The Great Singapore 'Bear'

Where's the S'pore bear?
UN organiser disappointed S'pore not taking part in 142-nation bear exhibition
By Mindy Tan (the new paper)
September 07, 2006

ONCE upon a time, there were 142 bears.There was a Malaysian bear, a Thai bear, a Vietnamese bear and many more from all over the world.
Bears standing in a circle in alphabetical order by country name in Berlin's historic Bebelplatz in July.

But the Singapore bear was not among them.

So the poor Singapore bear missed out when the painted fibreglass bears travelled all over the world and raised over 1.18 million euros ($2.36 million) for United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).
The bears representing 142 UN member countries are part of the United Buddy Bear (UBB) public art exhibition.
The countries paid 2,500 euros each for a bear to be represented in Berlin, Germany.
After the Berlin stop, the exhibition moves to Vienna, Austria, this month.
Each country had to send an artist to paint the bear. It also had to cover the artist's expenses. (See report on facing page.)
The UBB exhibition has been travelling around the world since 2002.
Dr Klaus Herlitz, a German, who conceived the idea in 2002, said it has been seen by 12 million people in eight cities including Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Britain's Buddy Bear is dressed as a sheikh draped with the Union Jack.
And 1.5 million visitors saw it in Germany during the football World Cup in June.
The bears stood alphabetically, hand-in-hand, in a circle in Berlin's historic Bebelplatz.
The participating countries submitted their bears painted in their country's own art styles.

LOST OPPORTUNITY? So did Singapore miss out on a great opportunity?

The reason could be Singapore's SingArt Lion project, launched in 2004, which the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the National Arts Council (NAC) chose to concentrate on.
Sixty fibreglass lions painted by local celebrities, including photographer Russel Wong, Raffles Holdings chief executive and president Jennie Chua and plastic surgeon Woffles Wu, were part of a public art display then.
Like the UBB exhibition, they were auctioned to raise funds for charity. The starting bid for a lion was $8,888.
When contacted, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spoke on behalf of the NAC, the STB and the Singapore Embassy in Berlin.
An MFA spokesman confirmed that UBB organisers had approached the Singapore Embassy in Berlin. The matter was then referred to the NAC and the STB.
'After due consideration, the NAC and the STB decided that it would be better to concentrate their efforts and resources on promoting Singapore's own SingArt Lion project,' he said.
In an e-mail reply to The New Paper, Dr Herlitz said: 'We are proud that 142 United Nations member states were represented in the circle in Berlin.

'Unfortunately, Singapore was not part of it.

'The matter would be less of an issue if smaller countries, for example, San Marino, were not represented. But it is a great pity if Singapore does not participate.'
One disappointed visitor was university student Madari Math Ly Haroun, 27. The German has been to Singapore.

At the exhibition, he said: 'I was looking out for South-east Asian bears and was surprised that Singapore was left out.

'Cambodia's bear was intricately painted with a picture of Angkor Wat. I wonder what a Singapore bear would have looked like?'

NOT TOO LATE

But it is not too late. The offer for Singapore to enter its bear is still open.
Dr Herlitz added: 'Maybe it would be possible to show the exhibition in Singapore one day, in a central location of the city.'

Singapore, no more disappointment!
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I present you...................

the GREAT SINGAPORE BEAR!
(yep, the one in the blue shirt!)

PS: I bring this to sleep every nite ;)