Elephants begin their parade through London

A herd of brightly painted elephants has been marching through London since 22nd April in a bid to bring awareness to the urgent crisis being faced by the endangered Asian elephant.

HELP THE ASIAN ELEPHANT

Organised by Elephant Parade, a social enterprise founded by father and son Mike and Mark Spits, the campaign shines a multi-coloured spotlight on the endangered Asian elephant in the form of 250 brightly painted life-size elephants located across central London this summer.

Each elephant has been decorated by a different artist or celebrity, with names including Matthew Williamson, Nicky Haslam and Tommy Hilfiger all supporters of the cause. Running from May until July 2010, this is London's biggest outdoor art event on record with the colourful elephants brightening up parks, street corners and buildings across city central.

BID FOR AN ELEPHANT

With an estimated audience of 25 million, Elephant Parade aims to raise £2 million for the Asian elephant and benefit 20 UK conservation charities. All the elephants are for sale by auction and every bid you place is a bid for habitat. Mini elephants are available at Selfridges, 80 Regent St, 36 Carnaby St and Greenwich Central Market or at the online shop.

Elephant Family is a small but hugely ambitious charity working to save the Asian elephant from extinction in the wild. Registered in 2002, Elephant Family has developed into a lean and focused force for the endangered Asian elephant. Acutely aware of overcrowding in the charity sector, it exists out of urgent necessity due to a serious lack of investment and attention going into their conservation. Elephant Parade represents the greatest opportunity to date to raise funds and awareness of this cause.

5 May 2010