00:00 February 15th sees the 26th birthday of the Angel of the North. Last year the iconic North
00:08 East landmark turned 25, marking a quarter of a century since it was originally erected.
00:13 Now with this in mind, let's take a quick look back at the history of the Angel of the
00:16 North.
00:17 All those years ago, Gateshead Council was offered the simple brief of creating a piece
00:22 of ambitious artwork that would become a landmark of the region's character. Sir Anthony Gormley
00:27 then won a competition to design the sculpture in 1994. The sculpture is built on a former
00:32 colliery pit head baths, which was reclaimed and earmarked for a piece of public art in
00:37 the 1990s. Nevertheless, Gormley's sculpture did originally cause controversy. Some locals
00:43 objected to its austere design, with some worried it would distract motorway drivers.
00:48 Still Gormley persisted.
00:49 I think I sometimes still call it the Gateshead Angel when it is the Angel of the North because
00:53 it does sort of, it is the gateway to the whole of the region and there's people from
00:58 all over the world, not just all over the country, who recognise it. I've just been
01:03 told that apparently somebody in Australia has made a mock angel. Now I haven't seen
01:08 a photograph of it, I'd be very interested, but that's how far the effect that the angel
01:14 has on people, it's all over the world.
01:17 It is said that Angel's shape was chosen in the hopes the sculpture would act as a form
01:20 of a guardian, or perhaps a herald or messenger in welcoming travellers.
01:25 And the Angel of the North means to me, it reminds me of loved ones and it reminds me
01:34 of when it was built, because if it's an angel my loved ones are in heaven.
01:41 It reminds me of home as well, because when you see the Angel of the North some people
01:47 take it as a sign that we're nearly home.
01:50 The Angel of the North to me means like, whenever I see it, it means like I'm home because
01:57 I live here in the North East and it's really important to me that it's here as a landmark,
02:04 as a symbol of the North East.
02:07 It's been here so long and I've been here with my family, I've had memories here, lots
02:14 of them, and it just makes me happy that it's here and it makes me feel proud.
02:21 The angel was first erected on a hilltop at the head of Team Valley in Gateshead on February
02:26 15th 1998.
02:28 Visible from the A1, it's seen by millions of motorists every year.
02:32 It's reportedly seen by more than one person every second.
02:35 That's 90,000 people every day, or 33 million every year.
02:40 Believed to be the largest angel sculpture in the world, the total cost of the landmark
02:45 was £800,000.
02:46 Made of weather-resistant Core 10 steel, it contains a small amount of copper.
02:52 Below the sculpture are massive concrete piles 20 metres deep, which anchor it to the solid
02:58 rock beneath.
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