Buddy Bears are a series of painted, life-size fibreglass bear sculptures originally developed in Berlin, Germany. The first Buddy Bear was created by the German businesspeople Klaus and Eva Herlitz, in cooperation with the sculptor Roman Strobl in 2001.
The two concepts Buddy Bear and United Buddy Bears stand for two very different types of activity. The Buddy Bears are an urban event, comparable to other events with a great diversity of animal sculptures that bring new life into many city centres. The United Buddy Bears, however, are primarily about their message - a message of peace, international understanding and tolerance among the nations, cultures and religions of this world[1].
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The first activities were presented as the Buddy Bear Berlin Show. In 2001, artists painted approximately 350 bears to appear in the public domain, as decorative elements in the streets of Berlin. Four different bear designs (one standing on all four paws, one standing on two legs, one standing on its head and one in a sitting position) took part in this activity in the city centre of Berlin[2]. Afterwards, many of the bears were sold at auctions in aid of child relief organisations. Nowadays, these Berlin Buddy Bears are exclusively presented on private premises, in front of hotels and embassies as well as in the foyers of various office buildings.
There have already been exhibitions of the original Buddy Bears — designed by local artists — in the cities of Shanghai (2004), Buenos Aires (2005) and St. Gallen / Switzerland (2006).
The United Buddy Bears are an international art exhibition with more than 140 two metre tall fibreglass bears. Under the motto: We have to get to know each other better, it makes us understand one another better, trust each other more, and live together more peacefully more than 140 countries acknowledged by the United Nations are represented, promoting tolerance, international understanding and the great concept of different nations and cultures living in peace and harmony. The bears stand hand in hand in a peaceful circle.
One important prerequisite for this international unifying project is to choose artists from the individual countries — for the circle to reflect the diversity of the cultures of one world. The observer learns about the culture, the history, the people and the landscape of the individual countries — large or small. Hence the United Buddy Bears circle has become a platform for even the smallest and poorest countries which frequently remain unnoticed. Suddenly, they are equal to larger and often rich nations.
The bears were on display between June and November 2002, in a circle around the Brandenburg Gate. Around 1.5 million people visited this first exhibition.
On 6 November 2002, the bears were moved to new locations, including their respective countries embassies in Berlin, or back to country that they were based on. Some of the bears were auctioned off to raise money for UNICEF.
After the circle of "United Buddy Bears" had been such an overwhelming success in 2002, a new circle was created in 2003. The idea was to send the circle on a global tour[3].
On their global tour, the "United Buddy Bears" promote peace, love, tolerance and international understanding. The circle changes every time it reaches a new city. This is not only due to the local conditions, but also to their constantly changing order, as the bears are always set up in alphabetic order, following the local language of the host country. This always leads to new and sometimes politically very interesting proximities.
Entry to the exhibitions is always free. This makes it possible for many school classes to visit the exhibitions in the morning — as part of their lessons — to explore and learn a lot about the culture, history, landscape, economy and music of all five continents in a playful manner. During past exhibitions more than 25 million visitors have already admired the colourful United Buddy Bears.
In every metropolis, the United Buddy Bears exhibitions are supported by the government, the foreign ministries, the mayors and the UNICEF organisations. Heads of state - for example the Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, the German Federal President, Horst Köhler and First Lady of Egypt, Suzanne Mubarak as well as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors such as Sir Peter Ustinov[4], Jackie Chan[5], Christiane Hörbiger, Mia Farrow[6], Iris Berben and Ken Done have opened these exhibitions all over the world. United Buddy Bears Special Ambassador is the actress Dennenesch Zoudé[7].
