The statue is known for being capped with a
traffic cone. and in June 2010, on the run-up to the opening of hotel chain citizenM in Glasgow, when the cone was replaced with a 'feel free' branded glitter cone. In 2005,
Glasgow City Council and
Strathclyde Police took a stance of asking the public not to replace the cone, citing minor damage to the statue and the potential for injury when attempting to place one. Their planning application contained an estimate that the cost of removing traffic cones from the statue was £100 per callout, and that this could amount to £10,000 per year. The cone was replaced with a gold-painted one during the
2012 Summer Olympics as a celebration of Scotland's contribution to the record haul of
gold medals won by
Team GB. A replica of the statue, complete with cone, appeared at the
2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, and a gold cone was then again placed on the statue to mark the success of the games. In 2015, Glasgow City Council tested CCTV software worth £1.2 million, checking to see whether it could automatically detect people putting cones on the statue, which it could. During the
COVID-19 pandemic it was adorned with a cone and a blue
surgical mask around its ears to reflect
the pandemic and lockdowns in the country. In March 2022, in support of Ukraine and as a protest against
Russia's invasion of it, it was fitted with a cone with the colours of the
Ukrainian flag. In June 2023, to promote his exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art, the graffiti artist
Banksy declared that the statue was his "favourite work of art in the UK". On 21 June the Scottish climate change campaigning group This Is Rigged placed a cone with their logo on the statue, and invited Banksy to support their cause.
Finnie, the mascot of the
2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, is a unicorn with a traffic cone for a horn. This is an intentional reference to the statue and the tradition of putting a cone on its head. ==See also==