Spitalfields blog.
There will be a UK-wide exhibition featuring the 25 life-size, bronze lion sculptures to raise awareness and vital funds for the Born Free charity. The lions will be at Waterloo until the end of March. See the itinerary.
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