United Buddy Bears

Sculpture series

Buddy Bears are painted, life size fiberglass bear sculptures developed by German businesspeople Klaus and Eva Herlitz, in cooperation with sculptor Roman Strobl. They have become a landmark of Berlin and are considered unofficial ambassadors of Germany. The outstretched arms of the standing Buddy Bear symbolise friendliness and optimism. The first bears were displayed at an artistic event in Berlin in 2001.

The first activities were presented as the Buddy Bear Berlin Show. In 2001, artists painted approximately 350 bears to appear as decorative elements in the streets of Berlin. Four different bear designs (one standing on all four paws, one standing on two legs, one standing on its head, and one in a sitting position) were placed in the historic center of Berlin. Afterwards, many of the bears were sold at auctions in aid of local child relief nonprofits. Nowadays, these Berlin Buddy Bears are exclusively presented on private premises, in front of hotels and embassies, as well as in the foyers of various office buildings. There have been exhibitions of the original Buddy Bears — designed by local artists — in the cities of Shanghai (2004), Buenos Aires (2005), and St. Gallen / Switzerland (2006).

United Buddy Bears is an international art exhibition with more than 140 tall fiberglass 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" (The Art of Tolerance). The bears were on display between June and November 2002, in a circle around the Brandenburg Gate. Around 1.5 million people visited this first exhibition. On 6 November 2002, the bears were moved to new locations, including their respective countries' embassies in Berlin, or back to the country that they were based on. Some of the bears were auctioned off to raise money for UNICEF. After the success of the first exhibition, a new circle was created in 2003. The idea was to send the circle on a global tour. The circle changes when it reaches a new city, as the bears are always set up in alphabetic order, following the local language of the host country. Entry to the exhibitions is always free. In every metropolis, the United Buddy Bears exhibitions are supported by the government, the foreign ministries, the mayors, local nonprofits, and UNICEF. The bears have been displayed at the following locations since the beginning of the tour:
Year Country / city site of exhibition Patron of the exhibition / opening by 2002 June – November Berlin, next to the Brandenburg Gate – Pariser Platz Joschka Fischer, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Klaus Wowereit, Berlin's Governing Mayor 2003 July – November Berlin, next to the Brandenburg Gate – Pariser Platz Sir Peter Ustinov, actor and UNICEF World Ambassador Dan Coats, U. S. Ambassador to Germany 2004 January – February Kitzbühel Benita Ferrero Waldner, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Horst Wendling, Mayor of Kitzbühel 2004 May – June Hong Kong, Victoria Park Jackie Chan, actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Patrick Ho, Hong Kong's Secretary for Home Affairs 2004 / 2005 December – January Istanbul, Tepebaşı Pera Square, Beyoğlu Ahmet Misbah Demircan, Mayor of Beyoğlu Rainer Möckelmann, German General Consul in Istanbul 2005 April – May Tokyo, Roppongi Hills Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan Horst Köhler, President of the Federal Republic of Germany 2005 October – November Seoul, Olympic Park Messages of greeting from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Korea, Ban Ki moon 2006 March – April Sydney, Sydney Opera House – Circular Quay John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia Ken Done, artist and UNICEF Ambassador 2006 June – July Berlin, Bebelplatz Heidemarie Wieczorek Zeul, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Karin Schubert, Mayor of Berlin Mia Farrow, American actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador 2006 September – October Vienna, Karlsplatz Grete Laska, Deputy Mayor of Vienna Karin Schubert, Mayor of Berlin Christiane Hörbiger, film actress and UNICEF Ambassador 2007 April – May Cairo, Gezira Promenade