A statue of Vichai

[Monk]

I love all these ideas, but do think it would be best if the club co-ordinate them, which will all happen in due course. For the people of Leicester to invest back into a charity or need in Thailand is a really excellent idea and I think embodies the spirit of Vichai more than a statue.

 

I think there will be a statue commissioned by the club. Hopefully not by the same guy who did the Ronaldo one!

[Mendi]

Need to happen this.

[Foxxed]

6 minutes ago, Monk said:

I love all these ideas, but do think it would be best if the club co-ordinate them, which will all happen in due course. For the people of Leicester to invest back into a charity or need in Thailand is a really excellent idea and I think embodies the spirit of Vichai more than a statue.

 

I think there will be a statue commissioned by the club. Hopefully not by the same guy who did the Ronaldo one!

If the fans do it, it will mean more, for the family and for the fans.

 

The club have the money and the organisational skills. It would not be too hard to do.

 

But for the fans it will take more effort. And that's why it will mean more, show more respect.

[TaggertvsWise]

All are lovely ideas with sentiment and class. I do think we can easily do a variety of things. Yes offering money to a Thai hospital is fitting, excellent and extremely noble but I do think us funding a statue is the most appropriate way for our generation of fans to preserve these years for our kids to learn and identify where and why their allegiance comes from.

[Foxxed]

Marie from Bristol has replied! Thanks @phantom

 

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Great to hear from you, allbeit in such tragic circumstances. Firstly I feel I can speak on behalf of all City fans when I say how sorry we are for what happened last weekend. From everything I have read and heard, he certainly seemed like a wonderful man. We ourselves are very lucky to have our own great owner, in the shape of Steve Lansdown, and the thought of anything happening to him, just isn’t something I’d want to contemplate. Please know that the whole football community is behind the fans of Leicester City at this time.

 

The reason you were given my contact details was because I’m a board member of the Bristol City Supporters Club and Trust, who took it upon ourselves to raise the money for a statue at the now redeveloped Ashton Gate. We commissioned a survey and fans decided that statue should be of the late great John Atyeo, who is probably our most famous player of all time. It ended up taking almost 10 years, but then we weren’t in a rush as such, mostly because it took that long for the council to get their arses in gear and let us have the stadium we now have!

 

You can find out more about the process here  http://bristolcitysupporters.org/we-raised-a-statue-to-atyeo/ which gives a timeline of things. We used the fabulous Tom Murphy to create the statue, who has done a number of football related projects. He was brilliant throughout and I cannot recommend him enough. I am also attaching the related press release which explains a bit more about things as well. I know your circumstances for wanting this are tragically much more different to ours, but the process is likely to be the same. Planning permission etc was agreed via the council and the football club, and we had the full support of the football club with the construction of the statue. We raised some of the money by means of fans purchasing small plaques, engraved with whatever they wanted, which were then spread around the base of the statue. 

 

I hope I’ve answered everything, if not, please come back to me. I can give you contact details for Tom if you wish to speak to him directly. 

 

Best wishes and thoughts 

Marie 

Her attachment is attached here to this post. Here's a BBC article about the statue they had done: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-37883000 The guy who did their statue can be found here: http://liverpoolsculptures.co.uk/

 

The price is more than that the website I found above. The website above said a lifesized bronze statue costs £25 grand. She says, according to one of her board members, it cost about £65k in total. I've asked if she can discuss the breakdown of the costs.

 

This still seems doable with the fans and a few of the players and people attached the the club donating. Even without them, it's a quid for everyone who attends the next two home games with money left over.

 

I'm waiting for Richard Austin to reply still. Load of his statues are in Northampton: https://www.sculptureworkshop.co.uk/richard-austin-sculpture/public-commissions/ I'm going to email that Tom Murphy chap, the guy who did their statue, tomorrow hopefully.

 

As soon as we know the vague costs, and some potential people to make the statue, I'll attempt to contact the council about what planning permission is needed - if Top owns the ground I don't see why we'd need permission to put a statue on private land but we'll get to that later.

 

 

Edited 30 October 2018 by Foxxed

[Foxxed]

More information from Marie about the costs. Their costs mostly came down to reinforcements - he's on his tiptoes. But if we want something as elaborate it'd cost about the same.

