Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children’s Hospital charity, today launched its upcoming charity arts trail, Gromit Unleashed 2, with a ‘Great Bristol Boat Chase’ at the city’s iconic Harbourside.

Featuring giant decorated sculptures of Gromit chasing arch-nemesis Feathers McGraw on the famous Bristol Ferry boats, the spectacle also saw best pal Wallace sitting back to enjoy the views alongside his Academy-award winning creator, Nick Park. The event marks the first public viewing of sculptures ahead of the much anticipated trail.

Amongst the sculptures revealed today were an official Minions Feathers McGraw sculpture ‘One in a Minion’, a ‘Marshall’ PAW Patrol Gromit sculpture and a ‘Space Oddi-tea’ Wallace sculpture, sporting his best fancy dress inspired by a musical icon.

From 2nd July to Sunday, 2nd September, Gromit Unleashed 2, led by The Grand Appeal, will see 67 uniquely designed sculptures of Nick Park’s Academy Award-winning characters Wallace, Gromit and Feathers McGraw hit the streets of Bristol and the surrounding area to raise money for the Bristol Children’s Hospital which treats more than 100,000 children each year from Bristol, the South West and beyond.

Nick Park, creator of Wallace & Gromit and Patron of The Grand Appeal, said: “It’s absolutely fantastic to see Gromit return to Bristol with Wallace and Feathers McGraw in such a huge array of disguises and designs!

“Gromit Unleashed 2 showcases everything that’s wonderful about this city: its rich heritage in engineering and science, its creativity, its culture, and of course Bristol Children’s Hospital. We’ve supported the hospital through our partnership with The Grand Appeal for over 20 years now, so it’s a cause that’s incredibly close to my heart.”

The trail is the first in the world to feature three licensed characters; interactive sculptures and contactless donation technology thanks to support from a number of Bristol’s leading institutions, pioneering technology companies and international engineering firms.

Interactive sculptures on the trail include three ‘trailblazing’ Gromit sculptures created by Renishaw, Rolls-Royce, and University of Bristol, alongside a talking Wallace sculpture designed by Nick Park in tribute to Peter Sallis; a thermochromatic Gromit that changes colour when touched; and a pair of ocean-going Gromit sculptures designed by the University of Bristol that communicate across the city via video link. A special passport is available for avid trail fans to showcase the ground-breaking interactive sculptures and celebrate one of the trail’s themes of innovation, STEM and engineering.

At the end of the trail, all 67 sculptures – which were painted at a top-secret location at The Bottle Yard Studios – will be displayed in a grand trail exhibition, The Greatest Dog Show on Earth 2, at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway from Saturday, 15th to Sunday, 30th September, with tickets on sale from mid July at gromitunleashed.org.uk. The sculptures will then be auctioned in a Grand Auction under the wings of Concorde at Aerospace Bristol in October to raise money for The Grand Appeal, to support sick children and their families at Bristol Children’s Hospital.

Giles Haythornthwaite, Emergency Department Consultant at Bristol Children’s Hospital added: “The support from The Grand Appeal team over the last two decades has truly enabled the hospital to become the world-class centre of care that it is today.

“Our partnership with The Grand Appeal allows the hospital to advance and pioneer new technologies and facilities to support the 100,000 sick babies and children we treat at the hospital every year. All of the staff are so thankful to the charity for supporting us every step of the way, and it goes without saying that as big fans the whole children’s hospital is very excited about Gromit Unleashed 2.”

Nicola Masters, Director at The Grand Appeal said: “Gromit Unleashed 2 marks the third trail we’ve created in partnership with Aardman, and this year we are celebrating Bristol’s wonderful heritage of art and science with a truly amazing range of designs – including nine interactive sculptures, with three of these showcasing incredible feats of engineering, in a world first for arts trails. With locations spread across the beautiful city of Bristol and the surrounding area, we hope residents of Bristol and visitors alike will enjoy discovering new corners of the city.

“At the heart of everything we do are the young patients and their families at Bristol Children’s Hospital, and we hope the public will take the trail to their hearts and raise money to support sick babies and children. Our trail has been a long time in the making and we can’t wait to unleash all 67 sculptures in just a few days time!”