Giant Michael Jackson statues popped up 30 years ago. Where have they gone?

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Getty Images Statues of Michael Jackson appeared at landmarks around the world to promote his album HIStory

In June 1995, a giant statue of Michael Jackson provided a surreal sight in the heart of London when it was floated on a barge down the River Thames. This 32ft (10m) pop colossus was just one of 10 that appeared around the world to promote the superstar's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The fibreglass titans then followed Jackson on his global tour. Thirty years later - and 16 years after his death - the King of Pop continues to attract controversy, but some of the statues still stand defiantly in unexpected corners of the world.

How the King of Pop became fibreglass

Stephen Pyle The statues were assembled and painted at Elstree Studios, where there was enough space to stand them up

Jackson's double album was a mix of his greatest hits alongside 15 new tracks including Earth Song, which would spend six weeks at the top of the UK chart. In America, sculptor Diana Walczak consulted with the pop star to create a clay sculpture that was digitally scanned for the album cover. Hertfordshire-based artist Stephen Pyle, who had built sets for worldwide productions of The Phantom of the Opera, was asked by a Sony employee called Robbie Williams (not that one) to make 10 huge statues based on this album cover.

Getty Images/Mark Baker/Sony Music Archive The first statue to appear was on the River Thames in London in June 1995

He hired sculptor Derek Howarth to craft the statue in polystyrene sections, which Mr Pyle used to make moulds and fibreglass casts. Everything was assembled in Chris and Liz Clark's workshop at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, where they were painted to look like stone. The team worked without access to Ms Walczak's prototype, which led to them looking slightly different. Mr Pyle says: "Making 10 statues in four months was quite the challenge, but thanks to Derek, Chris, Liz and the rest of my workshop team at the time, we became quite the efficient factory for Michael Jackson monoliths!" The fates of some of the statues is uncertain, and they may have been locked in storage or destroyed. But others have remained on show in some unlikely locations.

A McDonald's in the Netherlands

Peter Van Gelder One statue stood for decades at a McDonald's, but was taken down because of the 2019 Leaving Neverland documentary

For many years, a King of Pop monument towered over a McDonald's car park in the village of Best in the Netherlands. Restaurant owner Peter Van Gelder bought the statue from Sony at a 1996 charity gala for the Ronald McDonald Children's Fund. "The restaurant had just opened and didn't yet have the big yellow M," he says. "It was my intention to put it down as an eye-catcher." Jackson fans began flocking to the spot, taking photos and playing his music. Crowds became so frequent that Peter had to fence off the statue to stop people climbing on it. Each year on Jackson's birthday, and on the day he died, it became a shrine, with fans gathering to play music, hang pictures and leave flowers.

Peter Van Gelder Peter Van Gelder wants to donate the statue to a fan club

Things changed in 2019 after HBO's Leaving Neverland documentary levelled new allegations of child sexual abuse against Jackson. "In the Netherlands there was not such a strong reaction and my intention was to just leave the statue there," explained Peter. But he said pressure from the fast food chain's US headquarters led to its removal and storage in a "secret location". McDonald's tells the BBC: "In 2019, following the documentary, it was decided to remove the statue. "We felt and feel it is important for all guests to feel comfortable when visiting one of our restaurants." Peter hopes to donate the statue to a fan club, but due to its size a building permit is required. "Many have approached me but still no-one has been able to get a permit," he says. "The years have passed since his death and I've noticed that the interest in the statue is decreasing... So the Michael Jackson statue lies resting under a tarp in an insignificant shed."

A nightclub in Austria

Franz Josef Zika One statue has moonwalked its way into a defunct nightclub in Austria

The courtyard of an abandoned club in a small town 18 miles (30km) west of Vienna is not the place you'd expect to find a towering effigy of the King of Pop. Owner Franz Josef Zika won the statue in 1998 at a radio charity auction in aid of the Red Cross, and spent 150,000 Austrian Schillings (£9,300). He recalls: "The big problem was when I went home and had to tell my uncle, who was the family boss, and he said, 'You're crazy!'" Visitors to The Baby'O in Judenau-Baumgarten may have been surprised to find Michael Jackson in the smoking area, but Franz saw it as a great way to promote his club. "There were also many bars next to the statue, so there was a party around Jackson," he says.

Franz Josef Zika Franz Josef Zika now wants to sell his statue

Last year the club was forced to close after a new residential building was built nearby. Now Franz wants to find somebody to open a small cafe or pizzeria at the venue, but needs to get rid of the pop monolith first. He said: "I've been trying to sell it for two years. I would be happy if I get €25,000 (£21,000) for it. "I've had some interest from Sweden and some in Hungary, but the problem is people don't have enough money." What if he can't find a buyer? "We don't know. Maybe I'll send it to Mars. Elon will do this for me!" he laughs.

