Park and Slide: 90m Waterslide of Luke Jerram in Bristol Street

On the 4th May this giant 90m water slide was installed on Park Street in Bristol as part of Make Sunday Special and the Bristol Art Weekender. Running for one day only, it was an event for the city to remember!

96,573 people signed up for their chance to get a 'ticket to slide', through a ballot with only 360 tickets issued to a few lucky people on the day. Security clocked in 65,000 people who came to Park street to watch.

Enabling people to navigate the streets of their city in a new way, the slide is a simple architectural intervention and a playful response to the urban landscape. Like many of Jerram's projects the installation requires public participation to be activated. The person on the slide becomes the performer, while spectators either side watch on.

This massive urban slide transforms the street and asks people to take a fresh look at the potential of their city and the possibilities for transformation. Imagine if there were permanent slides right across cities.

With an incline of 6.5 degrees, participants slid at an average of 18km/hr = 11.2mph.(calculated from film). The slide was used by children and adults ranging in age from 5 to 73 years old. 

(AFP Photo)