Hospice
Fundraising
Around 30 individually designed Peter Rabbit sculptures will appear across Newcastle, with a further selection displayed in North Tyneside, for nine weeks from Wednesday 15 July to Monday 14 September 2026. But with sponsorship packages already being snapped up, now is the time to hop on board!
The North of Tyne Combined Authority is supporting the project, helping bring several sculptures to parks, streets and public spaces across North Tyneside. The first North Tyneside-based business to sign up was Tyne Tunnels operator TT2, who previously sponsored a sculpture on the 2019 Elmer’s Great North Parade trail. They have returned to support St Oswald’s Hospice once again.
“We’re delighted to be sponsoring the St Oswald’s Peter Rabbit Art Trail in 2026. St Oswald’s Hospice provides lifechanging care for people across our region, and this trail is a wonderful extension of our ongoing partnership with the charity.
It’s a fun, creative initiative that brings communities together across the North East. Supporting the trail also gives us a valuable opportunity to engage with our customers and local communities in a meaningful way, and we can’t wait to see Peter Rabbit popping up across the region!”
“We’ve had a fantastic response from Newcastle-based businesses so far, but we’d love to see more companies from North Tyneside adopting one of the Peter Rabbits who will make their home there for the summer. With organisations like Northumbrian Water, Greggs, Tyne and Wear Metro, Eldon Square and Newcastle United already on board, it’s shaping up to be a brilliant event with huge benefits for participating businesses.
The trail will showcase the incredible artistic talent in our region while contributing positively to the economic, social and cultural life of the North East—during a year when St Oswald’s Hospice will be celebrating a very special milestone.
Summer 2026 marks our 40th birthday, and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with another colourful art trail for the whole community to enjoy.”
Sponsors will have their branding featured on the trail website, sculpture plaques and the dedicated trail app—which generated 5.6 million interactions during Shaun the Sheep on the Tyne.
Sponsorship also unlocks a wide range of promotional opportunities, including customer engagement, staff involvement, increased footfall and access to new audiences.
Research by NewcastleGateshead Initiative following the 2023 Shaun the Sheep trail showed a £9.1 million economic impact, including £2.7 million GVA for the local economy. More than 122,000 visitors actively engaged with the trail, with 67% saying it took them to places they had never visited before and 98% expressing pride in having the trail in their city.
The event will conclude with an autumn auction of the Peter Rabbit sculptures, raising vital funds for St Oswald’s Hospice in Gosforth.
For more information about sponsorship opportunities, visit www.talesonthetyne.co.uk/sponsors or follow the trail on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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