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Commonwealth Games: Birmingham bull a tourist attraction

BBC Commonwealth Games bullBBC
The new, mechanical bull stands tall in Centenary Square, dwarfing the city's other bull outside the Bullring shopping centre

A giant mechanical bull that featured in the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham has gone on display in the city centre, and is already proving to be an attraction.

But the future of the bull is not certain, with the team that built the piece expecting it to be dismantled after the Games finish.

In the meantime, the bull has been given a police escort from Perry Barr where the Alexander Stadium hosted the Games' opening ceremony. It arrived in the city centre on Friday morning, providing a big surprise for visitors and workers in Centenary Square.

And it is already a selfie magnet.

BBC Commonwealth Games bullBBC
Visitors to Centenary Square are offered a close-up view of the intricate design work on the bull
Crowds of Birmingham visitors get to meet the mechanical star of the Games opening ceremony
Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Commonwealth Games bullStefan Wermuth/Reuters
Thursday's opening ceremony alluded to the darker side of the Commonwealth's past, with chains representing those used in the slave trade pulling the giant bull into the stadium
David Davies/PA Commonwealth Games bullDavid Davies/PA
The bull was tamed by the ceremony's leading star Stella, who then climbed on top and rode it around the stadium to swelling music
Hannah McKay/Reuters Commonwealth Games bullHannah McKay/Reuters
Images of the bull lit up social media, but this mechanical "overnight sensation" might well have a short-lived existence

"[The bull is] too big to easily store anywhere," said Mike Kelt, from special effects company Artem.

"There's bits in it that have to be taken out, so if it was going to exist forever, somebody would have to pay for those bits to stay in it.

"That isn't an enormous sum of money, but I think storage is the problem. And to move it somewhere is also a problem. It takes quite a bit of effort to move it.

"And being 10 metres high, there aren't many places you can move it. It can duck down a bit, but that's about it."

BBC Commonwealth Games bullBBC
For now, the bull is situated in front of the Library of Birmingham

Mr Kelt admitted to some "head-scratching" after being commissioned to build the bull.

"The first thing is it has to stand up, so how are you going to make it stand up?" he said.

"It has to walk, it has to move its legs. It obviously has to [work as a puppet].

"That almost inevitably led, at least in my mind, to a telehandler underneath."

So the bull was carried around the stadium by a 17-tonne vehicle, prompting gasps of wonderment among the 30,000 people inside the stadium, along with a huge, combined TV audience.

And that, Mr Kelt said, was "obviously the reaction we wanted".

BBC Commonwealth Games bullBBC
The bull is set to draw crowds to Centenary Square over the next week

Mr Kelt added, however, he could not be certain of the reaction, saying: "You're never very sure. You're too close to these things to really get a feel for it.

"You hope that it hits the spot and you do everything you can to make it work, so it is very gratifying when it happens.

"I think it's beyond what we expected."

The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games run until Monday 8 August.

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