Standing on the waterfront at Montreux gazing out over Lake Geneva is a 10ft statue of Freddie Mercury, his right arm raised in triumph, just as it was during the Live Aid concert at Wembley in 1985. The singer adored the Swiss town, making several recordings there including Made in Heaven, the single that gave the title to Queen’s final album.
Mercury was one of dozens of household names, including Bobby Charlton, Frank Whittle and Charlie Chaplin, to be sculpted by Irena Sedlecka, a Czech artist, who told of creating the statue from photographs and videos. “I had to do it like I knew him so well, like I had him in front of me,” she recalled of the bronze, which was unveiled in