Capital CowParade gets under way

The unusual cows are appearing around the capital

Colourful statues of cows have been moved into place in Edinburgh as the world's largest public arts festival gets under way in the city.

Organisers worked over the weekend to install some of the 94 statues that are going on display in public spaces for the CowParade.

The final cows were being put into place early on Monday morning and will remain in the capital until July.

The bovine statues will later be auctioned to raise money for charity.

The event, which started in Zurich in 1998, has been staged in cities including Sydney, New York, Prague and Barcelona.

Since then more than 3,000 artists have come up with designs for more than 5,000 cows.

See a selection of Edinburgh's cows

Now it is coming to Scotland for the first time, with statues being placed in locations including Princes Street Gardens, the Scottish Executive, Ocean Terminal, Usher Hall, Dynamic Earth and Edinburgh Airport.

Charlie Langhorne, the managing director of CowParade Europe, said: "It is a wonderful opportunity to host a CowParade event in Edinburgh as one of the world's leading cultural destinations."

He added it was important that the event reflected the character of the host city and said: "We are confident this event successfully brings together local communities, businesses and the creative sector to celebrate the spirit and rich diversity which is at the very heart of Edinburgh."

The city's Lord Provost, Lesley Hinds, said: "This event will help enhance Edinburgh's reputation as the UK's leading events city and is sure to attract additional visitors and bring major economic and cultural benefits."