Work has begun to create an eighth bridge across the River Tyne using 20 tonnes of bamboo.

Bridge artistic vision

The temporary suspension bridge, spanning over 100-metres, will take shape over the coming weeks as part of NewcastleGateshead’s world-class festivals and events programme in the North East and its completion will mark the start of the SummerTyne festival.

Bambuco, an Australian company specialising in the construction of huge-scale bamboo sculptures, have been invited by culture10, based at NewcastleGateshead Initiative, to bring  a skilled international team of riggers to create their most ambitious work to date.  The bridge will be constructed entirely by hand and span from the Law Courts in Newcastle across to HMS Calliope in Gateshead.

Its construction will be a real spectacle, with the riggers displaying amazing agility and nerve, constructing the 25-metre-high towers and then joining them with a suspension-style bridge made up of around 800 individual pieces of bamboo, some up to 9 metres long.