A giant polar bear has been carved out of ice in Piccadilly Gardens in city centre Manchester.

London based Ice sculptor Mark Coreth and his team of three sculptors spent six hours carving a four metre long, 2.2 metre high, 10 tonne block of ice into the shape of a life-size polar bear to celebrate the launch of The Manchester Museum’s new Living Worlds gallery which opens on 14 April 2011.

The exhibit, commissioned by The Manchester Museum, is located at the southern end of the gardens facing Oldham Street. It will take anything from five days to completely melt away (depending on temperatures) and will reveal an artist’s impression of a polar bear skeleton sculpted in bronze.

Sculptor Mark Coreth said about coming to Manchester: “It’s fantastic to be able to bring the Ice Bear Project to Manchester, a city that has a great reputation for art and culture. I’m also pleased to be part of Manchester Museum’s celebrations for the opening of its fascinating new gallery.”

Alex King, Piccadilly Partnership Manager said: “It’s fantastic to have the Ice Bear here in Piccadilly Gardens, the heart of the city centre. On an average day more than 80, 000 people walk through the gardens so it means hundreds of thousands of people will have this unmissable opportunity to see a stunning piece of public art.”

“We are also excited that Mark and his team will be giving local young people a taster of his craft in situ by running sculpting workshops in clay.”

The initiative is part of a long-term commitment to animate and develop the Piccadilly area and promote Manchester city centre as a family-friendly destination.

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The Ice Bear Cometh to Manchester- 24.03.2011