Roar-some lion sculptures revealed ahead of art trail

The artworks will be installed across South Yorkshire for the first time this year as the trail goes beyond Sheffield, and into Rotherham, Doncaster, and Barnsley in the coming weeks.

The collection includes sculptures inspired by some of South Yorkshire’s most iconic voices in music including Rotherham’s The Reytons and Self Esteem.

They all join regional and national names including Pete McKee, Kid Acne, Peachzz, Jo Peel, Tom J. Newell, Geo Law, and Rob Lee.

The event marked a major moment in the countdown to the Pride of Yorkshire trail, which celebrates 150 years of Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

At the event, it was announced the Pride of Yorkshire trail will raise £2.8m towards a £20m transformation of Sheffield Children’s Hospital’s Emergency Department.

John Armstrong, chief executive of Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Walking into an arena filled with 150 lions tonight was something really special.

“Each lion marks a year in the life of Sheffield Children’s, and a year of caring for children and families across this region and beyond.

“That’s what makes this so powerful – it’s a celebration of everything the hospital has done, and everything it will go on to do.

“We are proud to be bringing the trail to South Yorkshire and hope everyone from Rotherham comes along and gets involved.”

Ruth Brown, chief executive of Sheffield Children’s, said: “With support from Pride of Yorkshire, we can transform our ED and Major Trauma Centre into a calm, child-friendly space that reduces fear and anxiety, supports recovery, and matches the outstanding care our teams provide every day.”

The Pride of Yorkshire follows the success of Bears of Sheffield and Herd of Sheffield and is twice the scale of those previous trails.

The region-wide trail – one of the UK’s biggest free public art collections – will hit the streets from June 8 until September, before the sculptures are sold at auction in October.