Norwich's troop of apes will tomorrow be welcomed back by the Lord Mayor for the start of a final farewell.
The GoGoGorillas! trail though Norwich this summer was a huge hit, and from about 10.45am tomorrow the apes will be on display outside the Forum for their last hurrah. At 11am they will be greeted by the Lord Mayor of Norwich, Keith Driver, who will be accompanied by the Alan Partridge gorilla that was crowned the king ape in an online poll run by the Norwich Evening News and Eastern Daily Press. They will then stay on display at the Forum until Thursday when they will under the hammer at the GoGoGorillas! auction which aims to raise thousands of pounds for children's charity Break and the Born Free Foundation.
Michael Rooney, fundraising manager for Break, which organised the GoGoGorillas! trail with Wild in Art, said: 'The latest statistics that have been released have given a real indication about how popular the gorilla trail was, and we have received lots of comments on social media about how the city does not look the same without them, and so we want to give the public a final chance to say farewell.
'The gorillas will be outside the Forum on Sunday during the day and then moved inside for the remaining days before the auction.
'We hope lots of people will come to see them, whether it's a case of people saying cheerio or people considering buying a gorilla at the auction and trying to decide which ones they want to bid for. There will also be an opportunity to purchase gorilla merchandise including t-shirts, miniature ceramics and auction/souvenir guides.
'Also, as well as people being able to talk to us about the gorillas, they can talk to us about what Break does to help children, young people and families.'
A survey of about 2,500 people by Zing Insights found about two thirds said their visit to Norwich city centre was influenced by the gorillas, while one third said it was the sole reason for their visit. Other evidence of the great 'gorilla effect' is 200,000 GoGoGorillas! trail maps were distributed during the trail that ran from June to early September.
• For more about GoGoGorillas! including how to bid at Thursday's auction visit www.gogogorillas.co.uk
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