The bears have been displayed at the following Stations since the beginning of the tour:
| Year | City / Country / Site of exhibition | Patron of the exhibition / Opening by |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 June - November |
Berlin / Germany, Right next to the Brandenburg Gate - Pariser Platz | Joschka Fischer, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Klaus Wowereit, Berlin’s Governing Mayor |
| 2003 July - November |
Berlin / Germany, Right next to the Brandenburg Gate - Pariser Platz | Sir Peter Ustinov, Actor and UNICEF World Ambassador |
| 2004 January - February |
Kitzbühel / Austria | Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Horst Wendling, Mayor of Kitzbühel |
| 2004 May - June |
Hong Kong / Hong Kong, Victoria Park | Jackie Chan, Actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Patrick Ho, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Home Affairs |
| 2004 / 2005 December - January |
Istanbul / Turkey, Tepebaşı Pera Square, Beyoğlu | Ahmet Misbah Demircan, Mayor of Beyoğlu Rainer Möckelmann, German General Consul in Istanbul |
| 2005 April - May |
Tokyo[8] / Japan, Roppongi Hills | Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan Horst Köhler, President of the Federal Republic of Germany |
| 2005 October - November |
Seoul / South Korea - Olympic Park | Messages of greeting from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Korea, Ban Ki-moon |
| 2006 March - April |
Sydney / Australia, Sydney Opera House – Circular Quay | John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia Ken Done, Artist and UNICEF Ambassador |
| 2006 June - July |
Berlin[9] / Germany, Bebelplatz | Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Karin Schubert, Mayor of Berlin Mia Farrow, American actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador |
| 2006 September - October |
Vienna / Austria, Karlsplatz | Grete Laska, Deputy Mayor of Vienna Karin Schubert, Mayor of Berlin Christiane Hörbiger, Film actress and UNICEF Ambassador |
| 2007 April - May |
Cairo[10] / Egypt, Gezira Promenade Zamalek | Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of Egypt Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former German Foreign Minister Abdel Azim Wazir, Governor of Cairo |
| 2007 August - September |
Jerusalem / Israel, Safra Square | Tzipi Livni, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Yigal Amedi, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Iris Berben, German actress and winners of the Women's World Award 2004 |
| 2008 May - June |
Warsaw / Poland, Castle Square | Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Mayor of the City of Warsaw Klaus Wowereit, Governing Mayor of Berlin Anne Hidalgo, First Deputy Mayor of Paris |
| 2008 July -August |
Stuttgart / Germany, Schlossplatz | Wolfgang Schuster, Lord Mayor of Stuttgart |
| 2008 October |
Pyongyang[11] / North Korea, Moran Hill Youth Park, close to the Kim-Il-Sung statue | Mun Jae Chol, Foreign Affairs of North-Korea Thomas Schäfer, German Ambassador in North Korea |
| 2009 March - April |
Buenos Aires[12] / Argentina, Plaza San Martin | Mauricio Macri, Mayor of Buenos Aires Hernán Lombardi, Minister for Cultural Affairs |
| 2009 May - June |
Montevideo[13] / Uruguay, Plaza Independencia | Tabaré Vázquez, President of Uruguay Ricardo Ehrlich, Mayor of Montevideo Bernhard Graf von Waldersee, German Ambassador in Uruguay |
| 2009 / 2010 November - April |
Berlin[14] / Germany, Hauptbahnhof, Indoor | Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Ministry of Family Affairs Dennenesch Zoudé, German actress and United Buddy Bears Special Ambassador |
| 2010 May - July |
Astana / Kazakhstan, Right next to the Bayterek Tower | Imangali Tasmagambetov, Akim of Astana Rainer Schlageter, German Ambassador in Kazakhstan |
| 2010 September - October |
Helsinki[15] / Finland, Senate Square | Jussi Pajunen, Mayor of Helsinki Peter Scholz, German Ambassador in Finland |
| 2011 April - May |
Sofia[16] / Bulgaria, Square St Nedelya | Yordanka Fandakova, Mayor of Sofia Klaus Wowereit, Berlin’s Governing Mayor Matthias Martin Höpfner, German Ambassador in Bulgaria |
| 2011 June - October |
Berlin[17] / Germany, Kurfürstendamm | Klaus Wowereit, Berlin’s Governing Mayor Monika Thiemen, Mayor of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf |
| 2011 / 2012 December - February |
Kuala Lumpur[18] / Malaysia, Right next to the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur | Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, Sultan of Selangor Ahmad Fuad Ismail, Mayor of Kuala Lumpur |
Since 2002, many artists have been able to come to Berlin thanks to the support of the two largest German airlines and the Hotel Association Berlin-Brandenburg. Many of these artists have not only designed a 2 metre tall bear, but also a smaller bear (1 metre) on behalf of their individual countries.
In the autumn of 2003, the circle of United Buddy Bears-The Minis — was presented in Berlin for the first time. Since then, this circle has been shown in Frankfurt/Main, in Potsdam and at the Sony Center in Berlin — to name just a few locations.
Buddy Bear activities and help for children in need have formed an inseparable unit. New United Buddy Bears are often designed to replace the previous unique sculpture of a particular country. Many countries are already represented with the third or fourth bear. The previous bears designed on behalf of the respective countries are generally sold at auctions.
A total of Euro 1,700,000 (as per November 2010) has so far been generated through donations and selling Buddy Bears at auction in aid of UNICEF and local organisations helping children in need.
