London Trafalgar Square News

Marc Quinn's sculpture of the disabled artist Alison Lapper was displayed from September 2005 until October 2007.

Lapper, who was born with no arms and shortened legs due to a congenital disorder, posed naked for Quinn when she was eight months pregnant.

"Alison Lapper Pregnant" was replaced with a very different artwork - an architectural model of a 21-story building.

The coloured glass sculpture by German artist Thomas Schutte, "Model for a Hotel 2007" was unveiled in November 2007 and occupied the plinth until the end of May 2009.

Next came Anthony Gormley's "One and Other" - a "living monument" which involved members of the public taking to the plinth.

The space was occupied by different people - chosen by ballot - every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 days.

From 2010 to 2012, the plinth was home to Yinka Shonibare's "Nelson's ship in a bottle" which commemorated the Battle of Trafalgar.

And currently in position is a giant bronze sculpture of a boy astride a rocking horse. It is called "Powerless Structures Fig 101".

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"What a total waste of time, money & effort...LEAVE OUR MONUMENTS ALONE!"

An "insult to Nelson".

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"It looks cheap, tacky and is more likely to be linked to Tottenham Hotspur than historic victory. Poor Nelson with that shoved under his nose!"

" I think he would have a good laugh, the French at his feet".

"I don't suppose anyone has considered how the pigeons might feel".

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The exhibition of Katharina Fritsch's sculpture in Trafalgar Square has only just been rubber-stamped by planning bosses in Westminster - but the artist originally won the commission back in January 2011.

Here is how we reported on it at the time.

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Artist Katharina Fritsch describes her inspiration for the cockerel sculpture in this YouTube video posted on the Fourth Plinth website.

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Are you enthusiastic about the idea of having a giant electric-blue cockerel in Trafalgar Square? What do you think of the idea of a French national symbol sitting under Lord Nelson? And are you a fan of the design?

Let us know your thoughts:

• by email at newsdesk@itvlondon.com

• on our Facebook page

• via Twitter @itvlondon.

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Planning chiefs have given approval for a giant blue cockerel to be placed on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square - meaning an iconic French symbol will be sitting under the nose of Lord Nelson.

The 4.7m high statue, designed by German artist Katharina Fritsch, and backed by the Greater London Authority, was given the go-ahead by Westminster Council last night.

The formal submission to the planning committee said that Fritch was "mischievously sitting the national symbol of France within a square that celebrates an historical victory over the French", and that the bird was also "a species interloper" among the square's flocks of pidgeons.

The cockerel will be displayed in the square from the 20th of July this year, replacing the rocking horse currently on show.

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A celebration of English food and cooking will take place in Trafalgar Square today to mark St George's Day (which is on April 23). The 'Feast of St George' will include at 250-person banqueting table and a dragon.

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A sure sign the festive season is over - Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is set to be chopped down this morning, and shredded for composting.

The square should be cleared by midday.

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