Madrid - The international art event known as the Cow Parade began in Madrid on Friday with 105 colourful fiberglass cows showing up in the Spanish capital.

The life-size models painted by professional and amateur artists can be seen in central districts of the city until March 31, after which the artistically best of them are to be auctioned for a minimum price of about 1,500 euros (2,000 dollars) each, media reports quoted officials as saying.

The proceeds will go to non-governmental organizations dedicated to health, development and other non-lucrative projects.

The cows follow in the footsteps of more than 5,000 others who have passed through about 50 of the world's cities since the event began in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1998. The Cow Parade has already earned some 13 million euros for non-lucrative purposes.

The Madrid cows range from a pregnant female to a mythological version with wings and a lion mane, and a journalistic one covered with newspaper cuttings.

"The success is in their global character, and in the absolute merging of art and urban space," Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon said at the presentation of the event on Thursday. (dpa)