I just had to post some pictures of these. They were being set up when we saw them, and I've had to Google them to find out what its all about.
They are called United Buddy Bears, and it was originally an art project, called Buddy Bears, celebrating the twin town status between Paris & Berlin. The original Buddy Bears are an urban project, and there are many bears all around Berlin, and there have also been touring exhibitions.
Here is the Wikipedia quote on The United Buddy Bears:
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.
There are a few gaps in the line at this stage, as apparently, at each exhibition site the bears are set out in alphabetical order, in the language of the country they are in, so the order constantly changes.
Doug was really taken with this one:
There is an incredible amount of detail gone into the collage work on this bear, which having zoomed into it, actually appears to be the French bear.
