King Kong returns to Birmingham after 50 years

A replica of an iconic King Kong statue has returned to Birmingham bigger than ever to mark the Commonwealth Games.

The giant gorilla sculpture will be displayed at a pop-up park on Great Hampton Row, near the Jewellery Quarter.

It comes 50 years after the original statue by artist Nicholas Monro was on show for just four months in 1972.

Marcus Hawley, from project organisers Cordia Blackswan, said King Kong was a "cultural memory" in the city.

He said he has met people who have never seen the original statue but remember him from "pictures on mantelpieces" and memories from older generations.

"He is beautiful but a bit grotesque, he is very, very strong and powerful but also quite funny and playful," Mr Hawley said.

Cordia Blackswan and sculptors RoboCarv worked closely with Mr Monro and his family to create the replica, which at 7m (23 ft) tall and 16.2m (53 ft) wide, will be bigger than the 1970s original.

The 1972 statue, which was was made from fibre glass, measured at 5.4m (18ft).

There have been a number of attempts over the years to return King Kong to Birmingham, all unsuccessful.

The original currently stands proud in a back garden in Penrith, Cumbria. Its owner, Lesley Maby, has previously said no sum could persuade her to sell the gorilla, which was bought by her husband and displayed in markets in Edinburgh.

Mr Monro told Mr Hawley that he wanted the replica to be even bigger than the original and the new King Kong is so vast it will have a steel crane inside and had to be transported to Birmingham in a "specially made hammock".

Visitors will be able to see it for free in "King Kong park" until 8 August, where Commonwealth Games events will also be livestreamed.

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