Statues are epic, permanent ways to commemorate people of great import, and India's announcement of its Shivaji Maharaj statue is set to take that commemorative concept to the next level. Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, has recently laid the foundation stone for the statue, which is slated to be the tallest statue in the world upon completion.
The statue will cost India $530 million US and will stand 192 meters tall. In comparison, the Statue of Liberty is 93 meters tall, and the current tallest statue in the world -- a statue of Buddha in Myanmar -- stands at just over 100 meters. In other words, the Shivaji Maharaj statue will be nearly as tall as the current tallest statue and the Statue of Liberty stacked on top of one another.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Monumental Statues
- Developing larger-than-life statues to commemorate historical events or individuals.
- Cultural Tourism
- Encouraging tourism by promoting cultural landmarks and statues to draw in visitors.
- Urban Redevelopment
- Revitalizing urban spaces with towering statues as landmarks to drive tourist footfall.
Where This Applies
- Tourism
- The tourism industry can capitalize on monumental statues as an opportunity to promote local or national history to potential visitors.
- Art and Architecture Design
- The development of sculptures, buildings, and monuments and the design of their infrastructure and buildings are opportunities for industries such as art and architecture to disrupt and innovate.
- Construction
- Construction firms could take advantage of opportunities to build larger-than-life structures while improving the engineering efficiency and safety of such structures.