 

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Most of the cost was down to the position we wanted the statue in (it was his goal celebration) which meant everything had to be reinforced extra carefully, so that if someone decided to jump up on him (our lovely r*vers neighbours for example) he wouldn’t get vandalised/broken easily. The concrete base he is stood on also had to be a certain density to help this. 

 

There were metal prongs that came out the base of his feet that went down into the concrete base, which we then had to leave to set. The plinth also had to be a certain height as again we didn’t want people climbing on it for photos easily. He’s made from bronze which isn’t cheap as well. 

 

I’ve attached a photo to show the angle of the statue from the side to explain why it was a bit more complicated to do. 

 

I’m sure if you just wanted a statue of Vichai stood, it wouldn’t be as expensive as ours was. Plus using Tom meant he wasn’t the cheapest option, but having seen the work he has done previously (he’s done a lot of the Hillsborough stuff at Anfield etc) we felt he was the person who would do the best job. We did tender out to various sculptors and then decided who to go with amongst ourselves. 

 

Best wishes

Marie 

 

[Foxxed]

Richard has replied. He's from Wigson.

 

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As a Leicester man (born in Wigston) I know how hard this has hit the people of the City, a statue would be a wonderful tribute, I would be honoured to create it.

The process is very simple, we start a conversation about exactly what you want and how it will  look as a finished piece of art, I will then be able to give you a more accurate idea of cost, as this is a highly emotive sculpture I will do my best to work within your budget.

 

I assume you have seen the work I created for Northampton a few years ago, I would use the same process and material (Antius Bronze)

 

Once all approvals are in place,the actual sculpting takes about 9 months to complete, I will move other work aside so the finished statue could be in place by this time next year.

 

Could I ask if you are organising this as an individual or as part of a group with close links the LCFC management and the Srivaddhanaprabha family, if yes, that’s fantastic, if not, then you will need to liaise and get the approval of both. 

 

Be assured that I can help through all aspects in the creation of this work,  I hope this has answered your initial questions but I’m sure you will have more so don’t hesitate to contact me, if you’d prefer to talk in person here is my direct number [removed - but I'll obviously give it to you].

 

Kindest regards

Richard

I've told him the fans are doing it. And we're currently in the initial information gathering stage. But after we have more information we'll obviously need approval of the club and family.

 

So it'll take 9 months to build once everything has been approved. Could be in place next year if everything sorted soon - unlikely but possible.

 

I've asked him out much this cost for a vague ballpark figure.

[Chris Turner Statue]

Hi.

Firstly I am very saddened for what has happened over the weekend.  Regarding a statue, I was on the Chris Turner Statue committee over at The Posh, see here http://www.thechristurnerstatue.co.uk/  and I and my committee would be very happy to have a discussion with you on how to go about this.  Our statue cost in total around £120k and we raised the money in 18 months.  There is an awful lot to consider when embarking upon a project of this nature, there are a lot of pitfalls, and you are welcome to learn from the mistakes we made and of course the good things we learnt.  However, now is probably not the right time to be doing this, but when you are ready, we're here.

[Rusko187]

Amazing support from people all over, hopefully we can make this a reality for him.

 

In addition and I don't know if this is a far out suggestion, can our badge be slightly altered? 

[Ian Nacho]

Will be donating straight away whenever a fund opens.

[cityfanlee23]

I probably should have used a different title to be honest as it does not necessarily have to be a statue, obviously we need to do this on the basis of - If the club decide to put up a statue, we as fans can offer to fund it. 

If they decide that is not necessary, then we ask them if there is anything else we can have permission to do. If the club put up a statue, I would still like to see a tribute from the fans at the stadium whether it be a plaque on the wall or poster on the side of the ground on the hanging sheets or whatever it may be. 

 

The charity donation idea is fantastic also, but at the same time personally I think it would be nice to have something physical at the ground from fans and a donation with whatever is left over. Obviously this is not up to me but us as fans united. 

[cityfanlee23]

12 hours ago, Chris Turner Statue said:

Hi.

