COPENHAGEN: Fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen, whose tales, including “The Ugly Duckling” and “The Little Mermaid”, have fascinated generations of children, will be feted in royal style in his native Denmark on Saturday as the country marks the 200th anniversary of his birth. The Danish royal family and a number of other royals from Europe and Thailand will join celebrities from around the world for a day of events in Odense, the hometown of the man who started out the son of a poor cobbler and went on to became a world-famous writer with works translated into 100 languages.

Among those attending the festivities will be some of the 200 celebrities appointed “Hans Christian Andersen ambassadors”, including British actor Roger Moore, Chilean author Isabel Allende, US singer Harry Belafonte and Australian Olympic champion Cathy Freeman. In the evening, a gala event at Copenhagen’s Parken stadium, transformed for the occasion into “a magical fairytale world”, will be attended by 40,000 people and broadcast live on television in 15 countries.

The show, entitled “Once Upon a Time”, will star US soul singer Tina Turner, French musician Jean-Michel Jarre and Olivia Newton-John among others. Saturday’s events kick off a slew of festivities to be held in 43 countries throughout the rest of the year, aimed at broadening awareness about Andersen and his works beyond the “idealistic and narrow image of this fairytale writer for children of all ages”, according to the H.C. Andersen Foundation.—AFP