Czechs Not Thrilled About MJ Statue

Although Michael Jackson’s birthday is coming up, thousands of Czechs don’t think that’s a good reason to put up a statue of the singer.

City authorities in Prague, Czech Republic, have approved plans to erect a 6-foot column with a bronze bust of Jackson in Letna Park.

Photo: AP Photo

Announcing he is set to play ten live concerts at the London O2 Arena

The singer and a statue resembling his likeness both visited the park in 1996. A pedestal in Letna Park, that once held a granite statue honoring Joseph Stalin and now acts as the base of giant kinetic sculpture of a metronome, was briefly used as the base of a 35-foot-tall statue of Jackson to promote his Prague performance and HIStory European tour.

A group of fans plan to unveil the new statue Aug. 29, which would have marked the King of Pop’s 52nd birthday.

More than 2,000 have joined a Facebook group in protest of the statue, claiming that erecting the statue is illogical because Jackson had no connection with the country.

A Prague art gallery has offered an alternative idea – proposing that the city instead put up a statue celebrating a Czech contemporary artist.

Jackson died June 25, 2009, with the coroner ruling his death a homicide caused by acute propofol intoxication, with other sedatives a contributing factor. He was 50 years old.

Click here for the AP story.