Firstly I am very saddened for what has happened over the weekend.  Regarding a statue, I was on the Chris Turner Statue committee over at The Posh, see here http://www.thechristurnerstatue.co.uk/  and I and my committee would be very happy to have a discussion with you on how to go about this.  Our statue cost in total around £120k and we raised the money in 18 months.  There is an awful lot to consider when embarking upon a project of this nature, there are a lot of pitfalls, and you are welcome to learn from the mistakes we made and of course the good things we learnt.  However, now is probably not the right time to be doing this, but when you are ready, we're here.

Absolutely, appreciate the heads up. At this stage we are just dipping our toes in the water really. Out of respect we must let the club mourn and begin to move on (if it's possible) and only then must we approach the club. Thanks for the comment and will definitely keep you for the future.

[woddyuk]

When time is right the club and City Council will do something. Peter Soulsby has already said that. 

Personally I think a modest statue on corner of concourse near the shop or outside the main entrance would be best. But there also needs to be a more poignant commemoration monument  for all five victims at "ground zero".  Block of stone with Bronze plaque,? Landscaped garden? 

Something else thats relevant to those that lost their lives ?

If City don't yet own that land I'm sure acquiring it won't be an issue. 

[MiDuck55]

Does anyone else feel like I do that we should consider starting the fund now?  I know it's far too soon to make any decisions yet or approach the club, but I just feel there is a tremendous need to do something and donating to a fund to honour Vichai could help.   I just see Xmas coming up followed by the credit card bills hitting the mat in January  and people genuinely having to think twice about donating in the months to come.  I realise that the fund raising venture may well be a long term thing but I worry we could lose momentum the longer we wait to start.  I want the fund to be massive to reflect how much we love this man and i would hate us to be struggling to raise enough to do something meaningful.  I'm a long time fan, 50 years this year. Thought I'd seen it all, but this disaster.. well its knocked the stuffing out of me. I would like to contribute to something lasting. My preference would be a statue of Vichai holding the trophy but that's just my choice. I feel its got to be something paid for by the fans and only the fans to show how much we love and respect what Vichai has done for the club, the fans and the city.  I'm just asking what others feel. I know the next question would be who organises it but surely we have enough fans groups and forum for it to be sorted out.  What do others think? 

[cityfanlee23]

4 hours ago, woddyuk said:

When time is right the club and City Council will do something. Peter Soulsby has already said that. 

Personally I think a modest statue on corner of concourse near the shop or outside the main entrance would be best. But there also needs to be a more poignant commemoration monument  for all five victims at "ground zero".  Block of stone with Bronze plaque,? Landscaped garden? 

Something else thats relevant to those that lost their lives ?

If City don't yet own that land I'm sure acquiring it won't be an issue. 

Completely agree, we do need to commemorate all with atleast a plaque or garden. 

[ThaiFox]

On 30/10/2018 at 17:38, Foxxed said:

I love the idea.

 

@ThaiFox

 

@HoChiMinhFOX

 

Do you know of any charities in his home town or nearby? Do you know where his home town is?

 

And could you put us in contact with LCFC supporters in Thailand willing to help? Like, tell them to sign up to this site, regardless of how good their English is.

Sorry for late reply. I haven't been on here much, apart from to check out the tributes to Khun Vichai.

 

I live in the country out here in Thailand, so well away from Bangkok where the family live, and his funeral are taking place. 

 

I don't know any other Leicester supporters out here, and I don't speak much Thai, but my Thai wife has links to various Thai fans and has been reading me messages and tributes out here all week. I can say, the Thai people have been as shocked and emotional as you have had in England.

 

The outpouring of grief out here that we've seen on the news and various sites has been sincere and heartwarming. His work in Thailand, giving an awful lot of money to a lot of various charities, some of the donations have been immense, like hospitals. He has also donated millions of Baht to roots of Thai football. One of his visions was to see Thailand reach the world cup finals.

 

From what I am reading out here, it does look as if Top will continue his work, both with King Power and Leicester City. Khun Vichai has four children, of which Top is the youngest, but he is the most involved with the King Power and Leicester City businesses, almost as if Khun Vichai has been grooming him for this very situation.

