United Buddy Bears Explained

Buddy Bears are painted, life-size fiberglass bear sculptures developed by German businesspeople Klaus and Eva Herlitz, in cooperation with sculptor Roman Strobl. They have become a landmark of Berlin and are considered unofficial ambassadors of Germany. The outstretched arms of the standing Buddy Bear symbolise friendliness and optimism.[1] The first bears were displayed at an artistic event in Berlin in 2001.[2]

Buddy Bear Berlin Show

The first activities were presented as the Buddy Bear Berlin Show. In 2001, artists painted approximately 350 bears to appear as decorative elements in the streets of Berlin.[3] 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) were placed in the historic center of Berlin.[4] Afterwards, many of the bears were sold at auctions in aid of local child relief nonprofits.

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 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

United Buddy Bears is an international art exhibition with more than 145 2m (07feet)-tall fiberglass 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[5]). 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 the country that they were based on. Some of the bears were auctioned off to raise money for UNICEF.

After the success of the first exhibition, a new circle was created in 2003. The idea was to send the circle on a global tour.[6] The circle changes when it reaches a new city, as the bears are always set up in alphabetic order, following the local language of the host country. Entry to the exhibitions is always free. In every metropolis, the United Buddy Bears exhibitions are supported by the government, the foreign ministries, the mayors, local nonprofits, and UNICEF. The bears have been displayed at the following locations since the beginning of the tour:

Year Country / city
site of exhibition 		Patron of the exhibition / opening by
2002
June – November 		Joschka Fischer, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs
Klaus Wowereit, Berlin's Governing Mayor
2003
July – November
Berlin, next to the Brandenburg Gate – Pariser Platz 		Sir Peter Ustinov, actor and UNICEF World Ambassador
Dan Coats, U.S. Ambassador to Germany
2004
January – February 		Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Horst Wendling, Mayor of Kitzbühel
2004
May – June 		Jackie Chan, actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
Patrick Ho, Hong Kong's Secretary for Home Affairs
2004 / 2005
December – January 		Ahmet Misbah Demircan, Mayor of Beyoğlu
Rainer Möckelmann, German General Consul in Istanbul
2005
April – May 		Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan
Horst Köhler, President of the Federal Republic of Germany
2005
October – November 		Messages of greeting from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Korea, Ban Ki-moon
2006
March – April 		John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia
Ken Done, artist and UNICEF Ambassador
2006
June – July
2006
September – October 		Grete Laska, Deputy Mayor of Vienna
Karin Schubert, Mayor of Berlin
Christiane Hörbiger, film actress and UNICEF Ambassador
2007
April – May
2007
August – September 		Tzipi Livni, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel
Yigal Amedi, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem
Iris Berben, German actress and winner of the Women's World Award 2004
