Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Bucharest, the capital of Romania, will become the first southeastern European city to host CowParade.

Between June 1 and the end of August this year, the city will be flooded by herds of decorated cow sculptures, exhibited at well-known landmarks, such as The Palace of the Parliament, Europe’s largest building, as well as on the streets and outside metro stations. Over 3000 local and international artists will participate in the event, decorating more than 100 life-sized fibreglass cows. The decorated cows will feature Romanian and Bucharestean themes, as well as issues related to international city life.

After the event ends, all the cows will be auctioned off, with the proceeds donated to the Special Olympics Romania, a charity helping athletes with mental disabilities. The Bucharest CowParade is organised by Event Horizon, a Romanian marketing consultancy.

CowParade, which was first held in Zurich in 1998, has been held in 22 cities in 5 continents and is today the world’s largest public art event.

Bucharest was chosen from over 500 other candidate cities and has waited for the event for a couple of years. The new local government in Bucharest wants to relaunch the city’s image as a creative and colourful metropolis and have therefore enthusiastically supported the exhibition. The high-profile event is expected to boost the image of Bucharest worldwide, especially in the artistic scene.