Avicii waxwork unveiled at Madame Tussauds New York
"We are always looking to create those celebrities who have made a significant impact on their field," says the tourist attraction's general manager
Madame Tussauds New York has put a waxwork figure of Avicii on display.
The figure of the late EDM star was unveiled earlier this week, joining the hundreds of other waxwork displays around the tourist attraction.
"We are always looking to create those celebrities who have made a significant impact on their field, and I think that it's easy to see that Avicii is one of the most iconic musicians of our generation,” said Tom Middleton, general manager of Madame Tussauds NY. “For us, it was the perfect opportunity in conjunction with his family to really celebrate his life and his career and allow guests to relive some of this icon's most notable performances.”
Wax figure designers usually take careful measurements of their subjects in making their creations, but in Avicii's case, it was of course different. Instead, a team of designers studied hours of footage of him on stage from various angles to get the dimensions as correct as possible.
Importantly, Madame Tussauds NY also sought out the permission of Avicii's parents, Klas Bergling and Anki Lidén, who've consistently worked to honour the memory of their late son. Klas Bergling has particularly been heavily involved in the creation of the Tim Bergling Foundation, which aims to promote and support treatment for mental health issues.
“It was honestly a real pleasure working with them,” Middleton says of Bergling's parents. “They were fantastic. They were really involved and engaged every step of the way, from the initial conversations of 'Yes, we would love to be able to do this to celebrate his life,' all the way through to when the first clay sculpts were done, the first paint job and to the final product.”
His figure is now on display in the music area, fittingly behind a DJ booth. “It will include clips and sound from some of his most iconic shows, whether that's him playing in front of thousands of people at Tomorrowland, or him playing at smaller venues,” Middleton says.
An Avicii tribute concert for mental health awareness is scheduled to take place in Stockholm this December, featuring David Guetta, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and more. David Guetta also remixed Avicii's track, 'Heaven', in August.
