Denmark's 95 year old national monument inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, the Little Mermaid, is moving to Shanghai to be exhibited for six months in the Danish pavilion at the 2010 World Expo, and Danish lawmakers are not happy. While the government thinks the little mermaid which attracts 3 million visitors annually would be able to give Denmark's brand a push and draw tourism from China, the Right Wing populist Danish People's party, leader of the thid largest faction in parliament will have none of it and has planned to block the trip.
Said Karin Nødgaard, chairwoman of the party's cultural committee:
"It's a grotesque idea to send our national pride and joy to Asia... No one would come up with the idea of lending out New York's Statue of Liberty."
Business owners around the Little Mermaid's spot in Copenhagen also aren't too excited about the idea:
``Many people here depend on the mermaid,'' said Karina Nielsen, who runs a harbor store selling snacks and miniature mermaid statues to tourists. ``We would need something like the Eiffel Tower as a replacement.''
A Canadian retiree in Copenhagen chimes in:
``The mermaid really represents Copenhagen,'' says Eleanor Liboiron, 70, a Canadian retiree, gazing at the figure. ``The first thing tourists do is walk down here.''
The designer who conceptualised the Danish pavilion explains his decision to move the real statue:
``It would be disrespectful to send a copy of the mermaid,'' said Bjarke Ingels, the architect behind the project. ``This is an exchange of culture and we want to present to the Chinese people the finest we can offer.''
Ingels' idea was to have the mermaid sit in a pavilion surrounded by a pool of sea water imported from the Copenhagen harbour (you can't find clean seawater in Shanghai, you see). Guests to the pavilion would be able to borrow swim suits, take a dip, and even ride bicycles on lanes similar to those you find in Copenhagen. Nice idea, but most of the Danes don't buy it, it seems. In an Internet poll of 5,647 respondents on the website of Danish broadcaster TV2, 69% of people voted against it.
Photo of the Little Mermaid from julienpons.
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I don't see the controversy here.
Send a copy mermaid.
The Danes need their original to keep tourism healthy in Denmark and the Chinese are simply used to and are indifferent to fakes anyway.
This seems strange to me too. Would anyone in China really care that they were not seeing the real Little Mermaid?
a remake would give them a chance to shave a few pounds off that sea cow.
What, China suddenly has a problem with knock-offs? Make a copy!
a remake would give them a chance to shave a few pounds off that sea cow.
Who would borrow a swimsuit from an Expo pavilion? It must also be an exhibition about STDs
Your comments are all so tolerant, it's really nice to see. But we need to send you the real thing! Actually, it's a silly, sexist little statue. I wish we were sending something better for Expo.
Denmark sends one Little Mermaid to China and gets back 2 million Little Mermaids. That's how the global economy works.
OMG! OMG! She is nude! Cover your eyes!
The Mermaid is an antique piece of art (95 years old) which represent Danish pride. To send a fake one to China for the exhibition is an insult to all antiques lovers.
The Folkpartiet (People's Party) is xenophobic and reactionary. It represents racists, conservative farmers, and cynical business folk who like that it holds back social services in order to reduce taxes. The FP gives a really hard time to non-Danes in Denmark, including Asian residents. It's a poor representative of Danish culture and values.
This is truly a tempest in a teacup!
The Little Mermaid China is receiving is actually a copy of an earlier statue that was blown up as a prank, causing a great deal of consternation in Denmark.
The Danes consider this one authentic as it is modeled exactly on the old one from the artist's notes. Unlike other cultures, the Danes do not trade in copies or replicas.
The beautiful Danish Pavilion is quite remarkable for two other reasons:
First, it contains a large swimming pool of water from Copenhagen Harbor, clean enough to swim in -- a prod to the Shanghai authorities to ensure the same for its residents. Second, it comes with 1,500 of Denmark's uniquely designed, excellent bicycles which Expo visitors can ride around the park. Obviously, the Danes, traders since Viking days, see opportunity here.
Bjarke Ingels, the Danish Pavilion architect, at a recent conference summed up the Little Mermaid (known in Danish as "Lille Halvfrue") decision this way: "We are a small nation of only 5 million people. We warmly welcome Chinese guests. But in practical terms, it's better to send one Little Mermaid to China, to be seen by 70 million Chinese there, than to have 70 million Chinese come to Copenhagen to see her here."
You can read the TV2 debate about moving the Little Mermaid here:
http://1234-dyn.tv2.dk/article.php/id-15409664.html
Use Google Language Tools to translate the entire page from Danish to the language of your choice. GLT is here:
http://www.google.com/language_tools
As with so many forum discussions, this one quickly degenerates into sloganeering -- but there are some gems among the rubble.
@ Bob Jacobson
There is still not going to be a US pavilion, give it up.