Copenhagen votes to let Little Mermaid travel to Shanghai

Copenhagen’s city council has voted to allow the port’s famous Little Mermaid statue to travel to Shanghai for the 2010 World Expo.

The decision is contentious in Denmark, where Edvard Eriksen’s 1913 sculpture is considered a national treasure. The work is to be the centrepiece of the Danish pavilion in Shanghai surrounded by water flown in from the port. Locals are worried about the loss of income if she travels to Shanghi. One shop owner said: “We live from her, from the tourists – they make up 80 percent of our customers. If they disappear with her for most of 2010, then it’s hard to see where the money’s going to come from.” She is not alone, in a recent poll six out of 10 Danes believe the Mermaid should remain in her rightful place.

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