2008
May – June
2008
July -August 		Wolfgang Schuster, Lord Mayor of Stuttgart
2008
October 		Mun Jae Chol, Foreign Affairs of North-Korea
Thomas Schäfer, German Ambassador in North Korea
2009
March – April 		Mauricio Macri, Mayor of Buenos Aires
Hernán Lombardi, Minister for Cultural Affairs
2009
May – June 		Tabaré Vázquez, President of Uruguay
Ricardo Ehrlich, Mayor of Montevideo
Bernhard Graf von Waldersee, German Ambassador in Uruguay
2009 / 2010
November – April
Berlin,[13] Hauptbahnhof,[14] Indoor 		Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Ministry of Family Affairs
Dennenesch Zoudé, German actress and United Buddy Bears Special Ambassador
2010
May – July 		Imangali Tasmagambetov, Akim of Astana
Rainer Schlageter, German Ambassador in Kazakhstan
2010
September – October 		Jussi Pajunen, Mayor of Helsinki
Peter Scholz, German Ambassador in Finland
2011
April – May 		Yordanka Fandakova, Mayor of Sofia
Klaus Wowereit, Berlin's Governing Mayor
Matthias Martin Höpfner, German Ambassador in Bulgaria
2011
June – October 		Klaus Wowereit, Berlin's Governing Mayor
Monika Thiemen, Mayor of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
2011 / 2012
December – February
Kuala Lumpur,[18] [19] next to Pavilion Kuala Lumpur[20] 		Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, Sultan of Selangor
Ahmad Fuad Ismail, Mayor of Kuala Lumpur
2012
March – May 		Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi
Klaus Wowereit, Berlin's Governing Mayor
2012
June – August 		Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
Joachim Gauck, President of Germany[25]
2012
October–November 		Guido Westerwelle, German Minister of Foreign Affairs
Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris
Pierre Schapira, Member of the European Parliament
2014
May – July 		Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro
Jürgen Trittin, German Federal Ministry for the Environment from 1998 to 2005
Harald Klein, German General Consul in Rio de Janeiro
2015
January – March
Havana,[29] [30] [31] Plaza San Francisco de Asis[32] 		Eusebio Leal, Ambassador of Goodwill 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 		Heraldo Muñoz Valenzuela, Foreign Affairs Minister of Chile
Hans Henning Blomeyer-Bartenstein, German Ambassador in Chile
2016
August – October
George Town, Esplanade[33] [34] 		Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of Penang
2017 / 2018
December – January
Berlin, Walter-Benjamin-Platz[35] 		Marianne von Weizsäcker, Patron of the exhibition
Sawsan Chebli, Berlin (Senat)
2018
July – August
Riga, Dome Square[36] 		Dace Melbārde, Latvian Culture Minister
Nils Ušakovs, Riga City Mayor
2019
April – May
Antigua,[37] Plaza Mayor[38] 		Sandra Jovel, Foreign Affairs Minister of Guatemala
Susana Asencio Lueg, Mayor of Antigua
Harald Klein, German Ambassador in Guatemala
2019
May – June
Guatemala City, Plaza de la Constitución 		Sandra Jovel, Foreign Affairs Minister of Guatemala
Ricardo Quiñónez Lemus, Mayor of Guatemala City
Eva Herlitz und Harald Klein
2020/ 2023
July – September 		Franziska Giffey, German Minister for Family Affairs
Michael Müller, Governing Mayor of Berlin
Klaus and Eva Herlitz
2024
Mai–Juli 		Urška Klakočar Zupančič, Speaker of the National Assembly
Zoran Janković, Mayor of Ljubljana
Natalie Kauther, German ambassador
Klaus Herlitz

