Proposed Monuments at the Gateways into Wales

From John F. Wake. (Tourism Commentator - Cardiff)

The Heritage Lottery commission has turned down the application for around £13million to secure some of the most innovative and dynamic icons as Gateways to Wales. An absolute tragedy and before anyone says, ’well the money would have been spent better elsewhere!’ Well it is, if that‘s what you want, on icons or Landmark projects in other areas such as England and Scotland. So we lost out. (Keep reading) It certainly was not with the professionalism of the bid. It could not have been bettered. It was a Wales wide bid and project which brought all four corners of the country together. The skills from within the Public sector was remarkable. We need Iconography to brand our country. The whole concept was to make the entries into Wales as remarkable as the country. When Eiffel built his tower in France that was not French branding. It is now. When the small Mermaid statue was put on the rock at Copenhagen it did not brand Denmark. It does now. When the statue of Jesus Christ was erected at Rio it was not a Brazilian brand. It is now. Wouldn’t it be marvellous if Wales was at the cutting edge with iconography and branding. People around the world would be looking at us as the ‘yardstick. ’ The ‘Angel of the North’ is iconic in England but is nothing to what was planned for Wales. Ah well ‘perchance the innovation is not dead, but merely sleepeth’.
john@wales-tours.com

Agreed - but this blog does not approve of some of the gimmicky entries that have been submitted to stand at the major entry points into Wales. If Wales is to have major sculptures or monuments set up at these places let them be created by Welsh sculptors and craftsmen and produced in Wales, and let them be noble artistic creations which reflect the culture and national traditions of Wales.
Alan in Dyfed