United Buddy Bears

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 Bears 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]

Buddy Bears on the streets and squares of Berlin

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.^[3] 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).

United Buddy Bears - The Art of Tolerance

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 (The Art of Tolerance^[4]).

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.

United Buddy Bears - Worldtour

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.^[5]

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 30 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,^[6] Jackie Chan,^[7] Christiane Hörbiger, Mia Farrow,^[8] Iris Berben and Ken Done have opened these exhibitions all over the world. United Buddy Bears Special Ambassador is the actress Dennenesch Zoudé.^[9]

The bears have been displayed at the following Stations since the beginning of the tour:

Year	Country / City Site of exhibition	Patron of the exhibition / Opening by
2002 June - November	Germany Berlin, Right next to the Brandenburg Gate - Pariser Platz	Joschka Fischer, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Klaus Wowereit, Berlin’s Governing Mayor
2003 July - November	Germany Berlin, Right next to the Brandenburg Gate - Pariser Platz	Sir Peter Ustinov, Actor and UNICEF World Ambassador
2004 January - February	Austria Kitzbühel	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	Turkey Istanbul, Tepebaşı Pera Square, Beyoğlu	Ahmet Misbah Demircan, Mayor of Beyoğlu Rainer Möckelmann, German General Consul in Istanbul
2005 April - May	Japan Tokyo,[10] Roppongi Hills	Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan Horst Köhler, President of the Federal Republic of Germany
2005 October - November	South Korea Seoul, Olympic Park	Messages of greeting from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Korea, Ban Ki-moon
2006 March - April	Australia Sydney, Sydney Opera House – Circular Quay	John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia Ken Done, Artist and UNICEF Ambassador
2006 June - July	Germany Berlin,[11] 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	Austria Vienna, Karlsplatz	Grete Laska, Deputy Mayor of Vienna Karin Schubert, Mayor of Berlin Christiane Hörbiger, Film actress and UNICEF Ambassador
2007 April - May	Egypt Cairo,[12] 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	Israel Jerusalem, 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	Poland Warsaw, 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	Germany Stuttgart, Schlossplatz	Wolfgang Schuster, Lord Mayor of Stuttgart
2008 October	North Korea Pyongyang,[13] 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	Argentina Buenos Aires,[14] Plaza San Martin	Mauricio Macri, Mayor of Buenos Aires Hernán Lombardi, Minister for Cultural Affairs
2009 May - June	Uruguay Montevideo,[15] Plaza Independencia	Tabaré Vázquez, President of Uruguay Ricardo Ehrlich, Mayor of Montevideo Bernhard Graf von Waldersee, German Ambassador in Uruguay
2009 / 2010 November - April	Germany Berlin,[16] Hauptbahnhof, Indoor	Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Ministry of Family Affairs Dennenesch Zoudé, German actress and United Buddy Bears Special Ambassador
2010 May - July	Kazakhstan Astana, Right next to the Bayterek Tower	Imangali Tasmagambetov, Akim of Astana Rainer Schlageter, German Ambassador in Kazakhstan
2010 September - October	Finland Helsinki,[17] Senate Square	Jussi Pajunen, Mayor of Helsinki Peter Scholz, German Ambassador in Finland
2011 April - May	Bulgaria Sofia,[18] Square St Nedelya	Yordanka Fandakova, Mayor of Sofia Klaus Wowereit, Berlin’s Governing Mayor Matthias Martin Höpfner, German Ambassador in Bulgaria
2011 June - October	Germany Berlin,[19] Kurfürstendamm	Klaus Wowereit, Berlin’s Governing Mayor Monika Thiemen, Mayor of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
2011 / 2012 December - February	Malaysia Kuala Lumpur,[20][21] Right next to the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur[22]	Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, Sultan of Selangor Ahmad Fuad Ismail, Mayor of Kuala Lumpur
2012 March - May	India New Delhi,[23][24] Connaught Place	Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi Klaus Wowereit, Berlin’s Governing Mayor
2012 June - August	Russia Saint Petersburg,[25][26] Alexander Garden, right next to the Palace Square	Vladimir Putin, President of Russia Joachim Gauck, President of Germany[27]
2012 October–November	France Paris[28][29][30] / Eiffel Tower - Champ de Mars	Guido Westerwelle, German Minister of Foreign Affairs Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris Pierre Schapira, Member of the European Parliament
2014 May - July	Brazil Rio de Janeiro,[31] Copacabana	Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro Jürgen Trittin, German Federal Ministry for the Environment from 1998-2005 Harald Klein, German General Consul in Rio de Janeiro
2015 January - March	Cuba Havana,[32][33][34] Plaza San Francisco de Asis[35]	Eusebio Leal, Ambassador of Good Will of the United Nations Peter Scholz, German Ambassador in Cuba Eva and Klaus Herlitz, the initiators of the United Buddy Bears activities
2015 April - June	Chile Santiago de Chile, Vitacura, Parque Bicentenario	Hans Henning Blomeyer-Bartenstein, German Ambassador in Chile Eva and Klaus Herlitz, the initiators of the United Buddy Bears activities

