The bricks that built a world of creativity
Celebrating 60 years of Lego From humble roots to most powerful brand on the planet
Homeliest
Last year, Lego teamed up with Airbnb to give one lucky family the chance to stay at Lego House.
A bed floats in a pool of bricks, under a 6m tall Lego waterfall. And everything from the armchairs to TV and cat on the bed are made out of Lego.
Priciest
Fans are willing to shell out a lot for the latest sets but this one will set you back a bit...
The Star Wars Millennium Falcon set costs €740 but sells for thousands on ebay as it has sold out in the shops.
The biggest set available for home build, it has 7,541 pieces. THE Munich air disaster and the blowing up of the Carlisle Monument share Lego’s 60th anniversary.
More than 480 billion bricks have been produced, which is enough for every person on the planet to own more than 80 each.
The firm also happens to be the world’s biggest tyre manufacturer.
THE little building blocks first appeared 60 years ago and now kids just won’t Lego of the toy box favourite.
Since it was patented on January 28, 1958, fans young and old have In Billund village in Denmark, carpenter Godfred Christiansen first began creating wooden toys before the adventures in plastic started in 1949. Nine years later been building Lego creations. Piece by painstaking piece, Lego has been shaped into, well, almost anything, from a magnificent tree to the Star Wars Millennium Falcon.
Here we take a look at the plastic’s most fantastic work... the brick received its patent. But becoming the world’s biggest toy-maker hasn’t always been easy.
In 2004 costs were spiralling and no one seemed to know the amount needed to create the toys.
Slashing the number of parts down to 6,000 was the first target. Dropping lines no one wanted and licensing sets from films such as What could be more Christmassy than a full-sized Santa’s workshop? It was built in London’s Covent Garden, in 2016, by Duncan Titmarsh, using more than 700,000 bricks.
Bus stop
In 2014 a bus stop was made out of more than 100,000 bricks. Sited by
Hamleys toy shop in
Regent Street,
Central London, it was a working stop.
Sculpture
One of the most famous Lego creations is Nathan Sawaya’s Yellow. The ex-lawyer, below, gave up his career and became an artist, specialising in Lego.
“Yellow is about baring his soul,” he said. “I was letting everything out, moving from the safe, corporate world.” Star Wars and Harry Potter helped the company get back on track. In 2017 it became the world’s most powerful brand, worth €6.4billion.
Today not only do children love the toy, excited AFOLS (Adult Fans of Lego) also gather to create jaw-dropping sets at conventions.
Lego now dominates the aisles in toy shops.