Hospice bull trail raises £241,000

An arts trail featuring 88 bull sculptures raised more than £241,000 for Birmingham Hospice, organisers have said.

An estimated 183,000 people took part in the Bulls in the City trail, which saw dozens of artworks placed around Birmingham between July and September.

The hospice receives 58% of its funding from the government and needs to raise £7.2m a year in donations.

Hospice chief executive Paul Bytheway said: "These funds will make a real and lasting difference to the patients and families in our care. We are so proud of what our city has achieved together."

He added: "We are overwhelmed by the generosity of everyone who took part, donated, sponsored, visited the trail or supported us in any way."

John Harris' wife Patricia died aged 70 from ovarian cancer in July, and was cared for at the hospice's Erdington site.

Mr Harris bought one of the bulls, called Cultural Kick Flip, at auction. He donated it back to the hospice, where it is displayed in a garden close to the room where Mrs Harris spent the last 10 days of her life.

He said seeing the bull at the hospice was "emotional", adding that many of the scenes depicted on the bull "bring back memories that Pat and I enjoyed in the early part of our married life."

The grandfather-of-three from Wishaw, Warwickshire, said when his wife arrived at the hospice it was "like walking into a hug".

"Pat died with dignity, with all the care you could wish for," he said.

"It's sad the hospice has to rely so heavily on charitable donations. That's why I'm pleased to have been able to contribute a little bit and to help somebody else have that care."

The bulk of the money raised from the project - £161,850 - came through an auction of the bulls in September.

The top-selling sculpture, Baby Oz, based on the larger version on permanent display at Birmingham's New Street Station, fetched £13,500.

The sale of merchandise from a pop-up shop in the city's Great Western Arcade raised £40,000.

Birmingham Hospice provides free palliative and end of life care for an average of 670 people every day. Charitable donations make up 42% of its income, about £7.2m in 2025.

Income generation director Lucy Watkins described it as "challenging", adding: "Every year our costs go up. Big projects [like Bulls in the City] help to elevate our fundraising."

She said 22% of those who took part in that trail "had never heard of the hospice and now they have, and that's really important to our fundraising future".

Last year, the hospice made 45 full time equivalent posts redundant, and called for more government funding.

The Department for Health and Social Care has previously said it had made over £350m available to hospices since 2020.

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