Zamalek Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of Egypt Hans Dietrich Genscher, former German Foreign Minister Abdel Azim Wazir, Governor of Cairo 2007 August – September Jerusalem, Safra Square Tzipi Livni, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Yigal Amedi, Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Iris Berben, German actress and winner of the Women's World Award 2004 2008 May – June Warsaw, Castle Square Hanna Gronkiewicz Waltz, Mayor of the City of Warsaw Klaus Wowereit, Governing Mayor of Berlin Anne Hidalgo, First Deputy Mayor of Paris 2008 July August Stuttgart, Schlossplatz Wolfgang Schuster, Lord Mayor of Stuttgart 2008 October Pyongyang, Moran Hill Youth Park, close to the Kim Il Sung statue Mun Jae Chol, Foreign Affairs of North Korea Thomas Schäfer, German Ambassador in North Korea 2009 March – April Buenos Aires, Plaza San Martin Mauricio Macri, Mayor of Buenos Aires Hernán Lombardi, Minister for Cultural Affairs 2009 May – June Montevideo, Plaza Independencia Tabaré Vázquez, President of Uruguay Ricardo Ehrlich, Mayor of Montevideo Bernhard Graf von Waldersee, German Ambassador in Uruguay 2009 / 2010 November – April Berlin, Hauptbahnhof, Indoor Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Ministry of Family Affairs Dennenesch Zoudé, German actress and United Buddy Bears Special Ambassador 2010 May – July Astana, next to the Bayterek Tower Imangali Tasmagambetov, Akim of Astana Rainer Schlageter, German Ambassador in Kazakhstan 2010 September – October Helsinki, Senate Square Jussi Pajunen, Mayor of Helsinki Peter Scholz, German Ambassador in Finland 2011 April – May Sofia, Square St Nedelya Yordanka Fandakova, Mayor of Sofia Klaus Wowereit, Berlin's Governing Mayor Matthias Martin Höpfner, German Ambassador in Bulgaria 2011 June – October Berlin, Kurfürstendamm Klaus Wowereit, Berlin's Governing Mayor Monika Thiemen, Mayor of Charlottenburg Wilmersdorf 2011 / 2012 December – February Kuala Lumpur, next to Pavilion Kuala Lumpur Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, Sultan of Selangor Ahmad Fuad Ismail, Mayor of Kuala Lumpur 2012 March – May New Delhi, Connaught Place Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi Klaus Wowereit, Berlin's Governing Mayor 2012 June – August Saint Petersburg, Alexander Garden, next to the Palace Square Vladimir Putin, President of Russia Joachim Gauck, President of Germany 2012 October–November Paris / Eiffel Tower – Champ de Mars Guido Westerwelle, German Minister of Foreign Affairs Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris Pierre Schapira, Member of the European Parliament 2014 May – July Rio de Janeiro, Copacabana Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro Jürgen Trittin, German Federal Ministry for the Environment from 1998 to 2005 Harald Klein, German General Consul in Rio de Janeiro 2015 January – March Havana, Plaza San Francisco de Asis Eusebio Leal, Ambassador of Goodwill of the United Nations Peter Scholz, German Ambassador in Cuba Eva and Klaus Herlitz, the initiators of the United Buddy Bears activities 2015 April – June Santiago de Chile, Vitacura, Parque Bicentenario Heraldo Muñoz Valenzuela, Foreign Affairs Minister of Chile Hans Henning Blomeyer Bartenstein, German Ambassador in Chile 2016 August – October George Town, Esplanade Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of Penang 2017 / 2018 December – January Berlin, Walter Benjamin Platz Marianne von Weizsäcker, Patron of the exhibition Sawsan Chebli, Berlin (Senat) 2018 July – August Riga, Dome Square Dace Melbārde, Latvian Culture Minister Nils Ušakovs, Riga City Mayor2019 April – May Antigua, Plaza MayorSandra Jovel, Foreign Affairs Minister of Guatemala Susana Asencio Lueg, Mayor of Antigua Harald Klein, German Ambassador in Guatemala2019 May – June Guatemala City, Plaza de la Constitución Sandra Jovel, Foreign Affairs Minister of GuatemalaRicardo Quiñónez Lemus, Mayor of Guatemala City Eva Herlitz und Harald Klein2020 July – Berlin, Tierpark Berlin Franziska Giffey, German Minister for Family AffairsMichael Müller, Governing Mayor of Berlin Klaus and Eva Herlitz

