The Birmingham Parliament

This summer Birmingham will play host to a parliament - but of the feathered variety.  Over 100 owls will roost across Birmingham decorated by artists and community groups and supported by local businesses.  The Big Hoot as the event is known has seen Wild in Art, one of the UK's top creative producers, team up with Birmingham Children's Hospital to raise vital funds for the hospital.

We are thrilled to be involved The Big Hoot this summer.
Thanks to companies like LDC, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds, Gateley and our other corporate partners we will ultimately be able to fund important projects for our children and young people at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and for that we’re immensely grateful. 

The Big Hoot is a fantastic opportunity for Birmingham, not only because it will bring in visitors from all over the UK but also because Brummies will get to be tourists in their own city, giving them the opportunity to rediscover its heritage and cultural offering. 

– ELINOR EUSTACE, BIRMINGHAM CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL http://www.itv.com/news/central/2015-03-16/birmingham-gets-ready-for-the-big-hoot/

The owls which will be 165cm tall will roost across the city, not just in the city centre but across the districts, for 10 weeks over the summer from July to September.  The large owls will also be joined by 'owlet' smaller sculptures crafted by local students and teachers.

The Big Hoot aims to inspire people to become a tourist in their own town. Owls will be placed not only in the city centre, but in a host of locations across all 10 districts of Birmingham, encouraging residents to follow the trail and discover areas of the wider region which they may not have explored before.https://plus.google.com/105794619969808278108/posts/AbTRnomLPsj

Some of the designs for the owls were revealed yesterday, http://www.itv.com/news/central/2015-03-16/birmingham-gets-ready-for-the-big-hoot/, and they are an exciting mix of creativity with my personal favourites so far including a Selfridges inspired design and a Doctor Who Tardis design.

Some of the designs are shown below, reproduced courtesy of http://www.itv.com/news/central/2015-03-16/big-hoot-owl-designs-that-will-cover-birmingham-revealed/

For more information visit The Big Hoot website,http://thebighoot.co.uk/, where you can sign up for a newsletter or find out how to be involved or find out about sponsorship, http://thebighoot.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/The-Big-Hoot-Sponsor-Proposal_LR_9-Nov-2014.pdf,