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The Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation presents the first five Danish Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors to be appointed on 2 April 2004 in connection with the Hans Christian Andersen Award ceremony at Odense Theatre at 2 pm ? 4 pm.

The Danish Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors are:
Bodil Udsen
Ghita Nørby
Susse Wold
Lin Utzon
Per Arnoldi
 
Following the appointment of a number of international personalities, from Harvey Keitel to Pelé, five Danish Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors have been selected among the most prominent Hans Christian Andersen interpreters in the nation.

- The three 'divas' of Danish theatre: Bodil Udsen, Ghita Nørby and Susse Wold.
- The designer and artist Lin Utzon, who designed the official Hans Christian Andersen dinner service.
- Artist Per Arnoldi, who created the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation logo.

All five artists are closely associated with Hans Christian Andersen and are soon to share the title as Danish Hans Christian Andersen Ambassador in relation to the Andersen bicentenary.

Odense City Award
The appointment of the Andersen Ambassadors will take place in connection with the Odense City and Hans Christian Andersen Award ceremony on 2 April 2004.

Here the Hans Christian Andersen Award Committee will extend honorary awards to Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, Brazilian Professor Dr. Ana Maria da Costa Santos Menin and the Italian translator Bruno Berni. The special Odense City Award worth 50,000 EURO goes to Canadian theatre and film director Robert Lepage for his upcoming Hans Christian Andersen performance, set to premiere in Canada and to be staged worldwide in 2005, including at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen.

Apart from the awards ceremony and the appointment of five Danish Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors, the programme features entertainment in the form of a fairytale reading and excerpts from the Hans Christian Andersen musical The Mulatto by Danish singer Sebastian.

Gruppe 38 will perform excerpts from their Hans Christian Andersen performance The Little Match Girl and excerpts from the dance performance The Ugly Duckling by the dance company Ingrid Kristensen & Co.

Fabulous readings
The masters of ceremony at the awards ceremony will be actor and director of Odense Theatre, Kasper Wilton, and actor and dean of the Odense Theatre Drama School, Lane Lind.
 
Danish actresses Ghita Nørby, Bodil Udsen and Susse Wold will be appointed Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors by the Mayor of Odense and chairman for the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation, Anker Boye, while Danish Minister of Culture Brian Mikkelsen will preside over the appointment of Lin Utzon and Per Arnoldi.
 
All five Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors have each in their own way been inspired by Hans Christian Andersen. Actress Bodil Udsen has for many years performed her fabulous readings of Hans Christian Andersen with great success. Equally, actress Ghita Nørby has performed a great many fairytale readings throughout Scandinavia and many other places in the world, often accompanied by pianist Sven Skipper.

Actress Susse Wold has always nurtured an interest in Hans Christian Andersen and has drawn inspiration from him throughout her career. She has travelled the world with her English-language Hans Christian Andersen fairytale readings. She has toured most of Denmark with The Snow Queen, and appeared in Hans Christian Andersen - The Man and the Storyteller, accompanied by actor Bent Mejding.
 
The designer and artist Lin Utzon has designed the official Hans Christian Andersen dinner service for the Rosendahl design company. In February 2004, the dinner service was awarded the prestigious DESIGN PLUS Award at the international design fair in Frankfurt. The service is based on six of Hans Christian Andersen's most famous fairytales and will be presented as an official gift to the approx. 150 Danish and international personalities within politics, sports, culture and entertainment to be appointed Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors in connection with the Andersen bicentenary.

Artist Per Arnoldi has developed the official logo for the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation, but this is by far his first professional encounter with Hans Christian Andersen. Per Arnoldi has created a series of illustrations for the fairytale The Sweethearts and has also illustrated The Steadfast Tin Soldier.

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