A HUGE puppet will visit Bradford on Monday to mark the start of World Refugee Week.

“Little Amal” has captured the imaginations of thousands since she came to the UK last year. Bradford will be the first of 11 places that Little Amal will visit during the week.

She comes to Bradford’s City Park at 1pm on Monday “to experience the joy of literature” – her visit comes just days after the city’s Literature Festival begins.

Gifts will be passed onto Little Amal which will then be passed onto neighbouring Leeds as she continues her walk across the UK.

There will be poetry performances and craft activities organised by the Literature Festival to tie in with her visit.

Her visit to Bradford, which last month won the competition to be named the UK's City of Culture for 2025, is part of her journey across the country meeting new friends.

Bradford Council is a Local Authority of Sanctuary, a movement of local councils who are working to create a culture of welcome, inclusion and empowerment for people seeking sanctuary. Bradford has been a City of Sanctuary for 12 years.

Since July 2021 Little Amal has travelled over 8,000km in support of refugees.

The 3.5 metre-tall living artwork of a young Syrian refugee child has walked across Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, the UK, the Netherlands, Poland and Ukraine to focus attention on the urgent needs of young refugees.

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Councillor Abdul Jabar, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety, said: “Bradford Council is delighted to welcome Little Amal on World Refugee Day to meet some of our young people of the district as part of Bradford Literature Festival. “As a Local Authority and a City of Sanctuary we are particularly proud that Little Amal is visiting us as we continually work to welcome and support all those seeking sanctuary in our neighbourhoods and communities.”

Amir Nizar Zuabi, Artistic Director of The Walk, said: “As the invasion of Ukraine began the whole world, governments and citizens, proved that when we’re willing to respond to the urgent needs of refugees we can accomplish astonishing feats of compassion and generosity.

“New Steps, New Friends, Amal’s Walk through England in June will remind us that, if we choose, we can welcome and care for all refugees, regardless of their skin colour, their religion or their background.”