TOUR DE YORKSHIRE LAND ART COMPETITION WINNER ANNOUNCED!
An amazing creation featuring a winking goose and turkey riding Chopper bikes in Goose Eye has been crowned the winner of the 2019 Tour de Yorkshire Land Art competition.
Over 5,000 people cast their votes on the official Tour de Yorkshire website letouryorkshire.com and it was that humorous artwork – which was created as a joint venture between Goose Eye residents and the Fields of Vision land art team with funding support from Bradford Council – which came out on top.
The designs were painted onto fields near the top of the Côte de Goose Eye climb which featured on the fourth and final stage of the men’s race, and images of it were beamed to millions of viewers in 190 countries around the world.
It is the second time in three years that Fields of Vision and Bradford Council have been involved in the winning design, following their successful Branwell Brontë on a Bicycle entry in Haworth in 2017.
Andrew Wood is the leader of the Fields of Vision team and in his entry, he explained the thinking that went into the design:
The birds were winking so only one goose eye could be seen (as a subtle nod to the village’s name) and as a way of saying hello to people around the world watching on TV. Yorkshire roses were then used as the eyeballs, and a turkey also featured as it is another bird synonymous with the village. Turkeys are reared at local farms and the only pub in the village is named after that particular animal. Finally, Choppers were chosen as the bike of choice for the birds to be riding on as they have an iconic design and were a popular choice for recreational cyclists to learn to ride on during the 70s and 80s.
Representatives from Fields of Vision and Bradford Council will now be invited to the Welcome to Yorkshire offices next month to receive the coveted Tour de Yorkshire Land Art Trophy along with the winners of the Best Dressed competition who were announced last week.
Welcome to Yorkshire’s Commercial Director Peter Dodd said: “This imaginative design really made me smile when I first saw it and was clearly a big hit with the public as well. It’s certainly a worthy winner and I’d like to offer a huge congratulations to all those people who worked so hard to create it.
“We look forward to welcoming them to next month’s prizegiving ceremony, and I’d also like to thank all the other people who created land art for this year’s race. The lengths communities go to celebrate the Tour de Yorkshire is truly astounding and we couldn’t be more grateful for all the support people give the race, right across the county.”
Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, Councillor Sarah Ferriby said: “Wow, this is amazing. I am delighted that people voted for our quirky fun land art for the Tour de Yorkshire. I am so pleased for the local villagers and the Fields of Vision team who put so much effort in to the creation of the winking goose and turkey at Goose Eye.
“It’s great to see the lengths that people go to celebrating the Tour de Yorkshire. In the Bradford district we have such creative people that really embrace this special event when we are lucky enough to host it.”
