The 78 Manchester and Salford bees, formerly spread over the two cities, raised the sum of £1,128,250 at auction last night. With all proceeds going to the We Love MCR charity.
The charity helps to support the 1 in 3 young people in Manchester that live in poverty and aims to bring communities together to celebrate diversity.
Some bees could be found in Salford Quays, including ‘Beedazzle’ and ‘Gravit-Bee’, both successfully auctioned off yesterday evening. Gravit-Bee, based on space exploration, lived in the centre of MediaCityUk and sold for £10,500. Beedazzle was the star of the Salford bee’s, fetching an impressive £22,000.
Bidders gathered at the Manchester Velodrome as the popular bee sculptures went on sale, after their stint around the city centre.
The bee trail, a project created by Wild in Art and Manchester City Council, saw 101 giant bees positioned around Manchester, with locals encouraged to find and take snaps with them all.
Last weekend, buzzing fans gathered for a ‘farewell’ exhibition- the last chance to say goodbye to their favourite bees one last time before they were auctioned off.
The auction was held by Flog it! presenter Charles Hanson and even featured a blank bee which could be decorated by the new owner.
The Manchester United inspired Bee fetched £31,000 by an online bidder, as football legend Andy Cole appeared on stage and announced he would donate an additional £5,000 to the charity.
The 103 ‘little bees’ made by children during the Bee in the City Learning Programme will go back into schools and community groups.
A full list of the final auction prices of each bee can be found here.
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