Popular Brisbane sign returns to South Bank, reinforced and ready for selfies

Updated

The iconic Brisbane sign has been reinstalled on the banks of the Brisbane River.

The popular sign was originally made from plywood by local Men's Shed groups for the G20 Leaders' Summit last year.

It has had to be replicated with stronger material to withstand the Queensland weather.

The $300,000 project was jointly funded by the State Government and the Brisbane City Council.

The original sign was only meant to be on the banks of the river for four weeks but remained for four months.

The Brisbane City Council removed it in February due to safety concerns.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the new sign was the "people's sign".

"The sign was designed by Brisbane and Queensland organisations and that's the great thing about it ... it's the people's sign," he said.

"The permanent sign is built for a very long asset life — and so when you factor in the cost against the advertising that Brisbane will get out of this, it's a very cheap buy."

Cr Quirk said the new sign would take the Brisbane skyline across the world.

"We saw tens of of thousands of people during the G20 take the opportunity to take a photograph with this sign," he said.

"At the end of the day it's not only locals enjoying the sign, but also visitors to our city.

"We know that Brisbane still has a way to go for its international ID; G20 was a great step-up and this sign will also add to that opportunity.

"Visitors to Brisbane getting out on social media and sending pictures of themselves in front of the sign across the globe is good for Brisbane.

"It's good for growing jobs in the tourism sector in particular, and it shows this city is a vibrant and happy city."

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said the new sign would be ready by the end of 2015.

"The new permanent Brisbane sign will be fully installed and decorated before the end of the year," she said.

The look of the sign will remain, with each of the letters to be decorated by the community groups involved in the original G20 project.

Letters were decorated by organisations including the Queensland Country Women's Association, Amnesty International and the Multicap Association.

"The designs were very colourful examples of what Brisbane had to offer," Ms Trad said.

"The skins are complete replicas and will be put on the aluminium frame in coming weeks to make it a permanent feature.

"The sign was such a significant success for South Bank and the city that council and the State Government committed joint funds to make it a permanent mark at South Bank to remind everyone of the beautiful city we live in and the great event that was G20."

The sign has, however, moved further down the river bank from its original position to avoid people having to stand on the road when trying to get the entire sign into their photographs.

Soft flooring and lighting will also surround the sign.

Topics: community-and-society, community-organisations, tourism, human-interest, south-bank-4101

First posted