THESE are the first photographs of the colony of penguins which will making its home on Liverpool streets in the run-up to Christmas.
More than 100 six-foot birds will decorate the city centre in a public art event set to rival last year’s popular Go Superlambananas trail.
From mid-November, small groups of penguins will be on display for seven weeks in an effort to attract visitors and spread an eco-friendly message.
Artists are being invited to enter designs for the fibreglass penguins, with the winners chosen by businesses sponsoring the event for £3,000 a piece.
More than 50 schools have already signed up to adopt and decorate a 3ft penguin for £450 each.
They will be displayed in a city centre indoor venue and will be returned to the schools once the trail has finished.
Commissioned by Culture Liverpool, the event is being organised by Wild In Art, the team behind last year’s successful Go Superlambananas.
It is based around a story, written by former Culture Company vice-chairman Phil Redmond, in which a penguin called Patrick is rescued from the ocean by HMS Liverpool.
He said: “Penguins are cute and funny, and everywhere in popular culture.”
Designer Chris Wilkinson, who came up with the basic penguin shape in clay, said: “In the story, the penguins are from the Falklands, where there is a large range of different species, but we wanted these to be generic penguins.
“They are brought to Liverpool to see Patrick with the help of the Liver Birds. We wanted them to look young because Patrick is a teenager.”
Patrick, a rockhopper penguin with distinctive yellow eyebrows, will make his debut as a cartoon character before he is revealed to the public.
The initiative is a highlight of A Winter’s Trail, which runs from November to January.
