From left to right:
1. Mike Spits, Elephant Parade® Founder
2. Mayuree Chaipromprasith, Senior Executive Vice President, Marketing Promotion Division of Siam Paragon Development Co., Ltd.
3. Chadatip Chutrakul, CEO of Siam Paragon Development Co., Ltd.
4. Kathy Heinecke, Representative of Minor International, the parent company of Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas
5. Kalin Sarasin, Chairman of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Board of Directors
6. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand
7. Sirinya Bishop, Actress and Elephant Parade Bangkok Artist
Bangkok, December 2015: Kathy Heinecke, forth left, Representative of Minor International , the parent company of Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas, along with Mike Spits, first left, Elephant Parade® Founder and Chadatip Chutrakul, third left, CEO of Siam Paragon Development Co., Ltd., had recently launched the world’s largest open air art exhibition and charity event – Elephant Parade Bangkok 2015 – at Siam Paragon Shopping Center in the heart of the Thai capital. The exhibition, featuring eighty eight brightly decorated elephant statues has been staged to honour the 88th birthday of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch.
All eighty–eight elephants showcased in Elephant Parade Bangkok are available for the public to bid for and own in an online auction, and in February 2016 a final selection of elephants will be auctioned off by Christies at a gala dinner to be held at Anantara Siam Bangkok. Proceeds from both auctions will be donated to the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation who in turn will select strategic partners to drive forward key projects including building the first elephant clinic in Chiang Mai’s Mae Teang Valley, expanding their Positive Reinforcement Target Training Project to even more elephants and helping protect the wild elephants in Thailand’s National Parks.
The 1.5 metre elephants are on show from 1st – 18th December 2015 at the world-class luxury shopping centre, Siam Paragon; the herd will then move to Asiatique on the banks of the Chao Phraya River from 20th December 2015 – 11th January 2016 and finally Lumpini Park, in the heart of the city, from 18th – 29th January 2016.
For more information on Elephant Parade Bangkok 2015, plus the online auction and Instagram competition, please visit www.elephantparadebangkok.com