A Swiss fairground

Marino Trotta This King of Pop effigy used to get an annual outing, but has not been seen for a few years

For more than 50 years, an annual fairground event called Luna Park has taken place in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is among these blinking lights and brightly coloured rides that another Jackson statue can be found. It has been given slight refurbishment, with gold paint added to his faux military uniform. Organisers tell the BBC they bought it 2008 from a man who had purchased it from Sony years earlier. The statue has not been displayed for a few years, but they do not say why - however they stress it is not for sale.

A miniature town in South Africa

Heather Mason/2summers.net A repainted statue has been spotted in a now-abandoned Johannesburg theme park

When Jackson brought his HIStory tour to South Africa, he had one of the 10 statues with him. Santarama Miniland, which opened in Johannesburg in the 1970s to showcase the country in miniature, is now abandoned. Attractions have been removed and the miniature train no longer runs, but a repainted MJ monolith still stands, visible in Google Earth satellite images. Blogger Heather Mason of 2summers.net visited the park in 2013. She recalls: "It was quite strange to see a giant blue Michael Jackson statue in the middle of Miniland, where the general theme is for things to be smaller than life, not larger than life. "But I certainly appreciated it! The MJ statue was the best photo op in the park."

An Italian amusement park

Europark Milano The statue was restored in 2019, but is now for sale

For 50 years, Sydney Opera House has had one man on speed dial

2 hours ago Share Save Tiffanie Turnbull BBC News, Sydney Share Save

ABC News/Declan Bowring Terry Harper is retiring after half a century in the building

Since the Sydney Opera House opened over 50 years ago, countless musical stars, world leaders and awestruck patrons have visited its iconic halls. The outside forecourt has been blanketed by thousands of bare bodies in the name of art and, inside, an only slightly less naked Arnold Schwarzenegger even won a body-building title. There have been renovations and controversies, protests staged and history made. And the constant, through it all, is Terry Harper. He's been tuning the building's pianos for half a century, working behind the scenes to make sure the uber-technical instruments are ready for the world's best musicians. It's a family legacy started by his father when the Opera House first opened in 1973 - and one that ended this week, with Terry's retirement.

Sydney Opera House Trust In 1980, Arnold Schwarzenegger won his final Mr Olympia body-building title in the Concert Hall

The 69-year-old still remembers the first time he stepped into the half-finished Opera House, as a wide-eyed child. "The sails were up, but it was all very bare," he tells the BBC, gesturing to the edges of the grand Concert Hall. "There was nothing inside… You could see out to the harbour on both sides." At the time, he had no inkling he'd spend most of his life inside the iconic venue. His dad, on the other hand, no doubt had grand plans, Terry says. By then, Liverpool emigrant Ron Harper was renowned on the Sydney music scene as both a piano tuner and a performer. "He would take me to these nightclubs as a [kid] in my little school uniform. And I would be seeing all of these world-class acts," Terry recalls. He rattles off a list including Welsh songstress Dame Shirley Bassey, stage icon Liza Minelli, and British TV and music darling Cilla Black – whom they even drove home after her performance one night. "It was an interesting childhood," Terry surmises, with a chuckle. But it's one which instilled in him a love of music – even if he wasn't particularly interested in making it himself. Somewhat ironically, Terry admits he spent about a year learning piano before giving it up, dabbling with the drums and his school choir instead. It was in 1973, shortly after the Opera House was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II, that his father Ron got his fateful call-up. "One day, the Sydney Symphony was rehearsing downstairs, and the piano hadn't been tuned particularly well by whoever had been in in the morning," Terry says. "One of the people working here knew my dad."

Terry Harper Ron Harper retrained as a piano tuner after World War Two

Three years later, a 19-year-old Terry would join Ron under the sails, after completing a one-year piano tuning course when he left school. He started on rehearsal pianos in the backroom, while building up his skills and confidence, before finally taking over when his dad retired a decade later. These days, he can walk into a room and immediately know if the piano is out of tune. "I always had a very good sense of pitch," he says, "[but] it's difficult to master." And it's all done by ear. Tinkling on the piano in front of him, he explains this one has 243 strings. For most of the keys, three separate steel wires combine to make the note. "Once they start to deviate from the same frequency, they cause these things which we call beats, and that's what we're listening for when we're tuning." "Can you hear this?" he asks, enthusiastically. Alas, I – a music pleb - cannot. "It's not like tuning a guitar," he says, offering me some solace.

