HCA NEWS Jens Olesen becomes HCA Ambassador

Mayor of Odense Anker Boye appoints businessman and patron of the arts Jens Olesen as Hans Christian Andersen Ambassador.

By ms - H.C. Andersen 2005 - 23 March 2004

On Monday 22 March 2004, businessman and patron of the arts Jens Olesen will be appointed Hans Christian Andersen Ambassador by Mayor of Odense, Anker Boye, at a ceremony at Odense Town Hall.

Jens Olesen, who resides in Brazil, is the president of the South American division of the advertising firm McCann-Erickson and the primary force behind a number of cultural exchange events between Denmark and South America.

Jens Olesen initiated the collaboration between the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation and one of Brazil's most famous samba schools, Imperatriz Leopoldinense. With sponsorship from the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation, the samba school will feature Hans Christian Andersen at next year's Rio de Janeiro carnival in celebration of the bicentenary of the birth of Danish storyteller.

A billion TV viewers
Hundreds of thousands of samba-swinging Brazilians and a billion TV viewers the world over will have the opportunity to experience Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale characters as they take over the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro.

Jens Olesen has for the last eight months worked with Imperatriz Leopoldinense in preparation for the Hans Christian Andersen Parade in 2005.

Every year the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro compete in presenting the most impressive parade of the carnival. Next year, Imperatriz Leopoldinense will draw inspiration from Hans Christian Andersen's life and fairytale universe for their impressive floats and costumes. The artistic director of the samba school, artist Rosa Magalhães, is currently visiting Denmark, including Andersen's town of birth Odense, where she will study Hans Christian Andersen's life and work.

"We couldn't imagine a better tribute to the magical world of Andersen than the imaginative carnival parade in Rio. That one of Brazil's most celebrated samba schools has chosen to feature Hans Christian Andersen offers a unique opportunity to highlight the bicentenary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen, not only in Brazil but throughout South America," says Secretary General for the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation, Lars Seeberg.

In his motivation, Mayor of Odense Anker Boye emphasised the fact that Jens Olesen is credited as the man behind most of the cultural exchanges between Denmark and Latin America in recent decades. Therefore, it is only natural that Jens Olesen is to become prime mover in South America for the celebration of the bicentenary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen.


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