Bruce Lee Statue-Off: Hong Kong Vs Bosnia

Typical. Nobody makes a statue of Bruce Lee for any of the 65 years since his birth, and then two come along at once. It just goes to show: Bruce Lee is like buses.

Obviously one of the statues is in Hong Kong, the birthplace of Bruce Lee. The other one is a little more obtuse - it’s in Bosnia.

Last weekend would have been the 65th birthday of Bruce Lee (DVDs), and to
commemorate that day, a weird little statue race took place between Hong
Kong and Bosnia to see who could unveil their Bruce Lee statue first.

The Hong Kong Bruce Lee statue stands two metres high, was paid for
by fans and stands overlooking Victoria harbour. It was unveiled in
front of a large crowd as Lee’s trademark movie howl rang out across
the harbour. Bruce’s brother Robert unveiled the statue and said:

"I
think he really deserves this. He always wanted to tell people what a
person can do to be able to express himself or herself (to) the
fullest."

Which would have been a lovely little was
to commemorate Bruce Lee, who died from brain swelling age 32 in 1973,
if only those pesky Bosnians didn’t get there first.

The world’s first statue commemorating Bruce Lee was unveiled in
Mostar one day before the Hong Kong statue. A Bosnian Bruce Lee statue
sounds weird, but there are genuine reasons for it - other than taking
the piss out of Hong Kong a bit, obviously. Bruce Lee was chosen by
Bosnians as a symbol of ethnic unity. Nino Raspudic of the Urban
Movement of Mostar said:

"We initiated this long before Hong Kong. I am sure they did not have
as many problems as we did in securing the permits… but it all turned
out well. It’s cool that we will be the first and Hong Kong the second."

It was the 65th birthday of Chuck Norris in March, and nobody even built one statue of him. He must be one angry mutha.

Read more:

Hong Kong’s Tribute To Bruce Lee - BBC

[story by Stuart Heritage]