Marie-France Vienne

On September 15, the world-wide celebration of the bicentenary of the birth of Hans Christian Andersen in 2005 was presented at a major press conference at the British Library.

The press conference was presided over by HRH Crown Prince Frederik and HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. The conference was hosted by the Royal Danish Embassy in London and the British Library in association with the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation.

At the press conference, HRH Crown Prince Frederik appointed eight British public figures as Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors.

The Ambassadors are:

• Elizabeth Hurley, actress and model
• Sir David Frost, tv host
• Sir Derek Jacobi, actor
• Michael Morpurgo, children’s book author
• Dame Antonia S. Byatt, author
• Sandi Toksvig, tv host and comedian
• Jackie Wullschlager, writer

• Sir Roger Moore, actor

“Hans Christian Andersen created a magical world with his tales of Emperors, Kings, Princesses, birds, trains, toys, along with those of simple people and, of course, the unforgettable little match seller. Oh what a tragedy that 120 million children are denied access to a primary school education. They can and never will know the wonder of this great author, playwright and poet. It is a great honour for me to be a UNICEF Ambassador; and an equally great honour to now be a HCA Ambassador.”

Sir Roger Moore’s statement

To discuss this announcement visit this thread on the CBn Forums.