irish tourist damages statue

Irish tourist arrested after allegedly damaging Brussels statue

An irish tourist who, according to local reports, was "clearly intoxicated" was filmed climbing and damaging a recently restored statute at the brussels stock exchange.

Exterior of the Brussels Stock Exchange building in Belgium.

An Irish tourist has been arrested after allegedly climbing onto a recently renovated statue in Brussels and causing thousands of Euro worth of damage.

Video of the incident shows a man climbing slowly onto the statue located outside the stock exchange in Brussels. The statue was renovated as part of a €90 million restoration project at the historic building, known as the Place de la Bourse.

The man can be seen leaning on the torch, causing it and parts of the arm holding it to fall off, prompting gasps from onlookers.

A young Irishman has been arrested in Brussels, Belgium, after he climbed on to a recently renovated statue outside the stock exchange on Sunday and caused part of it to fall off, according to local media. Report here: https://t.co/dyx9mL0EDO pic.twitter.com/nalE6cGMjc — The Irish Times (@IrishTimes) September 13, 2023

Local media outlets report that the tourist was "clearly intoxicated" while trying to get his photograph taken on top of the statue on Sunday night, just one day after the building reopened.

An Irish tourist was arrested in a nearby fast-food restaurant sometime after the incident, according to local media. He was reportedly unaware that he had caused any damage to the statue.

"An Irish tourist climbed onto one of the statues at the Brussels Stock Exchange building," a Brussels Police spokeswoman said, according to Newstalk.

"Police arrived at the scene [and] a police report was drawn up against the tourist.

"When he wanted to get back down, he broke a piece of the statue."

Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reports that the restoration of the statue cost €17,600.

Management at the Bourse building wants to recover the cost of necessary repairs from the person who damaged the statue, Het Nieuwsblad added.

The historic Bourse building includes a beer museum and a co-working space and recently underwent a massive restoration project. The newly renovated building opened on Saturday with a number of special events, with visitors encouraged to drink Belgian beer as part of the celebration.

Nel Van De Vannet, architect and CEO of the Brussels Stock Exchange Renovation Project, told RTÉ Morning Ireland on Thursday morning that the site is "symbolically important" and often used as a gathering place for both happy and sad times.

The incident has made her and her team "very, very sad and upset."

"For us, it's a bit of a sad moment to see now after these three years of restoration where we know the sculpture and time it took to restore it is now broken off after two days of opening," she said.

She added: "It will take probably two months again before we can see the whole lion with the hand intact again.

"Again, it's a long process."

When asked who will pay for the damage, Van De Vannet said: "Well, police intercepted him so I think it will be on his account but maybe I can do an appeal for a peaceful mediation and a payment for restoration."

She said the bill would be between €5,000 and €7,000.

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Irish tourist damages newly renovated statue in Belgium's capital Brussels

An Irish tourist has been filmed climbing on top of a lion statue outside the Brussels stock exchange and damaging it as he tried to dismount.

In the video shared by Belgian media outlet, Sudinfo, a part of the statue can be seen breaking off — it looks like the torch held by a sculpted man.

Police arrested the tourist shortly after the incident on Sunday night, according to local media reports.

The two lion statues and stairs in front of the Brussels stock exchange, known as the Bourse, had only just been renovated at a cost of 90 million euros ($148 million).

The building reopened its doors after three years of restoration on Saturday — one day before the incident took place.

Nel Vandevennet, the manager of the renovation project, told VRT NWS that repairing the damage could take "a few weeks or even months".

"The repairs are going to cost a lot of money because the work will have to be done by real craftsmen," he said.

"It is listed heritage and there will be follow-up from the monuments and landscapes agency of the Brussels region.

"We thought the sculptures would enjoy greater respect. We just think it's very sad this happened."

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Tourist damages historic Brussels statue one day after £15,000 restoration revealed

Irish holidaymaker arrested after snapping off part of monument’s hand, article bookmarked.

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An Irish tourist has broken a historic statue in Belgium just one day after it was unveiled to the public following a £15,000 restoration.

The unnamed man was arrested after snapping off part of the hand bearing a torch on the monument in front of the newly reopened Brussels Stock Exchange, reports Belgian outlet VRT NWS .

The building, now home to the new Belgian Beer World experience, had reopened the day before, on Saturday 9 September, after undergoing major renovation work that cost £77m in total.

Video shared online shows the moment the holidaymaker, who appears to be drunk, clambered on the statue depicting a man holding a torch next to a lion.

The footage shows him then steadying himself as goes to jump back down, managing to break off the torch and a large part of the statue’s arm.

Police cameras captured the act of accidental vandalism, and the man was reportedly intercepted and arrested by law enforcement in a nearby fast food restaurant not long after.

The building is now keen to claim the thousands of pounds-worth of damage directly from the tourist.

