Little Amal: Sheffield crowds welcome 'refugee' puppet

Thousands of people have gathered in Sheffield to welcome a huge puppet depicting a 10-year-old refugee.

Little Amal, who is 11.5ft (3.5m) tall, has so far travelled almost 4,970 miles (8,000km) from the Syria/Turkey border to the UK.

Amal, which is Arabic for hope, arrived in the UK's first City of Sanctuary by boat before being treated to performances welcoming her to the city.

John Tomlinson from Sheffield Theatres said it was a "very Sheffield welcome".

Little Amal has travelled almost 5,000 miles to come to the UK

About 4,000 people gathered along the canal in the city centre as Little Amal arrived on a barge to shouts of "welcome to Sheffield".

Liz Griggs said she had been following Little Amal's journey with interest and that the puppet and her team were doing "an amazing thing".

Ms Griggs had created a banner to hold up as the puppet passed by.

She said: "I think it's a cause of concern for a lot of us and the visit is timely.

"[We should do] anything we can do to raise the profile of refugees, not just support them but change the narrative and recognise they come with skills and bring something to our city."

Liz Griggs created a banner to hold up as Little Amal arrived in the city

Fellow spectator Scott Bramhall had brought his five-year-old son Alfie to see Amal come into the city.

He said it was important to show his son the event, adding: "It's nice to make them aware of people who are less fortunate than themselves."

What is known as The Walk is taking place in a bid to raise awareness about the plight of young refugees and will eventually see Amal arrive in Manchester.

As part of her journey, the puppet has also been to Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium.

Farouq, who stood in Sheffield city centre holding a Syrian flag, arrived in the UK himself from the war-torn country eight months ago.

He said he was "very happy" to see people turn out to see Little Amal.

Little Amal is controlled by a number of people who have brought her to life on her journey

Mr Tomlinson, who helped organise Little Amal's journey to the city, said the atmosphere was "electric".

Speaking in Sheffield's Tudor Square surrounded by lanterns and flags, he added the experience was "overwhelming".

"This is very much a Sheffield welcome. I'm absolutely ecstatic and I'm feeling very, very grateful to everyone for turning out and their contribution to all of this."

Little Amal is due to arrive in Manchester on 3 November, marking an end to her journey.

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