The University of York says it’s in the process of planning a “fitting tribute” after one of its most famous campus residents is presumed to have died.
That famous campus resident was, of course, ‘Long Boi’.
If you were unfamiliar with the social media sensation that was Long Boi, he’s not only well-known among the York student community, but he’s probably considered to be one of the most well-known ducks in the world.
Standing at a proud and impressive 70cm tall, the duck was originally spotted towering above all the others in the pond back in 2019, and was subsequently given the nickname he would be known by, ‘Long Boi’, as went on to become an attraction at the University of York.
When photos of Long Boi were shared social media in May 2021, they went viral shortly after, and the new star was then featured on TV and radio broadcasts all around the world.
University of York planning ‘fitting tribute’ after death of famous tall duck Long Boi / Credit: Long Boi (via Instagram)
But sadly, after sightings became slim, Long Boi was declared missing in mid-March 2023, and despite search parties looking long and hard for him over the last two months, the University of York was forced to issue an official statement yesterday that they “conclude he has passed away”.
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In an official statement, a university spokesperson said: “Following a period of almost two months without a confirmed sighting of Long Boi, we are today forced to conclude that he has passed away.
“We appreciate this is not the resolution that many people were wishing for, but hope that acknowledging his passing allows us to focus on celebrating his life and commemorating the time he spent with us.”
The admin of the famous Long Boi Instagram said it had been “an absolute pleasure” to run the account over the last four years and to “see the joy” he brought to university students, staff, and visitors who loved to meet, feed, and photograph him on campus.
“Walking across campus, you’ll always spot a group of students looking for Long Boi, his image adorns our student society logos, merch and advertising, and he has even become an unofficial mascot of the University itself.
Long Boi was last seen in mid-March / Credit: Long Boi (via Instagram)
“Whether going to feed Long Boi as a well-earned stress relief during exam season, or awaiting his lighthearted Instagram updates through times of uncertainty and lockdowns, Long Boi has always brought a smile to his fans and friends.
“Long Boi will always be remembered by those who knew and loved him.”
The spokesperson confirmed that the University is “working on plans to organise a fitting tribute to Long Boi”, but asked that people feed ducks or make a charitable donation in Long Boi’s, memory instead of leaving flowers on campus.
Liam Gallagher says he’s ‘ready’ to make a surprise appearance at the World Cup final
Danny Jones
Liam Gallagher has said that he is “ready” to play at the World Cup final should England make it all the way to the last two later this month.
He may have just been having some fun on social media as usual, but you never know – after all, we never actually thought we’d see him and his brother reconcile, but look how that turned out…
In his words, he may have “Irish blood”, but the Manchester-born Britpop and rock icon has an English heart, and after one person online said it’d only be right for him to fly out for the conclusive fixture if Thomas Tuchel’s side make it all the way, he gave a typically off-the-cuff response:
You could argue there’s not much in this besides an impromptu comment from a famously keyboard-happy lead singer, but stranger things have happened.
For instance, it may have come after a gradually increasing barrage of old tweets, pestering and a bit of positive peer pressure in full view of the public eye, but we did at long last get to witness an Oasis reunion with the ‘Live ’25’ world tour; however surreal it felt, it’s soon set to be relived in a documentary.
This reply comes as a response to LG’s initial post on X, in which he wrote: “It’s hard work that singing Harry Kane cmon ENGLAND cmon WONDERWALL.”
It also isn’t the only time he stoked the fire of this still only pie-in-the-sky idea, either, as after another user similarly asked if he’d fly out and sing it at the final, he simply responded, “Oh I’ll show Harry how it’s done.”
He’s not the only one to have made a rather big public proclamation this tournament, either.
The England and Man United legend set himself up for a fall.
As for the 53-year-old musician, he also jokingly quipped at the expense of those less keen on the idea with just as straightforward a clap-back: “Stop crying your heart out.”
Now, obviously, we’re taking this one with a big pinch of salt (enough to season ‘some lasagneee’, you could say), but who knows? There’s been plenty of big and strange showbiz stuff happening at this year’s competition in North America.
Maybe we all need to just keep tagging the Burnage boys, FIFA, England and the official World Cup page as much and hope for at least some kind of Oasis-centric surprise.
Come on, just imagine how much this would go OFF if even one of the Gallagher brothers was in the crowd, let alone this unthinkable hypothetical…
ITV to be bought out by Sky in transformational British broadcasting deal worth £1.6 billion
Danny Jones
In a watershed moment for British broadcasting, Sky has reached a transformational agreement worth more than £1.6 billion to buy out ITV in a landmark takeover deal.
With Sky already owned by US telecommunications corporation Comcast, this is set to be one of the biggest shakeups in TV and streaming for some time.
Talks actually started last November, but the process to complete a buyout like this has obviously taken a significant amount of time and money already.
It’s also worth noting that the deal is still pending full approval from the relevant regulators; nevertheless, it’s fair to say that it could change the face of the British media giants – who are based here in Greater Manchester over at MediaCity – but might signal a significant overhaul of our media landscape.
The Sky Group have assured there will be no immediate change to popular shows and will not be put behind a paywall at present (for now, anyway), with ITV still under a free-to-air service until 2034 as part of its public licensing contract.
Aquisitons/mergers of this size like this don’t come around very often, at least not across this side of the pond, with the growing Disney’s growing multinational monopolisation being one of the biggest examples of conglomerates mopping up major networks and huge brands over the past decade.
Writing in a statement, Sky said: “The UK media market is undergoing a profound and rapid transformation, and as competition for audiences intensifies, scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube in the UK.
“Viewers will continue to enjoy the shows they know and love, such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Love Island, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, This Morning, Loose Women, Lorraine and News at Ten – alongside major live sporting events.”
That lattermost example feels particularly poignant at the moment, as this also means that the likes of ITV’s impressive World Cup coverage will come under the Sky umbrella in the near future.
ITV agrees sale of media and entertainment business to Sky for up to £1.6bnhttps://t.co/UtgO9REejy
It’s being seen as an ambitious attempt to shake up traditional terrestrial telly and digital platforms, with the ‘old guard’, as it were, having to move forward and fast to keep up with the mercurial market becoming evermore dominated by streaming services.
Of course, there are plenty raising questions and concerns over yet another domestic institution becoming deeper and deeper entwined with big American business; on the other hand, former ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette, who still owns shares, says the deal was “essential” for its survival.
ITV will also receive £1.2bn in cash and Sky’s Love Productions business in return for ownership of their media and entertainment arm, whose shows include the Great British Bake Off.
Moving forward, ITV will also get a further £200m in 2028 if they meet revenue targets when it comes to advertising, with Sky promising to spend over £2.1bn on content from ITV Studios over a five-year period. You can read the full update from ITV right HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
12th May 2023 