Nel Vandevennet, who managed the restoration project, described the man as being “in a merry mood”.

“The repairs are going to cost a lot of money because the work will have to be done by real craftsmen,” he said.

“It is listed heritage and there will be follow-up from the monuments and landscapes agency of the Brussels region.

“We would like to carry out the repairs quickly, but it will surely take a few weeks or even months.

“The whole building has only just been restored to its former glory, including the two lions which were in a bad way.

“We thought the sculptures would enjoy greater respect. We just think it’s very sad this happened.”

It is the latest in a long line of incidents of tourists behaving badly this summer.

A British tourist in Rome hit headlines when he carved his name into the Colosseum ; the same act was repeated not soon after by a teenage girl on holiday in the Italian capital .

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Irish tourist will likely have to pay between €5,000-€7,000 for damaged Belgian statue

A BELGIAN ARCHITECT in charge of renovating the Brussels Stock Exchange has described her reaction to damage caused to a statue by an Irish tourist as “very, very sad”.

Video posted to social media showed an Irish man climbing onto the statue on the newly renovated building. While trying to climb down from the top of the statue, the arm of an angel gave way under him and broke off.

The man was later arrested by police in a fast food restaurant, according to reports in Belgian media.

The statue of a lion held by an angel is one of two that flank the entrance to the historic building. The statue’s renovation originally cost €17,600.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme today, Nel Van De Vannet, architect and CEO of the brussels Stock Exchange Renovation Project, said that “it is a symbolically important building for Brussels and the Belgians.”

“After three years of renovation, this weekend there was a grand opening,” she said.

She explained that the building is a gathering point where residents of the city gather in times of celebration and mourning, as it was in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks that took place in the city in 2016.

“So we saw after two days of opening, a happy Irish tourist breaking off the hand of one of the angels that holds the lion, we were very, very sad and upset.

“It will take probably two months again before we can see the whole lion with the hand intact again,” she explained.

Asked how much the repair is likely to cost, Van De Vannet speculated that it would be between 5,000 and 7,000 euros, adding that since the Irish man is now in police custody, he is likely to be footing the bill.

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Irish tourist arrested in Brussels after allegedly damaging newly-restored statue

An Irish tourist has been arrested in Brussels after allegedly damaging a newly-restored statue of a lion worth over €17,000.

Police arrested the man at the Brussels Stock Exchange on Sunday night after he broke a piece of the statue when attempting to climb up to the lion, who is joined at its side by a man holding a torch.

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Story continues below.

Appearing to try get a photo with the lion in a video of the incident, the tourist knocked off the man’s torch when trying to climb up from the back of the statue.

The man was soon arrested by police shortly after the incident in a nearby restaurant, where he was said to have pleaded he intended no harm.

The news arrives as a blow for the restored Stock Exchange building as the €90 million property only opened its doors to the public on the day before the incident after three years of anticipation.

Despite just being restored, the statue will now have to be reworked once more to get it back to its prestine condition for tourists to marvel at.

According to Het Nieuwsblad , a Flemish newspaper, the Stock Exhange will be looking for the man to pay for the repairs of the damage he caused.

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VIDEO: 'Merry' Irish tourist damages historic lion statue outside Belgian Beer World

One of the two newly restored lions outside the Brussels Stock Exchange building was damaged by an Irish tourist on Sunday evening. The visitor climbed on top of the lion and damaged a sculpture in the process. Police have issued a charge sheet.

"On Sunday evening, an Irish tourist in a merry mood wanted to climb onto the lion in front of the Brussels Stock Exchange building," explains project manager Nel Vandevennet of the renovated stock exchange building that now houses Belgian Beer World. "In the process, the man broke off a newly restored sculpture 'The hand with a torch'."

The merry Irishman’s climb was filmed by a police camera allowing officers to intercept the visitor. "The repairs are going to cost a lot of money because the work will have to be done by real craftsmen," says Vandevennet. "It is listed heritage and there will be follow-up from the monuments and landscapes agency of the Brussels region."

"We would like to carry out the repairs quickly, but it will surely take a few weeks or even months. The whole building has only just been restored to its former glory, including the two lions which were in a bad way. We thought the sculptures would enjoy greater respect. We just think it’s very sad this happened," concludes Nel Vandevennet.

Belgian Beer World at BourseBeurs

The newly renovated stock exchange building that accommodates the new Belgian Beer World experience only reopened on Saturday. The centre is devoted to Belgian beer culture and includes a beer terrace that can also be visited outside museum hours.

It is not known whether our Irish visitor found inspiration at Belgian Beer World or enjoyed the offerings of the beer terrace or whether other pubs in the vicinity enjoyed his custom.

Drunk tourist damages newly renovated statue at Bourse in Brussels city centre

The Bourse in Brussels city centre recently reopened after a big renovation, but has already been damaged again by an intoxicated tourist on Sunday night.

