At the south end of the space, in the new Mandela Garden, is a bronze cast, 16 metres high, entitled Both Arms.

Both Arms
Created by Leeds-born Kenneth Armitage the open arms are expressing a feeling of welcome. The work is envisaged as a monument to friendship.





Kenneth Armitage was born in 1916 and attended the Leeds College of Art between 1933 and 1937.

Gilded owls
The 2.5-metre-high gilded owls on top of the Civic Hall have looked over Leeds since 1933, they are now joined by four more.





One pair overlook Millennium Square and the others guard the Portland Crescent entrance to the Civic Hall.

The new additions are based on the original art deco owls and were cast in bronze and gilded by Burleighfield Arts.

The four owls stand on Portland stone obelisks designed by city architect, John Thorp. The pair in Millennium Square are approximately two metres high and the smallest pair around 1.2 metres.

Marker obelisk
Near the Civic Hall steps a small marker obelisk brings attention to the plaque commemorating the inauguration of Millennium Square by Nelson Mandela.




Made out of titanium the obelisk brings a classic motif together with the most modern of materials.

A further piece of sculpture is a large piece by Richard Wilson in a rugby ball shape, to be funded by the Henry Moore foundation.

Millennium Square
The £12m Millennium Square project, funded by Leeds City Council and the Millennium Commission, has produced what is claimed to be one of Europe's most impressive civic spaces.

The square is the city's first new public square in over 60 years.

Opened in December 2000, incorporating three squares within one - the main central square (the events arena), a linked space to the northeast and a new garden and fountain area to the south - the square forms the heart of an emergent civic quarter, with cultural, leisure and residential uses.