The tallest street art in Europe | The graffiti artists who scaled an 82m building

The St. George’s Tower mural is a sky-scraping mural in Leicester, United Kingdom, standing at an impressive 82 metres tall and painted by a team of 5 Leicester-based artists between 13th June to 22 July 2022.
The project, funded by BID Leicester, has been developed alongside Leicester-based arts organisation Graffwerk.
The artwork itself incorporates vibrant colours, bold graphic elements, and visual themes that meaningfully represent various aspects of Leicester’s unique heritage and culture. For example, at the top of the tower, which is visible at many locations within the city centre and at viewpoints much further afield, is the profile of a fox - an iconic emblem of Leicester and its iconic ‘Foxes’ football team. Further down the tower, an astronaut with an outreached hand can be seen in striking clarity and detail, representing Leicester as the home of the National Space Centre and a world leader in space research. The piece also features a strand of DNA, alluding to the University of Leicester’s discovery of the technique of DNA fingerprinting and, more recently, to the identification of the bones of Richard III. At the bottom of the mural, viewers can find a colourful tiger, representing the world-famous Leicester Tigers rugby union club.
Evolving over three years of planning and securing permissions, the project has seen the transformation of one of Leicester’s most controversial buildings, an iconic but contentious landmark which has been described as unsightly by many, into a beacon of civic creativity, ambition, and pride.
The mural is the tallest painted artwork in Europe and the third tallest in the world, representing an ambitious, impressive achievement and a significant visitor attraction. The scale and originality of the project resulted in a major impact on perceptions of the city as progressive and a leading world city for street art.
The project has received widespread press coverage, including printed press, TV coverage and radio airtime locally, nationally, and internationally. The Guardian wrote two pieces about the project; one focused on Leicester’s growing reputation as a destination for street art. Other coverage also included ZTV Germany, Elle Décor Italy, East Midlands Today, Central News and BBC Online.
As the mural has a 10-year lifespan at least, it will be visible to millions of people. The perception of Leicester as a destination for street art also generates tourism and encourages visitors to the city.
#leicester #leicestercity #bluetower #leicesterstreetart #leicestermural #leicesterbluetower #leicestershire #streetart #graffiti #graffitiartist #publicart #streetart