The Bourse and the two lions on the stairs in front of it have only just been restored . On Saturday, the building finally opened its doors after three years of restoration, which cost €90 million. A day later, one of the lion statues has already been damaged.

A video shows an Irish tourist, clearly intoxicated, climbing on the back of the statue to have his photo taken, next to the statue of a man holding a torch. However, when trying to crawl off the statue, the torch breaks off.

Police were notified and the man was arrested shortly afterwards in a fast food restaurant nearby – unaware of the harm he had caused. The statue, which was also only recently restored, will now have to be repaired again.

The restoration of the lion cost €17,600, and the management of the Bourse reportedly wants to recover the costs from the Irishman, Het Nieuwsblad reports.

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Seemingly drunk tourist climbs statue, causes $19k in damages at iconic brussels building day after it reopened to public.

An Irish tourist has broken a statue out the front of an iconic building in Brussels one day after it reopened to the public following a three-year $150 million restoration.

The man was allegedly intoxicated and was filmed trying to ride the lion statue, which also features a man with a torch, at the Brussels Stock Exchange in Belgium.

There are two of the statues located on either side of the entrance to the building and they were also restored as part of the project.

As the tourist tried to climb down, a part of the statue, believed to be the torch, broke off.

An allegedly intoxicated tourist has been filmed trying to ride a lion state in Belgium with his shock act causing $29,000 worth of damages.

He was arrested by police at a nearby fast food restaurant and said he was unaware of the scale of the damage he had caused, according to local media.

The restoration of the statue is estimated to cost about $19,000 and the Brussels Stock Exchange plans to make the tourist pay, local newspaper Nieuwsblad reported.

Nel Vandevennet, project manager for the restoration, said the building and statues were heritage-listed.

“We would like to carry out the repairs quickly, but it will surely take a few weeks or even months,” he told news outlet VRT NWS .

He continued: “The whole building has only just been restored to its former glory, including the two lions which were in a bad way.

“We thought the sculptures would enjoy greater respect. We just think it’s very sad this happened.”

The man was arrested by police at a nearby fast food restaurant and said he was unaware of the scale of the damage he had caused, according to reports.

The building opened to the public on Saturday and the video of the tourist was filmed on Sunday night.

The reopened building plans to be a public place for exhibitions, performances, and other events.

There is a cafe and it is expected a restaurant will eventually be opened too.

It is also home to the Belgian Beer World museum, but it is unknown if the Irishman had visited.

Corrections

Brussels Statue Supposedly Damaged by Irish Tourist

Brussels Statue, Recently Restored, Was Supposedly Damaged by Irish Tourist After Which the Authorities Arrested Him.

Brussels statue, located at the Brussels Stock Exchange, suffered damage caused by the Irish tourist . A young Irishman climbed this recently restored lion monument, and he managed to knock down a part of it. With this he caused several thousand euros in losses. Then, the Brussels police arrested him while he was sitting at a fast-food diner. The incident took place on Sunday.

Brussels Statue Destroyed by a “clearly intoxicated” Tourist

The authorities renovated the monument as an element of the Place de la Bourse’s heritage remediation, with a €90 million undertaking. Irishman destroyed the monument just a day after the restauration finished. The administration of the bourse expects the young man make payments for the renovations. Local media outlets says the tourist was “clearly intoxicated”.

He tried to take a photo, but instead he damaged the statue. A video on the internet depicts the young man climbing carefully and cautiously over the monument while wearing a T-shirt and shorts. The statue has an unclothed man seated next to a lion while carrying an illuminated torch.

According to reports, he did not realise that he harmed the monument in any way. “An Irish tourist climbed onto one of the statues at the Brussels Stock Exchange building. Police arrived at the scene [and] a police report was drawn up against the tourist. When he wanted to get back down, he broke a piece of the statue”, a Brussels Police spokeswoman said.

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Please check your inbox to activate your subscription, the building’s architect was upset.

The lion’s repair bill was €17,600. A recent extensive renovation operation included the addition of a co-working area and a beer exhibit to the historical Bourse structure. On Saturday, a variety of unique events were held to celebrate the opening of the recently refurbished facility, and guests were invited to partake in Belgian beer as part of the festivities.

Nel Van De Vannet, architect and CEO of the Brussels Stock Exchange Renovation Project, told RTÉ Morning Ireland on Thursday morning that the site is “symbolically important” and often used as a gathering place for both happy and sad times. The occurrence has left her and her teammates “very, very sad and upset”.

“For us, it’s a bit of a sad moment to see now after these three years of restoration where we know the sculpture and time it took to restore it is now broken off after two days of opening. It will take probably two months again before we can see the whole lion with the hand intact again. Again, it’s a long process”, she said.

