Rochdale town centre was completely packed out to welcome the astonishing Little Amal puppet, as she made her penultimate stop on an epic 8,000km journey.
Amal is a three-and-a-half metre puppet in the image of a nine-year-old refugee girl, searching for her lost mother.
She was created as a public art projected produced for Good Chance in association with Handspring Puppet Company - famous for creating the horse puppets in War Horse.
READ MORE : Best photos as hundreds brave weather to welcome giant refugee puppet Little Amal to Wigan
Amal initially set off from the Syrian border in Turkey back in July. Seven countries and more than 60 towns and cities later, the puppet found itself in the middle of Rochdale this afternoon (November 2).
People of all ages lined the streets and watched on in awe as the not-so-little Amal made her way towards the Rochdale Memorial Gardens from Cheetham Street, via Victoria Street and The Esplanade.
Along the way, Amal was greeted by community groups, such as Littleborough-based folk arts club Oakenhoof.
Finally, after a 30 minute march through the town, mesmerised spectators followed Amal into the memorial gardens, where Wardle Brass Band played twists on classics such as Let Me Entertain You and The Final Countdown.
Councillor Rachel Massey, cabinet member for children's services and education at Rochdale Borough Council said "We are so pleased Rochdale has been chosen to meet Amal on her journey.
"We hope she will raise awareness of the journeys refugees are forced to take.
"This epic walk has an important role to play in changing the conversation and bringing us all together."
Little Amal will reach the end of her journey at Castlefield Bowl tomorrow night (November 3).
A giant flock of puppet birds will be released upon her arrival, in what has been described by organisers as a 'spectacular finale event'.
One of the main groups behind the decision for Amal finish her journey in the region is the Manchester International Festival.
Creative director, Mark Ball, said her final destination was testament to the ‘open-heartedness’ of the area.
“I think it says something about the incredible sense of welcome and open-heartedness that Greater Manchester has always shown,” he said.
“Manchester is a city of 207 mother tongues, incredibly linguistically diverse, been the home to many immigrant communities over the past two-or-three-hundred-years, and it’s a city of refuge.
“This is an area where we are working with the Wigan Arrivals project which supports refugees to come here.
“It’s a region known for its friendliness, so when the organisers were thinking about the project, thinking about where it ended, they came to us — because they wanted the ending to be in Manchester because of that sense of welcome this city represents.”
Tickets for Castlefield Bowl are sold out but people are being invited to gather outside the Great Northern Warehouse at approximately 7.15pm to get a final glimpse of Amal.