 

I will update further on any projects being set up in his honour. His funeral will take at least a week, which is not unusual for a Thai Buddhist funeral. After that I am sure a lot more detail will come out as to how he is remembered, or any statues. His funeral is a 'Royal Sponsored' funeral, because of the name bestowed on him by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

 

The King Power website offers the chance to put a message of condolence, although I imagine most supporters of Leicester City, like myself, would do that out the LCFC website if they can't get to the ground.

 

I'm sorry I can't give any further information at present, but will try to update as I hear or learn anything from out here.

 

Not only has Leicester City lost a great chairman, but the world has lost a great man who saw a much bigger picture than just football. His vision for helping others just shows how a very wealthy person should behave, with a humble touch, responsibility and compassion. 

 

He will be missed by an awful lot of people, but for now all my thoughts go to his family, and I sincerely wish them well in all their futures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jonthefox]

22 hours ago, MiDuck55 said:

Does anyone else feel like I do that we should consider starting the fund now?  I know it's far too soon to make any decisions yet or approach the club, but I just feel there is a tremendous need to do something and donating to a fund to honour Vichai could help.   I just see Xmas coming up followed by the credit card bills hitting the mat in January  and people genuinely having to think twice about donating in the months to come.  I realise that the fund raising venture may well be a long term thing but I worry we could lose momentum the longer we wait to start.  I want the fund to be massive to reflect how much we love this man and i would hate us to be struggling to raise enough to do something meaningful.  I'm a long time fan, 50 years this year. Thought I'd seen it all, but this disaster.. well its knocked the stuffing out of me. I would like to contribute to something lasting. My preference would be a statue of Vichai holding the trophy but that's just my choice. I feel its got to be something paid for by the fans and only the fans to show how much we love and respect what Vichai has done for the club, the fans and the city.  I'm just asking what others feel. I know the next question would be who organises it but surely we have enough fans groups and forum for it to be sorted out.  What do others think? 

Go for it. You can always donate elsewhere if needed.

[Spudulike]

I think we need to be very careful about this. Seems there is a history regarding very poor statues, Mo Salah being the latest. I'd be very concerned about any statue being inappropriate and not good enough to honour Khun Vichai.

 

I've heard it suggested that a 'thumbs up' pose would be good but, to be honest, that would really be quite disrespectful to the memory of the Boss. I don't want him to be seen as a figure of fun. I sincerely hope that he will be dipicted in a more serious, more formal pose similar to the picture currently outside the North Stand with one of his many inspirational quotes below on the plinth. This must not be a poundshop statue.

 

It will be there for generations to come.This has to be done in a classy, meaningful way.

[Wymsey]

Would rather have a poster of Vichai, similar to the one that's currently with the thousands of memorial tributes, in front of the player's entrance etc so everyone can remember his presence will still be there (and how he transformed the club what is is today).

Edited 5 November 2018 by Wymeswold fox

[cityfanlee23]

Was given an idea earlier by a good friend of mine Dipak, he mentioned the idea that we could contact Richard Wilson (the artist that did the Mural of the premier league winning team) to see if we could do a mural at the ground crowdfunded by fans. Thoughts?

[StanSP]

44 minutes ago, cityfanlee23 said:

Was given an idea earlier by a good friend of mine Dipak, he mentioned the idea that we could contact Richard Wilson (the artist that did the Mural of the premier league winning team) to see if we could do a mural at the ground crowdfunded by fans. Thoughts?

Where?

[cityfanlee23]

5 minutes ago, StanSP said:

Where?

Would be open to debate I suppose no place was given but somewhere near the ground atleast. Could even be inside I guess although it wouldn't be accessible to most in that case. 

[Vince Vega]

12 hours ago, cityfanlee23 said:

Was given an idea earlier by a good friend of mine Dipak, he mentioned the idea that we could contact Richard Wilson (the artist that did the Mural of the premier league winning team) to see if we could do a mural at the ground crowdfunded by fans. Thoughts?

I really like that idea.  Something to see every time we visit the stadium.     

[Guest]

ah. The Khun Vichai Memorial Fountain.

[yorkie1999]

someone told me there's also to be a special announcement on saturday, i wonder if it's regarding a statue.