Municipal officials in Kolkata, India, dismantled a giant statue of football star Lionel Messi after strong winds raised safety concerns.
The removal highlights the risks associated with large-scale public art installations in regions prone to extreme weather. While the monument served as a tribute to the athlete's global influence, the structural instability posed a direct threat to residents in the Lake Town area.
The statue stood at 70 feet, or 21 metres [1]. Officials said they decided to take the structure down on a Monday in May 2024 [2]. The decision followed reports that the monument began swaying during periods of high wind, which created an immediate risk to public safety [3].
Kolkata, located in the state of West Bengal, is known for its passionate football culture. The installation of the massive figure was intended to celebrate Messi's career, but the physical scale of the project eventually became a liability. Officials said the swaying motion indicated the statue could not withstand the environmental pressures of the region [3].
Local authorities coordinated the dismantling process to ensure the area remained secure. The removal of the 70-foot [1] figure was carried out to prevent a potential collapse that could have resulted in injuries, or property damage, in the densely populated neighborhood [4].
No injuries were reported during the swaying incidents or the subsequent dismantling process. The city has not yet announced if a replacement, or a modified version of the tribute, will be installed in the future [3].
“The statue stood at 70 feet, or 21 metres.”
The incident underscores the tension between ambitious civic monuments and the engineering requirements needed to sustain them in volatile climates. As cities in India increasingly use large-scale installations to signal cultural alignment with global icons, the failure of this statue suggests a need for more rigorous structural vetting and wind-load testing to avoid public hazard.
