Nexus is to sponsor a sculpture of Shaun the Sheep on the public arts trail which is set to launch next summer and is in support of St. Oswald’s Hospice.

The popular and well-loved Oscar-nominated Aardman Animations character will be on its way to Newcastle in the summer of 2023 as 50 of the sculptures will be individually decorated and placed in streets, parks and public areas.

The arts trail has seen huge success over the years with Great North Snowdogs in 2016 and Elmer’s Great North Parade in 2019 and now Shaun the Sheep will grace the trail for ten weeks from Wednesday the 19th of July to Wednesday the 27th of September 2023.

Nexus who own and operate Tyne and Wear Metro will sponsor one of the Shaun the Sheep sculptures on the train! Further good news for those wanting to visit the sculptures is that most can easily be reached on Metro services.

Customer Services Director, Huw Lewis, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the Shaun the Sheep on The Tyne trail, which promises to be a fantastic event for the whole family to enjoy.

“Metro was the headline partner for the Snowdogs trail in 2016 and Elmer the Elephant in 2019. They both proved really popular and it was great for Metro because we saw an uplift in customer numbers as people got out and about to see the sculptures.

“We will have one of the 50 sculptures on the trail and we will let people know where that will be located nearer to the beginning of the trail’s start date next summer.”

Chief Executive at St Oswald’s Hospice, Steph Edusei, said: “The trail will showcase the wealth of artistic talent in the area, whilst positively contributing to the economic, social and cultural life of the region.

“But above all, it will be fun, and our way of saying thank you to the people of this region for all the love and support they have shown St Oswald’s Hospice over the years. We exist to help them, but we couldn’t do that if they didn’t help us – and we are immensely grateful.”

Shaun the Sheep on the Tyne will also be bolstered with a region-wide learning scheme for schools and children’s groups with smaller Shaun sculptures for a second trail through Tyne and Wear.

As with the Elmer and Snowdogs trails, the event will lead to an autumn auction of the Shaun the Sheep sculptures in order to raise funding to support patients and families at St. Oswald’s Hospice.

To find out more about Shaun the Sheep on the Tyne, please visit: https://www.shaunonthetyne.co.uk or follow the trail on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #ShaunOnTheTyne