The Angel of the North turned 20 this week. The iconic steel angel is one of Britain’s most famous sculptures. It’s also the largest, standing 20 metres tall, weighing 200 tonnes and with a wingspan of 54 metres.
Designed by Sir Antony Gormley (and based on a plaster cast of his own body), it was installed two decades ago on a hilltop overlooking the A1 motorway near Gateshead in the North East of England. This is the heart of Geordieland and their brilliant sense of humour is evident in everything from the sculpture’s nickname (“The Gateshead Flasher”) to the fact that just a few months after its installation, in the run up to the 1998 FA Cup Final, football fans “dressed” the statue in a shirt bearing the name and number nine of Newcastle United player, Alan Shearer. (He apparently loved the stunt, which has gone down in Geordie folklore, and happily signed the massive shirt.)
Today, the Angel of the North is Britain’s most-viewed piece of public modern art, seen by roughly 33 million road and rail travellers each year.
It’s also one of a number of UK destinations and landmarks that have proven to be hugely popular with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram users over the past year or so. The list also includes (in no particular order) the following – how many have you seen?
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