Nov 27, 2005, 8:11 GMT
Hong Kong - Hong Kong will finally give recognition to one of its most famous stars Sunday when it unveils a statue of the legendary martial arts star Bruce Lee.
The 2.5-metre bronze statue will be revealed on the 65th anniversary of Lee's birth, along the Avenue Of Stars attraction near the waterfront at Tsim Sha Tsui.
But it will come 24 hours later than a similar life-size statue was erected Saturday in a park in the city of Mostar in Bosnia.
Lee was chosen for the Mostar park because because of his appeal as a hero that all ethnic groups could relate to.
The Hong Kong memorial was made possible by fans of the actor who died of a cerebral haemorrhage on July 20, 1973.
It shows Lee poised and ready to strike as in the hit movie Fist of Fury.
The Hong Kong-based Bruce Lee Club raised the 100,000 U.S. dollars for the statue after pleas to the government to honour the icon failed to produce anything.
Fans have long been disheartened at the lack of tribute paid to Lee in the city that was his home.
In 2000, it was revealed that Lee's house in Kowloon Tong, where he spent his last years, had been turned into a hourly-rate love hotel.
In 2002, a Bruce Lee museum was opened in port town in Guangdong Province southern China, a town which had little link with the star.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board backed the club's plan for the statue by agreeing to give it a space on the Avenue of Stars attraction.
Chairman of the club Wong Yiu-keung said he was not upset that Bosnia had beaten Hong Kong in erecting a memorial to Lee.
'This is not a competition,' he was quoted as saying in the South China Morning Post. 'I really appreciate that Bosnia has used the statue as symbol of unity.
'I am just happy to see that other people in the world share our love of Bruce Lee.'
Lee was born in San Francisco in the United States while his father was touring with a Cantonese opera company but made Hong Kong his home.
The statue will be unveiled by Bruce Lee's brother Robert.
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