Attila

Moving the Little Mermaid?!

Saturday, 13. September 2008, 05:35:03

She's been blown up, decapitated and doused in paint and now the Little Mermaid statue needs a holiday, albeit a working one. At least that is what some people think.

The organisers of the Danish pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010 see the Little Mermaid playing a key role in promoting Denmark. With the support of the City Council, they plan to remove the statue from her perch at Langelinie and send her to China for six months.

The proposal has received support from the Economy and Trade Ministry, the mayor and a number of political parties in the city council. The council owns the statue and a vote in November will decide the fate of the statue in the project.

The family members of the statue's late designer own the copyright to the little lady and are upset by the plan. They were told about the plan, and they said no and that it was better to make a copy and send that to China instead.

One of the members of the pavilion consortium, has said that should the Little Mermaid be moved, they would put a stand-in in her place. They are currently working with three Chinese sculptors to get their interpretation of the Little Mermaid. Their work is supposed to be displayed at Langelinie during the six months the statue is away.

WTF???

Don't take the little mermaid and give us chinese mermaids instead. The Little Mermaid belongs here goddamnit!

Who's the Boss!?Taming of the Shrew

Comments

gdare # 13. September 2008, 05:50

Plain stupidity

It would be like to dismantle Eifel tower, put it in some other part of the world and in its place put a copy of it. I admit, this is a "little bit" bigger project but in core this is the same. Why not to make a copy of it and place it in China (or wherever)? Or just make a big posters, 3D hologram or some other wonders of modern world.....

attilasoul # 13. September 2008, 05:52

The copyright owners has offered that they could make a copy of her instead - for some minor amount that I don't remember now.

The worst thing is the tourists coming here to see her - imagine the disappointment when they meet a sign "On vacation. Back in 6 months"....

gdare # 13. September 2008, 05:53

Exactly! Imagine Paris without tower, or Giza without pyramides

attilasoul # 13. September 2008, 06:21

I would have sued someone if the pyramids hadn't been there!

selurus # 13. September 2008, 06:31

The council should know their proposal is stupid. Imagine a chinese visiting to see the mermaid and instead finds a signboard "on vacation in China"

how silly is that

Cois # 13. September 2008, 09:48

Mik can't go on vacation..

clean # 13. September 2008, 10:05

They can leave The Little Mermaid where she is and send David Blaine to China dressed as a mermaid to pose perfectly still for six months - sounds like something he'd do ... !

theoddbod # 13. September 2008, 10:36

Er...according to Wikipedia, the statue itself isn't the original

rose-marie # 13. September 2008, 10:54

I agree that they could send a copy instead. That's what the Chinese have been doing with their terracotta army...

attilasoul # 13. September 2008, 11:58

@ Selurus ~ Excactly! I hope the last word isn't said in the case!

@ Cois ~ No, because he did not deserve one.

@ David ~ Great idea!

@ Mart ~ I just checked the Danish wikipedia and a couple of other Danish sites, but none of them mention if it's a copy or not. So I don't know.

@ Rose ~ It doesn't really make any sense to move her, now does it. At least not to me. It's part of her story to sit where she sits, looking for her prince.

Furie # 13. September 2008, 12:00

The original is kept by the sculptor's family and the one in the harbour is a copy. Sure, but the one in the harbour is the landmark known worldwide and is on my list of things to see before I admit mortality. To send it off would be bloody stupid. Make another copy and send that off to China.

attilasoul # 13. September 2008, 12:05

That's what the copyright owners suggested as well. Let's hope they'll listen to the people before they do something drastic. (As if they would listen...

)

wickedlizard # 13. September 2008, 12:21

that is so stupid!!! how dare they try to take it away... why??? it makes no sense!!!! let the chinese make their own - something original, not your country's sweet little landmark... and why is it so de-faced!!! why is it pink all of the sudden??

attilasoul # 13. September 2008, 12:24

It's not pink now, Isabel, it was some vandalism that happened some years ago. But yes, it seems ridiculous to move her - I wonder how they even get such an idiotic idea!

Furie # 13. September 2008, 12:51

It's pink as an International Women's Day stunt. This is exactly why women shouldn't get to decide what to do without a man to help them.

Spaggyj # 13. September 2008, 12:56

Darko, you make an excellent point. Nobody would expect other landmarks to have the same treatment! This is fucking ridiculous!

Moesring # 13. September 2008, 13:37

:joins the army of "Keep Tilla's mermaid in Denmark" supporters:

It's ridiculous to take away the original and leave Denmark with a Chinese imitation.

If the Chinese replacement is as good as the original, why not display that instead? If the substitute is inferior and it is displayed at Langelinie, it will be a disappointment for all who came to view the original.

b_laudanum # 13. September 2008, 15:16

Is that a statue? freaky! Seems a real person

dannii # 13. September 2008, 17:07

*steals lil' mermaid*

gdare # 13. September 2008, 17:15

*watching Dannii walking away with plastic replica*

I defended her one more time

Dacotah # 13. September 2008, 18:11

Hope it stays there.

wickedlizard # 13. September 2008, 18:50

let's start a petition and protect this landmark!

ripp2002 # 13. September 2008, 22:14

Ok, call me stupid but I say send the damn ugly hot pink thing to china; they might be able to wash her

I am sure they would respect her more than the people who seem to constantly deface her...

FXM256 # 14. September 2008, 03:00

Why don't they just listen to the copyright holders? They should respect the wishes of the people that don't want the statue moved. They could just leave it there and send a copy to China for 6 months instead.