Copenhagen’s ‘Little Mermaid’ will swim to Shanghai

“The Little Mermaid” statue,  sculpted by Edvard Erichsen and inspired by a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen, has been the symbol of Copenhagen since she was placed in the harbor in 1913.  But don’t look for her there from April to November of next year because she’s going to Expo 2010 in Shanghai.

The beloved statue will grace the Mermaid Pool in the Danish Pavilion during the Shanghai world event while a sculpture by a Chinese artist stands in for her in Copenhagen.

Although visitors to the Danish capital are bound to miss her, she will doubtless get an eyeful at the Expo. Shanghai is reportedly spending more on the event than Beijing did on the 2008 Olympic Games for new subways, highways, buildings and hospitality campaigns urging the people of the city to give a warm welcome to guests, not least “The Little Mermaid.”

—By Susan Spano, Los Angeles Times staff writer

Photo: Copenhagen’s “Little Mermaid.” Credit: Jan M. Olsen/Associated Press

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Monday, August 31, 2009 at 10:17 am by Susan Spano and is filed under Asia, China, Europe, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.