An artist impression of a two metre statue of the late martial art master Bruce Lee
© AFP/File
HONG KONG (AFP) - In cooperation with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Bruce Lee Club will unveil a bronze statue of the martial arts hero and display some of his rarely seen movies and documentaries during the November 25 and December 1 festival.
It will also organise local tours, called 'Bruce Lee's Footsteps Tours', for fans to visit Lee's schools, homes and the studios where he made his movies.
The highlight of the festival will be the unveiling of 2.5-metre (eight foot four inch) bronze statue of Lee on his birthday, November 27, at an event called called 'Bruce Lee Night' during which friends and family are expected to speak about their memories of the kung fu icon.
Superstars, including movie stars Stephen Chow, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau and Sammo Hung, have also been invited to attend the event.
"We felt (the statue) would transform Hong Kong's collective memory of Lee into a valuable and tangible asset for our tourism industry," said the club's chairman, Wong Yiu-keung.
This will be the first statue of the legend to be erected in Hong Kong, where the San Francisco-born kung fu master was raised.
The statue, which cost 600,000 Hong Kong dollars (77,000 US dollars), is due to be completed next week.
It will be erected permanently at the Avenue of Stars memorial to the city's rich movie-making history in the Kowloon tourist district.
During the festival, the club will also showcase some of Lee's rarely seen footage in documentaries and films that were made in his childhood, including "The Kid".
Lee starred in a string of hugely successful martial arts films -- including "Enter the Dragon", "The Chinese Connection" and "Return of the Dragon" -- in the early 1970s, but died in Hong Kong of cerebral edema at the early age of 32, in 1973.
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