The Wellington Blown Away sign is a landmark of Wellington, New Zealand.
Wellywood is an informal name for the city of Wellington, New Zealand. The name—a conflation of Wellington and Hollywood—was coined in the 1990s and is a reference to the film production business established in the city by The Lord of the Rings film director Sir Peter Jackson, and Wellington-based special effects companies Weta Workshop and Weta Digital.[1] The businesses operate a number of film-related facilities in the Wellington suburb of Miramar.
In March 2010, the Wellington Airport company announced plans to erect a Hollywood-style sign saying WELLYWOOD on a hillside next to the Miramar cutting.[2] The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which owns the original Hollywood sign, threatened legal action over concerns about breach of copyright.[3] After the airport considered a range of alternatives, it was announced in May 2011 that the Wellywood sign would be going ahead.[4] However this was met with enormous criticism,[5] and on 1 June 2011 the airport announced that a panel would be convened to consider alternative sign options.[6][7] The panel ran a binding public poll on The Dominion Post website with the Wellington Blown Away design being chosen.[8] The sign spells WELLINGTON, with the last letters being "blown" upwards. It was designed by Matt Sellars and Ray McKay from Auckland-based company Saatchi & Saatchi.[9] The sign was erected on 27 July 2012, and cost $80,000.[10][9]
In 2014 the sign was changed twice. The W in the sign was replaced with a red V to spell VELLINGTON, promoting a local vampire comedy movie called What We Do in the Shadows.[11] Later in 2014 the sign was changed to WOWINGTON to promote the World of Wearable Art fashion show.[12] In May 2022 somebody painted the sign in a patchwork of pastel colours and it remained that way for months.[13] In June 2023 the sign was repainted white and the O in the sign was temporarily replaced with a 3.6m diameter football to promote the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[11]
41°18′54″S 174°48′40″E / 41.31508°S 174.81120°E / -41.31508; 174.81120
