TPA's iconic pink Flamingo 'Phoebe' celebrates first birthday

TAMPA, Fla. - The iconic pink Flamingo named "Phoebe" at Tampa International Airport, is celebrating her first birthday.

The art installation has been a huge hit since it became a staple on the third floor of the main terminal. It’s giant head peaks down through the ceiling as if it’s looking underwater.

To mark Phoebe’s birthday, the airport brought in some real flamingos from Busch Gardens, flamenco dancers from the Columbia Restaurant and a cake.

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Phoebe’s first birthday marks a year of being a social media sensation. You can’t go very long being near her without seeing travelers taking photos and selfies.

"Every time I wake up and check my phone we have a thousand images of Phoebe that come through," said C.J. Johnson, who manages TPA’s social media platforms. "Someone is traveling through at 5 a.m. or traveling through late at night or in the middle of the day, we’ve gone from the era of the airport bathroom selfie, to the Phoebe selfie at TPA."

There was a huge contest on social media to pick her name. 

"We had 70,000 entries almost from all over the world, very contentious, so we narrowed it down to the final three and had almost 40,000 votes," Johnson said.

The final three were Cora, Finn, and Phoebe. Phoebe obviously won, and continues to pop up in social media posts from people around the world.