''Scenes in the Square'' is a film-themed sculpture trail in

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leicester House, itself named after Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester ...

, London. Eight sculptures were installed in February 2020. These sculptures depict characters from the last 100 years of cinema including

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the '' Looney Tunes'' and '' ...

, Don Lockwood portrayed by

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book ''A Bear Called Paddington'' and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond, a ...

Mr. Bean ''Mr. Bean'' is a British sitcom created by Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, produced by Tiger Aspect and starring Atkinson as the title character. The sitcom consists of 15 episodes that were co-written by Atkinson alongside Curtis and R ...

, and

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

. A sculpture of

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

was installed later on in 2020 and then in 2021, a sculpture of the Iron Throne from ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

'' was added.

Original exhibition

The first eight statues were installed in February 2020 and emphasize Leicester Square's long association with cinema. The site has been home to cinemas since 1930 and hosted its first film premiere in 1937. The original statues installed were those of

, Don Lockwood portrayed by

and

representing the past 100 years of film. The exhibition is organised by the Heart of London Business Alliance in partnership with

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

and is supported by major movie studios. Laurel and Hardy are perched on top of a ticket booth in the square, representing a famous scene from the 1929 film ''

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

'' where the pair balanced on a ledge on a skyscraper. Mary Poppins is depicted landing from flight with her umbrella raised, as featured in the 1964 film ''

''. Batman stands above the square, on the roof of the

Odeon Leicester Square The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...

cinema. Bugs Bunny is depicted popping up out of a hole in a flower bed, in front of his mailbox, while eating a carrot. Gene Kelly is depicted in his role as Don Lockwood in the 1952 film ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd Charis ...

,'' swinging around a lamppost, in an iconic scene where the character sings the title song in the film. Permission to make the statue was granted by Kelly's wife, Patricia Ward Kelly. Paddington Bear is seated on a bench in the square, eating one of his favourite marmalade sandwiches. Mr. Bean, who was portrayed by

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...

on television and in film, is also depicted sitting on a bench in the square. The erection of the statue also marked 30 years since the character's first appearance. The statue of Wonder Woman is above street level, depicted breaking through the wall of the

Vue West End Vue West End is a nine-screen cinema complex in Leicester Square, London, operated by Vue Cinemas. The multiplex was constructed in 1993 on the site of what was previously the Warner West End cinema. History The site was previously occupied b ...

cinema, wielding her Lasso of Truth. The statue is inspired by a scene from the 2017 film ''

'', in which the title character was played by

Gal Gadot Gal Gadot-Varsano ( he, גל גדות ; born 30 April 1985) is an Israeli actress and model. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years as a combat fitness instructor, whereafter sh ...

Gallery

File:Paddington Bear, all alone (50285504591).jpg, Paddington Bear File:Bugs Bunny statue (49787191688).jpg, Bugs Bunny File:Mary Poppins sculpture (49690096878).jpg, Mary Poppins File:Wonder Woman sculpture (49788051097).jpg, Wonder Woman File:Laurel and Hardy sculpture (49787191678).jpg, Laurel and Hardy File:Odeon and Batman (49787191543).jpg, Batman on top of the Odeon Theatre

Later additions

On 30 September 2020, a statue of

riding a

Nimbus 2000 Quidditch is a fictional sport invented by author J.K. Rowling for her fantasy book series ''Harry Potter''. It first appeared in the novel ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997). It is a dangerous but popular sport played by witc ...

was installed, becoming the ninth statue in the exhibition. The scene was taken from ''

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a 1997 fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers hi ...

'' which had its world premiere in Leicester Square in 2001. Around the same time Westminster council extended permission for the statues to remain in the square until at least July 2023. In June 2021, a statue of the Iron Throne from HBO TV series ''

'' was unveiled to mark 10 years since the release of the first episode. In July 2021, the statue of Bugs Bunny was modified with a basketball and backboard. The purpose of this was to mark the 16 July release of '' Space Jam: A New Legacy'' in which the character is part of a basketball team. The backboard features a QR code to unlock online content on social media. In December 2021 a statue of

Clifford the Big Red Dog ''Clifford the Big Red Dog'' is an American children's book series about the adventures of a precocious girl named Emily Elizabeth and her titular pet: a giant, red-furred dog named Clifford. It was first published in 1963 and was written by No ...

was installed ahead of the release of the film of the same name. The statue featured links to pages where visitors can donate to

Battersea Dogs & Cats Home Battersea Dogs & Cats Home (now known as Battersea) is an animal rescue centre for dogs and cats. Battersea rescues dogs and cats until an owner or a new one can be found. It is one of the UK's oldest and best known animal rescue centres. It w ...

. It took a team of 15 people three months to create the sculpture in bronze. It is the largest sculpture in the series, measuring long and high and weighing . File:Harry Potter sculpture in Leicester Square (50725720988).jpg, Harry Potter File:The Iron Throne in Leicester Square (51307600342).jpg, The Iron Throne

References

{{reflist 2020 sculptures 2021 sculptures Batman Cultural depictions of Laurel & Hardy Game of Thrones Leicester Square Looney Tunes Mary Poppins Mr. Bean Paddington Bear Statues in London Statues of fictional characters Wonder Woman Works based on Harry Potter

Original exhibition

Gallery

Later additions

See also

References