Terry has always tuned pianos by ear - a skill not everyone is lucky enough to have

The process can take up to 90 minutes, and each of the 30 pianos in the building need to be tuned basically every time they're used. "There's so many strings in there that can wander out of tune, especially when you're playing big piano concertos," Terry explains. "I refer to these as being F1 racing cars… They're really gunning them." It can be a demanding and relentless job. "It doesn't stop. And it's night times, it's early mornings, it's two and three times a day," Terry says. But the perks – which include brushing shoulders with some of the globe's most-decorated musicians and easy access to the most sought-after tickets in town - aren't to be scoffed at, he hastens to add. Terry has also tuned pianos in many other notable locations - from the Royal Albert Hall and Abbey Road Studios to the BBC broadcast offices. But none occupy a spot in his heart like the Opera House. "For me, it's a very happy place. It's pretty much been my life."

Sydney Opera House Trust The Sydney Opera House opened in 1973 and is considered one of the 20th Century's most distinctive buildings

Y2K core: Escapism and nostalgia for a time before you were born

11 minutes ago Share Save Pete Allison Presenter, BBC Newsbeat Share Save

BBC Harmony and Harry have been decorating the band's new studio - an upgrade from the guitarist's bedroom, where they used to perform

Ask pop-punk band South Arcade about the inspiration for their breakout hit, Supermodels, and get ready to go on a journey. It starts at Shut Up and Drive by Rihanna, swerves into nu-metal band Korn's cover of Word Up and detours towards Genesis, by French dance act Justice. The final destination is Just Dance - the popular video game series where players rack up points by mimicking routines from chart-topping hits. "You know when you go to a gaming arcade and there's those dance mat machines?" asks singer Harmony. "I was like: 'I want to write a song that could be on that'."

South Arcade are riding the wave of Y2K core - a growing interest in the 90s and early 2000s culture. The four-piece's sound - upbeat, rocky guitar music - would have been right at home on MTV, or the soundtrack of a 90s slasher movie. "It has that weird, nostalgic feel to it," says Harmony. Both she and guitarist Harry were born at the start of the millennium, so admit their fondness for that time comes from older siblings and friends introducing them to the material. Despite their lack of first-hand experience, the band have been described as "figureheads of a growing Y2K revival" by website MusicRadar. "We can't accept that we missed it," says Harry, laughing. "So we have to bring it back single-handedly."

Getty Images Follow the Leader: Nu-metal pioneers Korn have been finding a new generation of fans

South Arcade aren't exactly alone, though. Some of the bands that inspired their sound have also had a surge in popularity. At the recent Download festival, nu-metal veterans Korn headlined, and further down the bill fellow noughties heroes Alien Ant Farm pulled in crowds. Linkin Park recently released their first new music since the death of original frontman Chester Bennington, and Limp Bizkit sold out arenas on a tour of the UK this year. Harry says rap and dance music have dominated the mainstream landscape for the past 10 years, and believes more people his age are discovering what came before. "Pre-2010 it was like a golden era of band music and guitar music," says Harry. "It was just full of great bands and then it just shifted, the pendulum swung."

Parts of South Arcade's rise have been far more 2025 than Y2K. They started to gain traction via TikTok. A spokesperson told Newsbeat that the Y2K hashtag has been used in four million posts on the app, with some of the most popular linked to noughties artists including Pitbull and Avril Lavigne. Harmony says South Arcade's videos began drawing an audience when they started uploading footage from their rehearsal sessions. It's something they've previously said was partly in response to accusations they were "industry plants" or "not a real band". They're also not immune from the modern-day pressures facing musicians, with the cost-of-living crisis still biting. A recent tour of America was "really expensive", they admit, and keeping stage shows fresh involves getting creative with ideas "in the cheapest way possible". But the band say it's been worth it and they've been seeing a mix of fans engaging with their music. "It's really great because we see a bunch of comments on YouTube from people that were in that era," says Harmony, "and they can almost notice the references or pick it apart, but then there's these much younger kids hearing that sort of stuff for the first time. "It's really cool to sort of bring everyone together on it."

The appeal to fans who spent their teens listening to the likes of Korn is probably obvious. But what is the attraction of Y2K for people who were in nappies during the heyday? "Everything's going towards like, minimalism of phones," says Harry. "But in that era, your room was full of stuff, like not just a neat room, it was full of posters and action figures. "Now people would just say they scroll on TikTok, but back in the day you'd have had gaming consoles and games and stuff like that, CD players and loads of things that are off your phone. For Harmony, it's a feeling of escapism. "I get loads of nostalgia videos coming up for things from my childhood, you'll see it and it'll make you feel a certain sort of weird, twinkly way," she says. "And I think if we can capture that sort of feeling in music, when everyone's bedrooms were their personality, it wasn't just their Instagram feed. "It was what the posters on their wall were, what characters they collected, things like that."

