About us
Elephant Parade is a ‘parade’ of copyrighted, life-size model baby elephants which are being displayed in major cities around the world. Painted by local and international artists, each elephant is a unique piece of art.
Mission
It is Elephant Parade’s mission to become world’s largest financial support organization for elephants. At the same time Elephant Parade events attract worldwide attention as well as much needed public awareness and support for the cause of elephant preservation: Elephant Parade elephants will not go unnoticed by the wider public!
B
ackground
Friends of the Asian Elephants (www.elephant-soraida.com) is an organization run by Miss Soraida Salwala, was founded in 1993 and runs the first elephant hospital in the world. Located in Lampang, Soraida’s mission is to help and cure elephants which are injured or suffering from disease and illness. At the hospital they receive professional and dignified treatment. Marc Spits, who together with his son Mike initiated Elephant Parade, met Miss Salwala in 2004 and found that Friends of the Asian Elephants needed more funds to carry on its campaign for the dignity and survival of Asian elephants. In 2009, Elephant Parade chose Elephant Family as its official charity, working to save the Asian elephant from extinction and abuse.
The Asian elephant needs urgent attention and support. At the turn of the last century there were an estimated 300,000 elephants living in Thailand. By 1960 this figure had dropped to about 40,000. Today, a mere 1,500 elephants live in the wild, with about 3,000 more kept in captivity. Worldwide there remain between 40,000 and 50,000 Asian elephants, of which 16,000 live in captivity. If we don’t act now, the Asian elephant may soon become extinct.
Elephant Parade events around the world
The first Elephant Parade was organised in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, between 1st September and 17th November 2007. Both financially and in terms of publicity the event was a tremendous success. A survey showed that the Elephant Parade elephants, which were spread all over town, were the most photographed objects ever in the city of Rotterdam. During 2008 and 2009 Parades were organized in Antwerp (Belgium) and Amsterdam (The Netherlands), every time raising more awareness and auction revenues.
Why Elephant Parade?
The Elephant Parade concept appeals to the public imagination in many ways. Elephants are perceived as ‘cuddly’ and sympathetic animals; most people genuinely like real elephants. The Elephant Parade baby elephants are that much more appealing and provoke an even warmer response; they can be amusing, eye-catching, newsworthy, ’cool’, odd and sometimes even shocking. They are modern art in a very friendly and accessible medium, thus generating awareness and support for this endangered species.
What can Elephant Parade sponsorship do for your business?
First and foremost, by ‘adopting’ an Elephant Parade baby elephant you or your company will be providing the means to save many elephants through organizations such as Friends of the Asian Elephant. In addition, your message will be presented in a totally different way. Positioned in strategic locations in the Elephant Parade city, the elephant models are immediately striking, eye-catching, and memorable, and have genuine ‘stopping power’. As an added extra we handpainted miniature limited edition replicas of a selection of Elephant Parade elephants.
PR and marketing support
For each Elephant Parade event a booklet is produced with details of the event: the parade route, the elephants and their themes, the artists and the elephant locations in the city, with specific mention of the sponsors and information on their elephants, integrating the message of the artist with the sponsor’s message.
Auction
The elephants created for Elephant Parade events are auctioned by professional auctioneers in each city where an event takes place. Each elephant is a unique piece of art and will not be produced ever again as a full-size baby elephant. A substantial part of the auction proceeds are used to fund Elephant Family.
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