York is preparing to say goodbye.
The city’s favourite waterfowl, Long Boi, will be honoured at a service held at the University of York tomorrow (Thursday, 26 September).
And BBC star Greg James will be broadcasting his Radio 1 breakfast show live from the campus – and unveiling the long-awaited statue to the web-footed legend.
Sadly the event is ticketed and closed to the public as the University of York cannot accommodate a large crowd.
Long Boi was a 71cm-tall duck who resided by the university lake, and sadly died last year.
He was known far and wide, after first appearing on the Heslington campus in 2019.
He gained a large social media following and became viral due to his lengthy figure, with more than 50,000 Instagram followers.
One of his biggest fans was Radio 1 Breakfast Show host Greg James, who once invited Long Boi to quack live to the nation.
Long Boi went missing last year, and was declared dead in May 2023.
Since then, friends and fans across the world raised £5,000 for a statue to honour the duck.
Wildlife sculptor Neil R Mason has created the memorial.
The statue is life size, cast out of bronze, and will be placed on a York stone plinth which is nearly a metre high.
It will be placed near the lake at Derwent College, where Long Boi spent most of his happiest days.
Greg was asked by Holly, a member of the University of York’s Students Union, to unveil the statue live on air earlier this month.
To which he announced ‘live on Long Boi’, as he formally accepted.
The ceremony will take place tomorrow (26 September) from 9am – 10am at Central Hall, on Campus West.