Beaver sculptures that welcomed FIFA fans in Toronto up for auction

TORONTO – Hand-painted beaver statues representing different countries in the FIFA World Cup that were sprawled across the eastern downtown neighbourhood of Old Town Toronto are now up for auction. 

The auction began on Friday and online bidding on 50 beaver installations has already received more than $30,000 in bids, said the Old Town Toronto Business Improvement Area, which is behind the project.

Bidding began at $300 per sculpture and the auction is set to close on Aug. 24.

The organization said proceeds will be split equally between two charitable organizations: Toronto’s First Post Office and KidSport Ontario.

These vibrant beavers with wide grins and a soccer ball clutched under their right paw were a part of an artistic scavenger hunt, which ran between May 25 and Aug. 16.

The organization initially displayed 51 distinct sculptures across the historic neighbourhood near St. Lawrence Market and the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

Of them, 48 were a nod to the nations represented in the World Cup — each of them hand-painted by artists with roots or other connections to those participating countries. Two others served to welcome the world, while one celebrated the neighbourhood itself. 

Later, the BIA secretly added a 52nd Canadian-themed beaver featuring a maple leaf pattern in fall colours. It has so far garnered the highest bid of $2,100 as of Monday afternoon.

The beaver representing Spain, which won the tournament this year, had a bid nearing $1,000, while the Scottish beaver appeared to be another hot commodity with a bid of $2,025 on Monday.

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Two of the sculptures, representing Canada and Old Town Toronto, are not currently listed for sale in the auction.

The BIA says more than 13,000 people played the Great Beaver Quest over almost 12 weeks. 

Each statue had a QR code, which linked players to a scavenger hunt sign-up and participants earned points by completing challenges — and had a chance to win gift cards to local businesses.

The four-foot-tall sculptures mimic similar public art projects, notably the Moose in the City project that saw Toronto host hundreds of life-size, decorated moose statues in 2000.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2026.