Jackson Fans Get Memorial To Hero

A statue to Michael Jackson has gone on display in the middle of a tiny Austrian town so that fans can have a tribute to their hero.

Councillors in Mistelbach in a wine growing region north of the Austrian capital Vienna approved the request by two local women for the 30 foot statue which will go in the town centre last year.

Fan Martina Kainz who put forward the idea and raised the money from other fans living locally in the town of 11,000 said: “He was a hero who inspired many people’s lives. We want the legend to live on with our own monument here.”

She originally wanted to put the statue in her garden, but later was encouraged in talks with councillors to apply to have it in a local park.

Hundreds of fans from Austria, Germany and Hungary turned up for the official opening this weekend that included Michael Jackson impersonators and a moonwalking dog.