Particular highlights with a political dimension

• 2003 Berlin: Having visited the exhibition in Berlin in 2002, Sir Peter Ustinov insisted that Iraq should be represented in the circle of United Buddy Bears in the future. In 2003, Iraq took part in the circle for the first time and Ustinov gave the opening address of the exhibition in the presence of more than 70 ambassadors.

• 2004 Hong Kong: Jackie Chan saw the exhibition in Berlin in 2003. On his initiative, the international bears travelled to Hong Kong one year later. Chan became the patron for this event. More than 3,000 VIPs from the world of politics, business and culture took part in the opening ceremony.^[36]

• 2005 Seoul: In the run-up to the exhibition in South Korea, two artists got the permission to travel from North Korea to Germany via Beijing in order to design a United Buddy Bear in Berlin on behalf of their country. Hence it was possible that both North- and South Korea stood together hand in hand for the first time during an art exhibition.

• 2007 Jerusalem: All countries of the Arab World were represented in the circle of 132 nations, with a Palestinian bear on an equal footing with all the other bears for the first time^[37] in Jerusalem.^[38]

• 2008 Pyongyang: It was the first exhibition in North Korea that was accessible for everyone and open to everybody. According to official information, around 100,000 visitors were counted every week in Pyongyang.

• 2012 Paris: United Buddy Bears are on show near the Eiffel Tower to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the twinning of Paris and Berlin and the 50th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty which marked the official reconciliation between France and Germany after world war two.

• 2014 Rio de Janeiro: From May till July the famous United Buddy Bears exhibit has found its way to the shores of Rio de Janeiro just in time for the 2014 soccer World Cup. The exhibition was held on the Copacabana promenade, which attracted more than 1,000,000 people. The presentation consisted of more than 140 bear sculptures, each two metres high and designed by a different artist.^[39]

• 2015 Havana: "Germany sends peace message through sculptures in Cuba".^[40] 124 bears are standing "hand in hand" on the square "Plaza San Francisco de Asis". They were designed by 124 artists and represent 124 countries. All these countries – large or small, poor or rich - are placed together at the same level, including the USA and Cuba! All these countries are reaching out – for tolerance, peace and democracy.^[41]

United Buddy Bears - The Minis

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. Since 2012, they have also been travelling to destinations outside of Germany, e.g. Bratislava in  Slovakia, Borås^[42] in  Sweden and Yekaterinburg in  Russia.^[43]

Aid for Children in Need

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 2,000,000 (as per November 2013) has so far been generated through donations and selling Buddy Bears at auction in aid of UNICEF and local organisations helping children in need.

Artists from all over the world

In the early years, the Bears were designed by regional artists and Berlin celebrities for the exhibition Art in the City.^[44] From 2002 onwards, thanks to support from Lufthansa, Air Berlin and the Berlin Hotel Association, artists from all five continents took part in the international project United Buddy Bears. More than 240 artists from over 150 countries have taken part in this project to date,^[45] such as, for example Arik Brauer, Hernando León, Ibrahim Hazimeh, Carlos Páez Vilaró, Seo Soo-Kyoung, Helge Leiberg, Leda Luss Luyken – this is also echoed by the artist and UNICEF Australian National Ambassador, Ken Done.

Bibliography

• Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, Buddy Bear Berlin Show. NeptunArt Publisher, 2001. ISBN 3-85820-152-9.
• Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — Die Kunst der Toleranz. Bostelmann & Siebenhaar Publishers, 2003. ISBN 3-936962-00-6.
• Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — World Tour. NeptunArt Publisher, 2006. ISBN 3-85820-189-8.
• Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — The Art of Tolerance. 384 pages, English/German, December 2009, ISBN 978-3-00-029417-4.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to United Buddy Bears.

• United Buddy Bears website (English)
• Classic Buddy Bears home page
• The Golden Buddy Bears
• Jackie Chan and the United Buddy Bears
• United Buddy Bears: in Hong Kong, in Sydney, in Cairo, in Jerusalem, in Seoul
• Buddy Bears in: Bern, Switzerland, Shanghai, St.Gallen, Switzerland