Copenhagens Icon Little Mermaid Celebrates Her Centennial Birthday

24 Aug 2013

The city of Copenhagen threw a magnificent party to celebrate Little Mermaid’s centennial birthday. The party pulled together hundreds of visitors into a festive mood honoring the icon from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy-tale ‘Den lille havfrue’ (literally ‘The little Sea Lady’).

Visiting Denmark to see this 100 year old beauty is something everyone needs to invest in at least once.

Residents and tourists alike crammed under the late-summer sun, along Langelinie promenade and posed for pictures with the birthday girl and by the time the event began, the party scene was packed with tour busses continuing to unload additional partygoers.

A global icon with a small stature and a big reputation

Standing at just 1.25 meters, the Little Mermaid may be dwarfed by other European landmarks; nevertheless she has a place as one of Denmark’s most-regarded tourism sites. She is often characterized as intrinsically Danish, embracing the magic and fairytale mystique woven into Andersen’s stories.

Xinhua News Agency’s Chinese journalist Peter Yang said that she is a great symbol for Denmark and for everyone who grew up reading these fairy tales, the Little Mermaid symbolizes something magical. For every fan of the Little Mermaid, visiting Denmark is going down the memory-lane of their childhood.

The party has brought plenty of Danes to Langelinie as well. An 80-year-old Copenhagen resident, Egon Dahl, said that a lot of people come to see her every day, and it is only fitting to celebrate her like this as she is a very famous lady. During the event, the statue was repeatedly characterized as an important figure in Denmark’s identity around the world.

The Little Mermaid made her first trip abroad three years ago to Shanghai’s Expo 2010. That trip has secured Denmark’s place as a widely popular tourist destination for travelers from China.

Managing director of city tourism bureau Wonderful Copenhagen, Lars Bernhard Jørgensen said that compared to other great historical monuments around the world, the Little Mermaid may be a small artifact, but she captures both fairytale and history, which causes quite a stir outside of the borders of Denmark.

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