'We're not Rottweilers': Behind the scenes at a GP 8am scramble

6 minutes ago Share Save Rob Sissons Health correspondent, BBC East Midlands Share Save

BBC Jayne Bond and Sandra Brewster answer the phones during the rush for a same-day GP appointment

Anyone who has ever tried to get a GP appointment in England will be familiar with the "8am scramble", as you phone your local surgery desperately hoping to get through. Many surgeries - like the Tudor House Medical Practice - open their telephone lines at 08:00, meaning that if you want an on-the-day appointment, you have to phone on the dot at 08:00. This can prove a source of frustration, with Jayne Bond - part of a four-strong team at the increasingly busy practice - often at the sharp end of patients' upset. "Some people think we are Rottweilers, and we are trying to stop them getting appointments," she said. The practice invited the BBC to watch them at work first thing in the morning during the busiest part of their day, when those phone lines open.

The Tudor House Medical Practice in Nottingham has almost 7,000 patients

"When the phone lines open, it just goes manic," fellow receptionist Sandra Brewster said. She knows the scene at the practice, in Sherwood, is repeated at surgeries across the land when they release their same-day bookable appointments first thing. "It is mad - we try and grab a cup of tea before the phones open up," Sandra added. Often potential patients can get frustrated when receptionists ask for more information. Jayne, 66, said: "We are on the ball - we have to be. "Some people think we are nosy, but we are just trying to get them to the right person." Eighty per cent of face-to-face GP appointments at the surgery are bookable on the day and released first thing, and typically within half an hour, they are gone.

Like many surgeries, the practice has experienced increasing demand

We observed the pressure on a typical Wednesday morning. Jayne said: "We normally call it 'wacky Wednesday' - it can be a very busy day." Only five minutes after the lines open, more than 30 people are queuing to get through. The telephone system has recently been upgraded, with an option for people to request to be phoned back without the caller losing their place in the queue. But despite this "improvement", high demand will mean some inevitably miss out. Sandra, also 66, admits receptionists can't always give people they want. "People have said to me, 'well if I die it will be your fault'. "There can be verbal abuse - you just have to go home and forget about it and remember it is the situation, not personal, but they are the calls you remember," she said. We observed that 50 people were booked in at the surgery within 25 minutes.

Practice manager Tricia Gibbons says the call handlers "do a fantastic job"

This relentless demand for appointments is a picture repeated across the country, and has seen the government step in earlier this year. The Labour government had pledged in its manifesto to end the early morning phone "scramble" for appointments, and in February, confirmed a deal to give an extra £889m a year to general practices. The new contract says patients should be able to arrange appointments online throughout working hours, freeing up the phones for those who need them most, and making it easier for practices to triage patients based on medical need. Practice manager Tricia Gibbons said patients were "getting more used to not always seeing a GP". The 56-year-old said: "When I first started 11 years ago, we only had access to GPs and trainee doctors." The surgery now has an expanded team of health professionals to complement the work of family doctors, including an advanced nurse practitioner and a clinical pharmacist, which can see patients. Tricia stressed, though, that "the doctors are always there to offer back-up". "This model is about giving doctors more time to focus on more complex cases," she said. "Other members of the team are well placed to deal with the more minor illnesses and ailments."

Dr Jonathan Lloyd, a GP partner, said demand meant there was "more pressure on doctors"

Dr Jonathan Lloyd, a GP partner at the surgery, said demand for primary care had gone up hugely since he began working as a doctor almost 30 years ago. "The number of appointments the average patient has each year has increased, and people have got older, and there are more people with dementia and chronic disease," he said. "The number of GPs has not increased at the same rate, so there is more pressure on doctors." He said accessing primary care across the country was a "big problem", but felt most patients were "comfortable" knowing they might not always see a doctor. He said six out of 10 GP appointments were in person, with the rest on the phone, which "many people are quite happy about". "Our patients have control over that - if they want to see me face-to-face, they can," he added.

'Nowhere near a solution'

Latest annual figures from NHS England show that record numbers of appointments - more than 370 million - were offered by GP surgeries in 2024-25, with almost two-thirds face to face, and the rest virtual. Four out of 10 appointments at surgeries are with doctors, and the rest with other health professionals. More than half of appointments were booked at least a day ahead, with the rest on the same day. Katie Bramall-Stainer, who chairs the British Medical Association GPs' committee, previously told BBC Breakfast that the new government deal could see patients begin to notice a difference in six to 12 months, but said the overall situation was "nowhere near a solution". So for now, the likes of Jayne and Sandra will continue to keep an eye on the clock as 8am approaches.