Highlights

The Minis

In the autumn of 2003, the circle of United Buddy Bears-The Minis was presented in Berlin for the first time.[50] Since then, this circle has been shown in Frankfurt/Main, in Potsdam and at the Sony Center in Berlin, as well as destinations outside of Germany, including Bratislava in Slovakia, Calais in France, and Yekaterinburg and Kazan in Russia.[51] [52]

Aid for children in need

, donations and proceeds from the sale of Buddy Bears at auction had generated a total of Euro 2,500,000 in support of UNICEF and local nonprofits that help children in need.[53]

Involved artists

In the early years, the Bears were designed by regional artists and Berlin celebrities for the exhibition Art in the City.[54] 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,[55] such as Arik Brauer, René Cadena Ayala, Hernando León, Ibrahim Hazimeh, Carlos Páez Vilaró, Seo Soo-Kyoung, Helge Leiberg, Leda Luss Luyken, Ludmila Seefried-Matějková. This is also echoed by the artist and UNICEF Australian National Ambassador, Ken Done.

Publications

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Three artists awarded at buddy bear art competition. vietnambrief.com.
  2. Web site: Kapellhaus hosts "Buddy Bear" award ceremony. 11 February 2016. www.azernews.az. 7 September 2018.
  3. Eva and Klaus Herlitz: Buddy Bear Berlin, 2012,
  4. http://www.fruitsq.com/gs/berlin/buddy.html Buddy Bears on the streets of Berlin
  5. Web site: The Art of Tolerance. 9 November 2012 . 30 September 2014.
  6. Web site: Global Tour . Buddy-baer.com . 2012-02-10.
  7. Web site: Tokyo 2005 . Afactor.net . 2007-11-13 . 2012-02-10.
  8. Web site: Berlin 2006 . Pbase.com . 2012-02-10.
  9. Web site: Cairo 2007 . Jackiechankids.com . 2012-02-10.
  10. Web site: Pyongyang 2008 . Theseoultimes.com . 2012-02-10.
  11. Web site: Buenos Aires 2009 . Gabrielrobledo.com.ar . 2012-02-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110820113739/http://www.gabrielrobledo.com.ar/gallery/main.php/item/UnitedBuddyBears/ . 2011-08-20 .
  12. Web site: Montevideo 2009 . Elpais.com.uy . 2012-02-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120223233158/http://www.elpais.com.uy/especiales/galerias/vergaleria.asp?gal_id=532 . 2012-02-23 . dead .
  13. Web site: Berlin – Hauptbahnhof 2010 . 2012-02-10.
  14. Web site: 26 December 2009 . The United Buddy Bears - The Art of Tolerance . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180907221531/http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-374508 . 7 September 2018 . 7 September 2018 . CNN iReport.
  15. Web site: Photo blog: United Buddy Bears in Helsinki 2010. 30 September 2014.
  16. Web site: Video:United Buddy Bears in Sofia, Bulgaria . Downpourbg.com . 2011-04-11 . 2012-02-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120218075937/http://downpourbg.com/me4et/ . 2012-02-18 .
  17. Web site: Berlin 2011 . Grotte47.blog.de . 2012-02-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140530042403/http://grotte47.blog.de/2011/08/03/united-buddy-baers-gast-kudamm-11599926/ . 2014-05-30 .
  18. Web site: New Straits Times, 15 December 2011: "Buddy Bears promote global understanding". 30 September 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141006203340/http://www2.nst.com.my/streets/central/buddy-bears-promote-global-understanding-1.19397. 6 October 2014.
  19. Web site: Video: United Buddy Bears in Kuala Lumpur . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/vNtc5VF-2v4 . 2021-12-21 . live. YouTube . 2011-12-16 . 2012-04-07.
  20. Web site: Khairir . Ihsan . United Buddy Bears in Kuala Lumpur . Ihsankhairir.blogspot.com . 2012-01-19 . 2012-02-10.
  21. Web site: New Delhi 2012. The Hindu. 30 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20120510185703/http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/society/article3265709.ece. 10 May 2012. dead. dmy-all.
  22. Web site: Bears of the world unite. Deccan Herald. 4 April 2012 . 30 September 2014.
  23. Web site: The St. Petersburg Times, July 4, 2012. 30 September 2014.
  24. Web site: United Buddy Bears in Saint Petersburg 2012. - – Projekte – Официальный сайт Года Германии в России / Offizielle Webseite des Deutschlandjahres in Russland. 30 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20130704110411/http://germanyinrussia.ru/projects/cities/24/138?lang=de. 4 July 2013. dead. dmy-all.
  25. Web site: Проекты - Goethe-Institut Russland. www.goethe.de. 7 September 2018.
  26. Web site: Paris, Champ de Mars 2012 – Video. Dailymotion. 12 October 2012 . 30 September 2014.
  27. Web site: French Embassy in Berlin: "Berliner Buddy Bären unter dem Eiffelturm". Frankreich in Deutschland. 30 September 2014. 13 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140313214017/http://www.ambafrance-de.org/Berliner-Buddy-Baren-unter-dem. dead.