2003 Berlin: Having visited the exhibition in Berlin in 2002, Sir Peter Ustinov insisted that Iraq should be represented in the circle of United Buddy Bears in the future. In 2003, Iraq took part in the circle for the first time and Ustinov gave the opening address of the exhibition in the presence of more than 70 ambassadors. 2004 Hong Kong: Jackie Chan saw the exhibition in Berlin in 2003. On his initiative, the international bears travelled to Hong Kong one year later. Chan became the patron for this event. More than 3,000 VIPs from the world of politics, business and culture took part in the opening ceremony. 2005 Seoul: In the run up to the exhibition in South Korea, two artists got the permission to travel from North Korea to Germany via Beijing in order to design a United Buddy Bear in Berlin on behalf of their country. Hence it was possible that both North and South Korea stood together hand in hand for the first time during an art exhibition. 2007 Jerusalem: All countries of the Arab World were represented in the circle of 132 nations, with a Palestinian bear on an equal footing with all the other bears for the first time in Jerusalem. 2008 Pyongyang: It was the first exhibition in North Korea that was accessible for everyone and open to everybody. According to official information, around 100,000 visitors were counted every week in Pyongyang. 2012 Paris: United Buddy Bears are on show near the Eiffel Tower to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the twinning of Paris and Berlin and the 50th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty which marked the official reconciliation between France and Germany after world war two. 2014 Rio de Janeiro: From May till July the famous United Buddy Bears exhibit has found its way to the shores of Rio de Janeiro just in time for the 2014 soccer World Cup. The exhibition was held on the Copacabana promenade, which attracted more than 1,000,000 people. The presentation consisted of more than 140 bear sculptures, each in height and designed by a different artist. 2015 Havana: "Germany sends peace message through sculptures in Cuba". 124 bears are standing "hand in hand" on the square "Plaza San Francisco de Asis". They were designed by 124 artists and represent 124 countries. All these countries – large or small, poor or rich – are placed together at the same level, including the US and Cuba! All these countries are reaching out – for tolerance, peace and democracy.

In the autumn of 2003, the circle of United Buddy Bears The Minis was presented in Berlin for the first time. Since then, this circle has been shown in Frankfurt/Main, in Potsdam and at the Sony Center in Berlin, as well as destinations outside of Germany, including Bratislava in Slovakia, Calais in France, and Yekaterinburg and Kazan in Russia.

as of 2018, donations and proceeds from the sale of Buddy Bears at auction had generated a total of Euro 2,300,000 in support of UNICEF and local nonprofits that help children in need.

In the early years, the Bears were designed by regional artists and Berlin celebrities for the exhibition Art in the City. From 2002 onwards, thanks to support from Lufthansa, Air Berlin and the Berlin Hotel Association, artists from all five continents took part in the international project United Buddy Bears. More than 240 artists from over 150 countries have taken part in this project to date, such as Arik Brauer, René Cadena Ayala, Hernando León, Ibrahim Hazimeh, Carlos Páez Vilaró, Seo Soo Kyoung, Helge Leiberg, Leda Luss Luyken, Ludmila Seefried Matějková. This is also echoed by the artist and UNICEF Australian National Ambassador, Ken Done.

Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, Buddy Bear Berlin Show. NeptunArt Publisher, 2001. Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — Die Kunst der Toleranz. Bostelmann & Siebenhaar Publishers, 2003. Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — World Tour. NeptunArt Publisher, 2006. Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — The Art of Tolerance. 384 pages, English/German, December 2009, Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, Buddy Bear Berlin. 4th edition, December 2015, Herlitz, Eva & Klaus, United Buddy Bears — The Art of Tolerance on World Tour. 288 pages, English/German, November 2017, Jian Min Huang: Public Art as Festival. Hong Kong 2005, (Pages 63–111: Buddy Bears; Chinese/English).