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Who were the Windrush generation?

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A look back at life when the Windrush generation arrived in the UK

Windrush Day has been held on 22 June since 2018, to celebrate the contribution Caribbean migrants and their families have made to the UK. HMT Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, Essex, in 1948, bringing hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean to the UK. In 2018, it emerged that the government had not properly recorded the details of people granted permission to stay in the UK, and many were wrongly mistreated.

What is the Windrush generation?

HMT Empire Windrush became a symbol of a wider mass-migration movement. People in the Caribbean were invited to the UK to help rebuild post-war Britain. According to the National Archives, which holds the ship's passenger list, there were 1,027 people on board. More than 800 gave their last country of residence as somewhere in the Caribbean. Several hundred passengers were Jamaican, but others arrived from islands including Trinidad, St Lucia, Grenada and Barbados. These travellers - and those on other ships which came to the UK until 1971 - became known as the Windrush generation. Many had served in the British armed forces in World War Two.

Why did the Windrush generation come to Britain?

In 1948, the British Nationality Act gave people from colonies the right to live and work in Britain. The government needed workers to help fill post-war labour shortages and rebuild the economy. Caribbean countries were also struggling economically, and job vacancies in the UK offered an opportunity. Many of those who came became manual workers, drivers, cleaners, and nurses in the newly established NHS.

What was life like for first-generation Windrush migrants?

What is Windrush Day?

Commemoration events have been held on 22 June every year since 2018. In 2023, the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Windrush was marked with a series of concerts, exhibitions and seminars across the country. King Charles, who held a reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the anniversary, hailed the Windrush generation's "profound and permanent contribution to British life". This year will see events taking place around the country, including a number sponsored by the government's Windrush Day Grant Scheme.

Getty Images King Charles shakes hands with a guest during a reception to mark the 75th anniversary of Windrush at Buckingham Palace on 14 June, 2023

Where are the Windrush generation now?

It is unclear how many people from the Windrush generation are still in the UK, but the number is thought to be in the thousands. They are among more than 500,000 UK residents who were born in a Commonwealth country and arrived before 1971, according to University of Oxford estimates.

What was the Windrush scandal?

The 1971 Immigration Act gave Commonwealth citizens living in the UK indefinite leave to remain - the permanent right to live and work in the UK. This included the Windrush generation, but also people from other former British colonies in South Asia and Africa.

"My whole life sunk down to my feet" - Windrush migrant Michael Braithwaite

However, in April 2018, it emerged that the UK Home Office had kept no records of those granted permission to stay, and had not issued the paperwork they needed to confirm their status. It had also destroyed landing cards belonging to Windrush migrants, in 2010. Those affected were unable to prove they were in the country legally and were prevented from accessing healthcare, work and housing. Many were also threatened with deportation. A review of historical cases also found that at least 83 people who had arrived before 1973 had been wrongly deported.

What did the government do about the Windrush scandal?

Theresa May's Windrush apology to Caribbean leaders

In April 2018, then-Prime Minister Theresa May apologised for the treatment of those affected. An inquiry was announced and a compensation scheme established. The inquiry, which reported in March 2020, said that the scandal was both "foreseeable and avoidable", and criticised "a culture of disbelief and carelessness" in the Home Office. It made 30 recommendations, including: a full Home Office review of the UK's "hostile environment" immigration policy

appointing a migrants' commissioner

establishing a race advisory board Inquiry author Wendy Williams warned there was a "grave risk" of similar problems happening again without government action. Then-Home Secretary Priti Patel accepted the recommendations in full.

But in January 2023, then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced the Home office was dropping three of the commitments: to appoint a migrants' commissioner responsible for "speaking up for migrants and those affected by the system directly or indirectly"

to give the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration new powers

to hold events with people affected to "listen and reflect on their stories" The High Court later ruled that Ms Braverman acted unlawfully by dropping the measures relating to a migrants' commissioner and the chief inspector of borders and immigration. In June 2025, the Reverend Clive Foster was appointed as the first Windrush Commissioner - seven years after the scandal was first exposed. A top priority will be looking at how to improve the Windrush Compensation Scheme which has been described by campaigners as "torturous".

PA Media The Reverend Clive Foster from Nottingham is vice-chair of the Windrush National Organisation

How does the Windrush Compensation Scheme work?