Elmer art trail raises over £200,000 for Brian House

The total amount of funding raised for Bispham based children’s hospice Brian House by Elmer’s Big Parade 2024 has been announced.

An incredible £200,013 was generated by the art trail, which saw 70 Elmer sculptures placed around the town earlier this year, and was organised by Brian House in partnership with Wild in Art and Anderson Press.

Thompsons was proud to sponsor the art trail as part of our ongoing support of Brian House. From a Blackpool tram to fish and chips, each sculpture had a different colourful design, created by independent artists and illustrators.

The funds will be used to help the wonderful team at Brian House continue to care for children with life-limiting conditions and complex needs.

As a Presenting Partner, we sponsored two sculptures; ‘Elaughant’, inspired by Blackpool’s comedy carpet, and ‘Blackpool Rock’. At the trail’s farewell event held at Blackpool Tower, where the sculptures were auctioned off, Thompsons’ Lisa Thompson couldn’t quite bear to say goodbye, taking home the ‘Rainbow Elmer’– now she just needs to decide where to put it!

The auction alone raised a staggering £143,550.

Figures gathered as part of an independent evaluation have suggested the trail boosted Blackpool’s economy by £14 million, attracting thousands of people into the town to take part in the fun. An app was created, signposting elephant spotters to the herd’s locations, as well as tracking step counts.

Lisa Thompson said: “What an honour it has been to be involved in this truly special event. The work done by Brian House is invaluable, and we are continually moved by the stories we hear about the impact this vital support network and its facilities has on the lives of families in the local community.

“We want to congratulate Brian House and all involved in making this brilliant initiative happen, and thank you for all that you do.”