A Hollywood star led the tributes for York’s beloved Long Boi today.
The University of York saw crowds gather for an emotional ceremony to honour the deceased duck.
The 71cm waterfowl had more than 50,000 instagram followers, following his rise to stardom due to his unusually large frame.
He resided at the Derwent Campus at the university, but was sadly declared dead in May last year.
During the memorial service, testimonials from friends and fans of Long Boi played out to an audience of over 700 people.
One of these included Hollywood superstar Andrew Garfield who, alongside other celebrity admirers, held Long Boi close to his heart.
The Spider-Man star said: “Long Boi, this is Andrew Garfield, wherever you may be, I think we know which place you ended up in, just from the life you lived and all the hope you gave us.
“I just want to personally thank you and say I love you and can’t wait to be reunited.”
Other goodbyes filled the Central Hall, from the likes of former Doctor Who Jodie Whittaker, singer Tom Grennan and Heartstopper star Joe Locke.
“It’s a loss to the world, but your star shines bright,” Jodie said.
England cricketer and former St Peter’s schoolboy Jonny Bairstow even shared a poem:
Long Boi, oh, you’ve made your mark
A graceful glide from dawn till dark
Your gentle quack, your lofty stride
The king of campus ponds, you glide.
So here’s to you, our feathered friend
May your days of peace not end.
The ceremony began at 9am and was live broadcasted on Radio 1 to 4.4 million listeners.
Proceedings were led by Radio 1 Breakfast DJ and Long Boi enthusiast Greg James, who once invited Long Boi to quack to the nation on air.
Students, staff, donors, and alumni settled to their seats in the University’s Central Hall, some dressed in duck clothing, whilst footage of Long Boi played on the big screens.
On stage laid a life-size brass sculpture of the duck, which was covered by a sheet for the anticipated unveiling.
The statue was made by wildlife sculptor Neil Mason, who was commissioned to create the piece with money raised from University fundraising.
YorkMix spoke to Pierrick Roger, who initiated the fundraising after Long Boi’s passing.
“Loads of students got in touch with me asking, I know it was in jest, for a memorial. And then one day, I just kind of woke up and thought what if we do it?
“I wasn’t expecting so many people to actually donate, because it’s quite a big financial commitment for a statue of a duck in the end. It was really nice seeing that people actually pulled together for something they cared about.” Pierrick told us.
During the ceremony Helena Cox, the first art curator at the University, encouraged the audience to rub the beak of the sculpture to bring them good luck in exams.
The student sabbatical team then shared memories of Long Boi, with Sports Officer Tanisha Jain revealing she had a dedicated tattoo on her arm of the beloved duck.
Referring to her family in India, Tanisha Jain told YorkMix just how far Long Boi’s influence has reached.
“There is such overwhelming love for him, I’m from India, and my friends and family in India knew who Long Boi was, and they were like, oh my God, you go to the same university as Long Boi!” She explained.
A stand-out moment from the morning was ‘the sing song society’ taking to the stage to perform their own rendition of Chappel Roans ‘Hot to Go!’
The tweaked lyrics read, “L-O-N-G-B-O-I, quack and flap and don’t be shy, raise your neck up to the sky, with this song we’ll say goodbye.”
They ‘quackapella’ then sang Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puths ‘See you again’, which led to the moment everyone had been waiting for.
Greg James, dressed in black lace gloves, a veil, and a full black suit, unveiled the bronze sculpture to the audience.
Met with gasps, the audience quickly proceeded into a minute of quacking to pay tribute.
The statue will be placed on a 1m large plinth by the Lake at Derwent College, honouring Long Boi forever.
For a detailed run-down of the day, check out our Long Boi Live Blog here.