Did you hear the big news? The giant pink flamingo sculpture at Tampa International Airport now has a name!
Hello Phoebe!
Back in November, Tampa International Airport held a contest to name the 21-foot big flamingo artwork that's located in the Main Terminal of the airport.
When the contest ended in early December, the airport announced that they had received over 65,000 entries!
The judges worked through the more than 65,000 entries submitted from all over the world, narrowing the selections down to Cora, Finn, and Phoebe.
After putting the three names to the public vote, the airport announced the news Thursday that after more than 37,000 votes were cast to find the winning name, Phoebe came out on top!
The airport said that Phoebe received 16,122 votes with Cora coming in a close second at 14,341 votes. Finn finished in third place with 6,779 votes.
Bryan M., a 63-year-old retired educator, submitted the winning entry and will receive 4 roundtrip tickets from Silver Airways and 4 VIP passes from Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.
Construction on “HOME” was completed earlier this year, with metal panels and lighting attached to the ceiling as part of the artwork.
This gives the illusion of being underwater while looking up at the flamingo
This iconic sculpture has garnered international attention and was built after being chosen among more than 700 art proposals submitted from around the world.
Phoebe is a sculpture by artist Matthew Mazzotta, who called the art piece "Home,"
"However, the story of HOME is not about whether someone or something, is originally from here or not," Mazzotta wrote. "The exaggerated scale of the flamingos in HOME puts the lives of these birds in the focus, and puts us, as humans, in awe as they tower above us, reminding us that we all share the same home."
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