Barclays to present Elephant Parade Hong Kong gala auction

Barclays and Elephant Parade are pleased to announce they are working together to help the largest living land animals in Asia.

100 decorated life size baby elephant statues have taken over shopping centres across Hong Kong. The elephant statues, which have been created by local and international artists and celebrities are positioned at Swire Properties malls – Pacific Place, City Plaza and City Gate outlets until 9^th September.

Barclays is proud to support Elephant Parade for the first time as the presenting partner for the Grand Gala Auction on the 11th of September, alongside auction partners Shangri-La and auctioneer Sotheby’s. The auction will see 31 of the elephants from the parade auctioned off at this prestigious Gala event to raise money that will support elephant conservation projects across Asia through The Asian Elephant Foundation and WWF Hong Kong.

Elephant Parade is the world’s longest running public art expo, which raises global awareness of Asian elephant conservation. The global movement, now in its eighth year, made its debut in Hong Kong earlier this month after successful expositions around the world including: London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, California, Manchester, Milan, Singapore and Luxemburg.

Two of the three elephants that Barclays has adopted will be auctioned by Sotheby’s on the night -The Hiding man and elephant and The FF Gajah. The third named Lucky coin will be returning to the Barclays Regional Head Office to take up permanent residence and serve as a reminder to Barclays employees of the part that Barclays has played in creating a brighter future for the Asian elephant.

Didier von Deaniken, Head of Wealth management for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa Barclays commented: “Through our sponsorship of the Elephant Parade in Hong Kong we hope to raise a greater public awareness of the plight of the Asian elephants and improve the well-being and conservation of these majestic animals. This is in line with one of our corporate values – stewardship – we are passionate about leaving things better than we found them. Our common purpose is to help people achieve their ambitions – in the right way – and across the world. We are collaborating with public and private sectors to drive sustainable economic development and social prosperity.”

Carmen Rademaker, Director of The Asian Elephant Foundation said:“Asian elephants are in danger of disappearing within the next 30 years from humans and habitat loss. Today, there are around 25-30,000 elephants and these figures are still dropping.  Elephants are a keystone species and face a number of dangers, which unfortunately are mainly caused by humans.

“Anyone who has ever spent some up-close time with elephants cannot help but be moved by these amazing creatures. Through the grand auction the Elephant Parade Hong Kong exhibition we hope to raise funds that will make a real difference in giving the Asian elephant a brighter future. This builds on the awareness raising achieved by the education projects we have been running during the Hong Kong exposition.”

Elephant Parade Hong Kong

·  Elephant Parade Hong Kong is the 15th exhibition that has been organised around the world.

·  Exposition elephants will be displayed in three Swire Properties Shopping Malls - Pacific Place, Cityplaza and Citygate Outlets.

·  The top price for an original elephant statue at an Elephant Parade auction fetched £155,000. This masterpiece was created by artist Jack Vettriano for the 2010 London Elephant Parade.