Elephant Family’s eclectic new fundraising campaign is set to throw a kaleidoscope of colour across London this summer

Labelled ‘from India with love’ Elephant Family’s eclectic new fundraising campaign is set to throw a kaleidoscope of colour across the city this summer while driving home a strong conservation message for the protection of Asia’s endangered elephants.

A customised fleet of 12 Ambassador cars, 8 Royal Enfield motorbikes, 2 tuk tuks and a Gujarati Chagda will make up the ‘Concours d’éléphant’ – a cavalcade of designer inspired, quintessentially Indian vehicles – while 31 beautifully decorated sculptures from Elephant Parade® will stand sentinel across the capital, ambassadors for their cousins in the wild.

“We’re setting the wheels in motion to release an unforgettable summer in London,” says Elephant Family trustee and former CEO, Ruth Ganesh – the creative powerhouse behind the charity’s iconic fundraising events that include bringing Elephant Parade to London in 2010, The Big Hunt, Travels to my Elephant and the Animal Ball. “It’s the charity’s 15th anniversary so we intend to mark it in style.”

The new event once again sees Elephant Family partner with Elephant Parade, the worlds biggest touring public elephant art exposition that raises awareness of and support for elephants. Following the success of the two organisations collaborating to present Elephant Parade India, 31, five-foot Elephant Parade sculptures exquisitely decorated by some of India’s best artists, designers and creative talents have travelled from the sub-continent to decorate the streets this summer. These fabulous ambassadors for Asia’s elephants will be dotted throughout Mayfair and Chelsea raising awareness and looking for new homes. Aspirant elephant adopters will have the opportunity to bid for their favourite elephant online.

Under their watchful eyes the ‘Concours d’éléphant’ will continue the race against extinction. A play on the legendary Concours d’Elegance the beauty parade of vehicles have been lovingly art infused inside and out by top artists, designers and fashion houses including House of Hackney, Boyarde, Dan Baldwin, Belstaff, Philip Colbert and Sabyasachi, Rohit Bal, Manish Malhotra, and Gaurav Gupta and are set to get car and bike collectors and enthusiasts, as well as art collectors and fashionistas, vying for ownership.

Launching on 12^th June with stunning photo opportunities across the capital, the elephants and cavalcade of vehicles will receive the royal seal of approval when The Duchess of Cornwall joins the celebrations on 21^st June. The event will culminate at a high-profile dinner and auction conducted by Sotheby’s Harry Dalmeny, on 28^th June at Royal Hospital Chelsea, with the Concours d’elephant judging led by HRH Prince Michael of Kent. Money raised will help protect Asia’s endangered elephants and support projects that protect not only wild elephants and their habitats but the people who share their landscapes.

“Elephants are being squeezed from their traditional habitats by relentless human development, and being forced into conflict with people as they compete for food and space, often with tragic consequences,” explains Ruth Ganesh. “There has never been a more urgent need to raise awareness for the plight of Asia’s elephants or to help protect their wild habitats which in turn help create the healthy forests and eco-systems that we all rely on.”

Mike Spits, Founder of Elephant Parade adds: “We are delighted that our elephants will be returning to London for the third time since 2010.  Elephant Parade has recently celebrated its tenth anniversary of public art parades, featuring in major cities around the world and our events with Elephant Family in India and London represent a tremendous highpoint for us. Elephant Family does trailblazing work to support important elephant conservation projects, which is why in 2016 we formally adopted them as our charity partner and we are proud to support their work in London this summer.”

Keep an eye out for the grand unveiling of the dazzling fleet at one of the capital’s leading landmarks at the beginning of June and stay tuned to catch the vehicles zip around the streets of London for the rest of the month creating highly Instagram-able moments involving some surprise celebrities. They will also be making pop-up appearances at some of the capital’s leading summer events chauffeuring VIP guests, to generate hype in the lead up to the auction dinner.