Celebrity Big Brother winner, Rylan Clark brings new spark to help save the Asian elephant

Today sees the auction begin of TV personality Rylan Clark’s hotly anticipated design for a new full size rhinestone encrusted elephant statue, which has joined the Elephant Parade national tour.  

Rylan’s appearance at intu Lakeside last night signals the formal launch of a 75-day online auction for a herd of elephant statues that intu has been taking around the UK for a record-breaking public art tour, raising awareness of elephant conservation issues. 

Money raised from the online auction will be presented by intu to The Asian Elephant Foundation this July.

Rylan’s stunning elephant – ‘Sparkey’ -  is the latest addition to the herd of 35 tour elephants and will stand alongside the work of other celebrities including Claudia Schiffer, Union J, Alex Jones, Pete Fowler and Mercy Delta.

Rylan’s beloved ‘Sparkey’ joins the Elephant Parade for the last leg of its 12 month UK tour, and coincides with intu centres across the UK promoting the online auction, enabling the public to bid on a tour elephant or simply make a pledge to the Asian Elephant Foundation via the tour website: www.intuelephantparade.co.uk/elephants. The auction, which is live until midnight on 26th July 2014, will not only give people the chance to own an original piece of art but also to create a lasting legacy in support of the Asian elephant.

Rylan Clark, former Celebrity Big Brother winner and X Factor finalist commented: “I am well excited to be taking part in such a great cause. I’ve always loved elephants and it was so much fun designing my very own statue. I can’t wait to see it when it arrives at intu Lakeside, I’m sure it will stand out from the herd! I’ve been telling everyone to go and create their own design, the more people we get involved the brighter the future of these beautiful beasts.”  

Trevor Pereira, Commercial Director at intu said: “This UK tour has been dubbed ‘the people’s parade’ in response to the scale of public engagement with the elephants as they have toured our centres around the country. So far more than 8,000 members of the public have got involved in the artistic side of the project and 75 schools have created additional elephants that have joined the touring herd. With Rylan’s arrival at intu Lakeside, attention now turns to raising some funds to support the future of the Asian elephant and our centres and customers will join to help ensure the Asian elephant has a bright future.”