There are more statues of animals in the capital of the United Kingdom than statues of historical women, The Independent reports, citing a new study.
The research was conducted by Art UK and partially funded by the City Hall, with the newspaper describing it as “the first comprehensive audit of public sculpture and monuments across the capital”.
The study established that, out of some 1,500 monuments in London, almost 50 are dedicated to female historical figures, whereas almost 100 of the statues in the capital are those of animals.
Meanwhile, over 300 of the monuments are dedicated to “named historical men”.
As the newspaper points out, these findings were brought forth after London's Mayor Sadiq Khan announced this week the launch of a £1 million fund expected to facilitate the City Hall's “effort to diversify London’s landmarks and monuments to that they better reflect the capital’s multicultural population”.
“London’s diversity is its greatest strength but for far too long our capital’s statues, street names and buildings have only shown a limited perspective on our city’s complex history,” the mayor said. “I’m determined to do everything I can to ensure our public realm presents a more complete picture of everyone who has made London the incredible city it is today."