Born Free Safari for Survival

In her role as a patron of the Born Free Foundation Anna-Louise was pleased to have the opportunity to visit the Born Free Forever exhibition when it arrived on the Bristol Downs.

In honour of what would have been the 100th Birthday year of Bill Travers MBE, Born Free celebrated their Co-Founder’s legacy by designating 2022 the Year of the Lion . The year of action included a UK-wide exhibition with 25 stunning life-size, bronze lion sculptures touring the country in a ‘Safari for Survival’ to raise awareness and vital funds for lions through the Forever Lions Fund established in Bill’s memory.

Born Free Forever is the largest exhibition of lion sculptures in the UK, and took up residence at locations up and down the country as a celebration of Elsa the lioness – the charity’s original inspiration and a potent symbol of hope. The exhibition’s stunning bronze centrepiece features Elsa standing on top of a vintage 4×4 surrounded by cubs, capturing the essence of the iconic classic 1966 film Born Free, starring the charity’s Co-Founders Virginia McKenna OBE and Bill Travers MBE.

The moving installation also features lions and cubs cast in bronze. Each lion represents an issue faced by these iconic creatures and has a special affinity with Born Free. From Christian, the lion cub purchased from Harrods and successfully returned to the wild, to Makena, the Kenyan lioness living in the Born Free-protected Meru National Park, now with cubs of her own.

The exhibition has now reached it’s final location at The Meadows, Edinburgh, EH8 9LJ where it will remain until the end of January 2023 – the last opportunity to view this beautiful and inspirational collection of work.

Each bronze sculpture is now available to buy! – you can find the details and prices at www.bornfree.org.uk/born-free-forever/sculpture-pricelist