The Parade was brought to the region by St Oswald’s Hospice, who care for people with incurable conditions. The trail saw 50 giant sculptures of much-loved children’s book character Elmer the Patchwork Elephant appear across Tyne and Wear for families to find and explore.

The sculptures were all individually sponsored by businesses and designed by artists and the art trail showed off our region to the fullest. Metro was the best way to enjoy the parade, with sculptures placed close to stations across Tyne and Wear, and frequent trains taking thousands of people to places they’d never or rarely visited.

We branded up a Metro carriage in the Elmer patchwork pattern, and asked local school children to get involved and design some carriage cards of our best local landmarks. The winners all got to meet Elmer and see their artwork up in the train. We also provided some silly E

lmer ears and patchwork ties for our employees.