Nine metre squid and giant phone that lets you talk to Moon coming to Grimsby

A NINE metre long squid and giant telephone will be coming to Grimsby as part of the Tour De Moon convoy which is currently travelling across the UK.

The convoy of 13 vehicles is journeying across the UK stopping off at a select number of towns and cities as part of the festival. The aim of the event is to offer different ways of thinking and inspire people’s imagination. It will be making stops in Leicester, Southampton and Newcastle.

The event will be in Grimsby for one day only on Tuesday, May 17 in St James’ Square from 6.30pm-10pm. Included in the festival, there will be live music, DJ sets, a full size replica of nine metre-long Archie The Squid, talks, film screenings, an inflatable game, a nine-piece Arkestra and a large red telephone which you can use to talk to the moon.

The event is being organised by founder of the NASA International Space Orchestra Dr. Nelly Ben Hayoun, who has worked with famous groups like the band Massive Attack. Also helping are other famous faces like the former Lord Mayor of Sheffield Magid Magid and Damian Bradfield, President of WeTransfer.

Dr Nelly Ben Hayoun said: “Our main objective of Tour de Moon is to prompt radical imagination, support pluralistic thinking so to offer alternative futures developed by and with youths. With this festival we decided to redistribute our funding and to use our platform to celebrate the nightlife sector and young adults - demographics which have been hit especially hard by the impacts of Covid and funding cuts over the last few years.”

Speaking about the addition of Archie the Squid, Nelly added: “At first it may not seem like an obvious connection but the moon has so much influence on our lives and this is one of the many reasons for this festival, so we can build on and celebrate these connections. It then makes perfect sense for us to bring one of the rare denizens of the deep to life and we are very grateful to the Natural History Museum for allowing us to recreate Archie and introduce him to a whole new audience.”