  28. Web site: United Buddy Bears in Paris 2012. 30 September 2014.
  29. Web site: United Buddy Bears in Havana » LaHabana.com. 1 February 2015. 7 September 2018.
  30. Web site: Latin American Herald Tribune - Germany to Pack Havana with More Than 100 Bear Sculptures. laht.com. 7 September 2018. 28 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150128112853/http://laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2366782&CategoryId=13003. dead.
  31. Web site: Germany's United Buddy Bear Expo debuts in Havana. 17 January 2015 . 7 September 2018.
  32. Web site: Bears in Havana: Another Step for Tolerance. January 16, 2015.
  33. Web site: bernama.com: "Bear Replica Exhibition In Penang From Aug–Oct".
  34. Web site: United Buddy Bears Penang. 7 September 2018. 14 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170414030610/http://www.ubbpenang.com/world-tour.php. dead.
  35. Web site: Berlin's Buddy Bears: Holding Hands for Tolerance – The Binge. 12 December 2017. 7 September 2018. 27 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171227180610/http://www.the-binge.com/2017/12/12/berlins-buddy-bears-holding-hands-for-tolerance/. dead.
  36. Web site: 149 buddy bears to storm Latvia for charity. 7 September 2018.
  37. Web site: Los 144 osos que promoverán la convivencia, el respeto y la tolerancia estarán en junio en la Ciudad de Guatemala – Prensa Libre. 21 January 2019 .
  38. Web site: La exposición de Osos Buddy en Antigua Guatemala que debes ver. Henry. Pocasangre. República.gt.
  39. https://www.24ur.com/novice/slovenija/145-dvometrskih-medvedov-prvic-na-trgu-republike.html 24ur, 30. Mai 2024:145 dvometrskih medvedov prvič na Trgu republike
  40. Web site: China-Net, 2003-7-29: "Ustinov gave the opening address of the exhibition in the presence of more than 70 ambassadors". 7 September 2018. 2016-10-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20161012071808/http://www.buddy-baer.com/uploads/media/presse_179.jpg. dead.
  41. Web site: Madeline Chan . Hong Kong 2004 . Worldisround.com . 2012-02-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120204064701/http://www.worldisround.com/articles/48301/index.html . February 4, 2012 .
  42. Web site: United Buddy Bears Seoul Festival 2005. 7 September 2018. 12 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161012071836/http://www.buddy-baer.com/uploads/media/presse_619.jpg. dead.
  43. The Jerusalem Post, Tuesday, July 31, 2007, P. 7 (NEWS): "Jerusalem bears down for international exhibition" by Yaffi Spodek
  44. Web site: United Buddy Bears in Jerusalem . Ubb.jerusalem.muni.il . 2012-02-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070904152524/http://www.ubb.jerusalem.muni.il/ . 2007-09-04 .
  45. Web site: The Seoul Times. theseoultimes.com. 7 September 2018.
  46. Web site: Buddy Bears welcome Rio World Cup, May 2nd, 2014. 30 September 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20160811040218/http://english.cntv.cn/2014/05/02/VIDE1399029005071420.shtml. 11 August 2016. dead. dmy-all.
  47. Web site: IANSlive: "Germany sends peace message through sculptures in Cuba". https://web.archive.org/web/20160307063640/http://iansplus.net/index.php?param=news%2Fgermany_sends_peace_message_through_sculptures_in_cuba-459762%2Faids-404591%2Ffeatures%20analyses. dead. March 7, 2016.
  48. Web site: UNITED BUDDY BEARS IN CUBA | Arte por Excelencias. www.arteporexcelencias.com.
  49. Web site: 128 "United Buddy Bears" Arrive in Havana . 2015-02-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150204164604/https://es-us.noticias.yahoo.com/video/128-united-buddy-bears-arrive-214022158.html . 2015-02-04 . dead .
  50. Web site: Berlin: Bears as Ambassadors for Tolerance - DW - 22.04.2016. DW.COM. 7 September 2018.
  51. Web site: United Buddy Bears (The Minis) in Yekaterinburg, 2013.. 30 September 2014. 11 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140111144847/http://ekbnews.tv/2013/06/21/medvedi-na-ulitse.shtml. dead.
  52. Web site: Эфир / Телеканал. kzn.tv. 7 September 2018. 12 July 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150712065038/http://kzn.tv/kzntube/united-buddy-bears-114-medvedejj-iz-raznykh-stran-privezli-v-kazan/. dead.
  53. Web site: Buddy Bears - Charity Activities - Overview. www.buddy-baer.com. 7 September 2018.
  54. Eva und Klaus Herlitz: Buddy Bär Berlin Show, page 20, 21 ff, Neptun Verlag AG, CH-8280 Kreuzlingen, .
  55. Eva und Klaus Herlitz: United Buddy Bears — The Art of Tolerance, Page 52 – 357, Berlin, 2009/10, .

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