Elephant Parade Copenhagen
June 1st - August 25th 2011

In the summer of 2011, the city of Copenhagen hosted one of the largest outdoor art exhibitions held in Denmark. 102 unique works of art were exhibited in parks and on the streets of Copenhagen. It was a colorful, humorous and beautiful art that lightened up the capital.

The center of attention were 102 baby elephants made of fiberglass, decorated by Danish and international artists and designers. The elephants have created a beautiful atmosphere of the capital and amongst its inhabitants and the many tourists that visited Copenhagen this summer.

From September 1st – September 7th, all the elephants were gathered for a joint exhibition at the project house, KPH Volume, Enghavevej 84, 2450 Copenhagen SV.

The patron of Elephant Parade Copenhagen H.R.H. the Prince Consort of Denmark was present with his two grandchildren, Prince Felix and Prince Nikolai. He opened the exhibition ’Farewell-to-the-elephants' and awarded prizes from Nikon in the photo competition. The exhibition was a great success, and approx. 4000 visitors, including many kindergartens and schools came to say a last goodbye to the elephants.

Friday, September 9th, Elephant Parade Copenhagen reached its peak and the 102 elephants were auctioned off to buyers from Denmark and abroad. 650 people were gathered at the Grand Auction at Hotel Scandic Copenhagen where Paul Cunningham served a delicious 3-course meal, and Jesper Bruun Rasmussen swung the hammer over the beautiful elephants. The result was close to 4,3 mill. Danish Kroner in total. Leif Sylvester’s elephant turned out to be the evenings most expensive with a selling bid of 170,000 DKK. The second most expensive elephant was José van Weert’s beautiful mosaic elephant sold for 127,000 DKK, and Kristian von Hornsleth’s elephant was the evening's third most expensive with a bid of 100,000 DKK. Money from the auction goes to save the Asian elephant.