Bristol Children's Hospital Sculpture Lollipop Be-Bop restored to former glory

When the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children opened its doors on Upper Maudlin Street in 2001, it was marked with the installation of a now iconic and much-loved art installation, Lollipop Be-Bop.

In its early days, the installation featured lights within each hoop, but because of the limited technology available at the time, these lights had a limited lifespan. But, in that time, they proved to be immensely popular with both the staff and young patients of the hospital. 

Now, that is all set to change.

After a push to restore the sculpture to its former glory, led by Giles Haythornthwaite, Consultant in Paediatric Emergency Medicine; Dr Vanessa Garrett, Consultant Clinical Psychology Lead for Cardiac and Critical Care and The Grand Appeal team, Lollipop Be-Bop will once again light up outside the hospital.

The Bristol Royal Hospital for Children is a national centre of excellence. It treats over 100,000 patients each year from across the entire South West and South Wales region and is home to some of the most incredible advancements in global paediatric healthcare. The hospital is a hub of innovation, where these experts pave the way for sick children every day through a vast network of research projects with international impact.

It’s thanks to The Grand Appeal, both hospitals are a pioneer in so many fields today. Through its unique, trailblazing partnership with Aardman Animations, The Grand Appeal has diversified its funding streams to bring in the most advanced medical equipment. 

As the dedicated charity for Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, The Grand Appeal was instrumental in the opening of the hospital in 2001, as it stands on Upper Maudlin Street. After funding the Lollipop Be-Bop sculpture in 2001, The Grand Appeal is now proud to support its restoration as part of the charity’s 28-year partnership with the hospital.

Now, with more suitable, longer-term lighting technologies now more widely available, The Grand Appeal and BRHC teams have been able to replace the lighting with modern high grade LED strips, which have a lifespan of around ten years. 

A little-known fact about Lollipop Be-Bop is that when it was first installed, it was done so with a control panel which was installed within the hospital. 

This control panel allowed the young inpatients of the hospital, facing life changing medical challenges, as well as their families and the hospital staff to interact with the sculpture. Allowing them to change the colours within the hoops and activate fun light sequences, all of which can be viewed from within the hospital. 

With these new lights installed, the story of Lollipop Be-Bop has come full circle and the children and young people at Bristol Children’s Hospital can, once again, interact with this iconic piece of artwork and enjoy the installation during their stay.