Hong Kong is to get its first statue of martial arts legend Bruce Lee as part of week-long celebrations to mark what would have been the kung fu star's 65th birthday, fans said on Monday.

In cooperation with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Bruce Lee Club will unveil a bronze statue of the martial arts hero and display some of his rarely seen movies and documentaries during the November 25 to December 1 festival.

It will also organize local tours, called "Bruce Lee's Footsteps Tours," for fans to visit Lee's schools, homes and the studios where he made his movies.

The highlight of the festival will be the unveiling of a 2.5-metre bronze statue of Lee on his birthday, November 27, at an event called "Bruce Lee Night" during which friends and family are expected to speak about their memories of the kung fu icon.

"We felt (the statue) would transform Hong Kong's collective memory of Lee into a valuable and tangible asset for our tourism industry," said the club's chairman, Wong Yiu-keung.

This will be the first statue of the legend to be erected in Hong Kong, where the San Francisco-born kung fu master was raised.

The statue, which cost 600,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$77,000), is due to be completed next week.

It will be erected permanently at the Avenue of Stars memorial to the city's rich movie-making history in the Kowloon tourist district.

Superstars, including movie stars Stephen Chow, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau and Sammo Hung, have also been invited to attend the event.

During the festival, the club will also showcase some of Lee's rarely seen footage in documentaries and films that were made in his childhood, including The Kid.

Lee starred in a string of hugely successful martial arts films including Enter the Dragon, The Chinese Connection and Return of the Dragon in the early 1970s, but died in Hong Kong of cerebral edema at the early age of 32 in 1973.

(China Daily October 26, 2005)