Cow from CowParadeCowParade 2012

We've teamed up with Asitis Consulting, Derry City Council and ILEX to bring CowParade to Northern Ireland in 2012.

We'll be launching up to 200 cows at the Balmoral Show on Friday 18 May 2012, and you'll be able to see the beautifully decorated cows at various locations in Belfast and Londonderry from June to September 2012.

At the end of the CowParade, the cows will be sold at auction to help raise money for charity.

What is CowParade?

CowParade is the largest and most successful public art event in the world. Life-size fibreglass cows are brought to the streets of host cities all over the world, where they are decorated by local artists and put on display.

The event has been held in over 75 cities worldwide, including Chicago, New York, London, Paris, Taipei and Mexico City and has involved some of the world's premier artists, designers and craftsmen.

Taxi cow CowParade cows have been seen by an estimated 100 million people and, through their sale at auction, have raised over £25 million for charities worldwide.

CowParade NI cows will be sold at auction in Autumn 2012 to raise funds for charity partners, Barnardo's Northern Ireland and Depaul Ireland

Photos and videos

Why we're supporting CowParade in Belfast?

We are investing £35,000 in CowParade 2012, and it is estimated that the event will generate £280,000 for our local economy. The cows will be auctioned off for charity after the parade.

CowParade will benefit the city by:

Get involved

Schools and community groups

School children can get involved in CowParade by decorating Mini Moos through the Cows in Schools initiative. And children's organisations are invited to design Micro Moos for the event.

Cow with flowers For more information, please visit www.cowparadeni.com/schools

Cow-Moonity programme

The Cow-Moonity programme invites design concepts from community and voluntary groups across Belfast to decorate 15 cows. The chosen designs will be painted by an artist and the cow will be placed in one of the prime CowParade locations throughout the event. The cows will also be paraded at the official launch at Balmoral Show.

We want unique and creative cow designs that reflect the vibrancy and culture of your community and city. In particular, we're encouraging designs based on:
  • Belfast’s heritage, 2012 in the city and Titanic Belfast
  • community stories and histories
  • Northern Ireland: old and new.
If you're an artist, or representative of a local community group and would like to get involved, please visit www.cowparadeni.com or email art@cowparadeni.com

If you work with a Belfast-based community group and are interested in securing funding to participate in the programme, CowParadeNI can advise you on potential sources of financial support.

Event timeline

Key dates
Date Activity
Friday 2 March Deadline for submissions to the Cow-Moonity Design competition
Monday 12 March Announcement of winners of Cow-Moonity Design competition
Friday 30 March Appointment of Cow-Moonity artists to work on winning designs
Monday 16 April - Friday 4 May Cow decoration
Friday 18 May Official launch of Cow Parade NI at Balmoral Show, King's Hall
June - September Public display of cows throughout Northern Ireland

Famous cows

Famous designers

Many cows have been designed by famous names including:
  • Patrick Hughes
  • Di Rosa
  • Vivienne Westwood
  • Ronnie Wood
  • John Rocha
  • Radiohead.

Famous owners

The cows are auctioned off for charity at the end of the parade. Some famous cow owners include:

Further information

If you have any further queries regarding CowParade, please email moo@cowparadeni.com