The Brussels Royal Museum Director Resigns, Staff Allegations

By Angela Davic News, Discoveries, In-depth Reporting, and Analysis Angela is a journalism student at the Faculty of Political Science in Belgrade and received a scholarship for continued education in Prague. She completed her internship at the daily newspaper DANAS and worked as an executive editor at Talas.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,

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Irish tourist likely to pay €5,000 to €7,000 to fix damaged statue in Brussels

Architect Nel Van De Vannet has estimated how much it will cost the Irish tourist for damages to the statue in Brussels

15:23, 14 SEP 2023

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The Irish tourist that was arrested for allegedly climbing a statue in Brussels and then causing €17,000-worth of damage to it will likely have to pay between €5k and €7k in damages according to Belgian architect Nel Van De Vannet.

Van De Vannet said that the nation's reaction to the damage to the statue was "very, very sad."

In a nutshell

The Irish tourist that was arrested in Belgium for allegedly climbing and causing damage to a statue while drink is estimated to have to pay between €5,000 to €7,000 in damages.

READ MORE - Met Eireann give Orange rain warning for Cork and Yellow for 12 other counties

The tourist was arrested on Monday following a video on social media appeared to show them climbing a lion statue outside of the newly renovated Brussels stock exchange.

Van De Vannet - who is also the CEO of the Brussels Stock Exchange Renovation Project - says that she reckons the tourist will have to foot the bill themselves and speculated the cost of damages would be around the €5,000 to €7,000 range.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme today she said that "it is a symbolically important building for Brussels and the Belgians.”

She added: “After three years of renovation, this weekend there was a grand opening.

“So we saw after two days of opening, a happy Irish tourist breaking off the hand of one of the angels that holds the lion, we were very, very sad and upset.

“It will take probably two months again before we can see the whole lion with the hand intact again."

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Irish tourist climbs iconic lion statue in Brussels, causes nearly 15 lakh in damages

The tourist damaged the lion statue at the brussels stock exchange just one day after the grand reopening of the newly-renovated building..

The police arrested an Irish tourist after he was caught on camera damaging the newly restored lion statue at the Brussels Stock Exchange. The estimated cost of the damage he caused is a whopping $19,000 (or over ₹ 15 lakh.) The tourist is expected to pay the damages he caused to the statue, reported Nieuwsblad .

This photograph shows the stock exchange building in the city centre of Brussels. (AFP)

The incident occurred when the tourist, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, decided to take a picture of himself while perched on the back of the statue. This statue consisted of a lion and a man holding a torch. However, as he attempted to climb down, the torch broke off, reported New York Post .

The incident transpired just one day after the grand reopening of the newly-renovated building. Nel Vandevennet, the project manager, said that the building and statues were heritage-listed, reported VRT NWS .

“We would like to carry out the repairs quickly, but it will surely take a few weeks or even months. The whole building has only just been restored to its former glory, including the two lions, which were in a bad way,” VRT NWS quoted Nel Vandevennet.

Read| Workers looking for shortcut cause ‘irreversible damage’ to Great Wall of China

The newly renovated stock exchange building had celebrated its grand reopening on a Saturday, only to face this unfortunate incident on the subsequent Sunday night.

This is, however, not the first time that a tourist damaged an iconic site. Earlier, a tourist scratched a wall of the Colosseum in Rome and etched the names of himself and his girlfriend. After the authorities nabbed him, he shared an apology letter and said that only after the incident he realised that the monument was so old. Read more on the incident and the apology letter he shared here . Also Read| Hungry student eats expensive banana artwork on display in Seoul. Watch

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Moment Irish tourist damages statue outside Brussels Stock Exchange the day after it was unveiled following £15,000 restoration

Irishman was arrested after snapping off part of 'the hand with a torch' statue
Stock Exchange had just undergone £77m restoration, including work to statue
Do you know who the tourist is? Email [email protected]

By Elena Salvoni

Published: 10:32 EDT, 13 September 2023 | Updated: 13:37 EDT, 13 September 2023

View comments

An Irishman has been arrested in Brussels after breaking off part of a statue outside the city's Stock Exchange - which had just cost £15,000 to restore.

The building, known as the Bourse, was reopened just a day before the incident on Sunday, following a three-year £77million restoration project.

Shocking video shows the man, who appears to be drunk, climbing up the statue, which is called 'the hand with a torch' and is one of two which flank the entrance.

Astonished crowds watched as he clambered on to the sculpture, which depicts a lion and a man holding a torch.

As he goes to dismount the artwork, he grabs on to it to steady himself, snapping the torch and what appears to be part of the arm off as he jumps to the ground.

Astonished crowds watched as he clambered on to the sculpture, which depicts a lion and a man holding a torch

Video taken of the incident on Sunday shows the man appearing to steady himself by holding onto the statue's arm

The man is thought to have been intercepted by police in a nearby fast food restaurant soon after and arrested.

The Stock Exchange now wants to recoup the thousands in damages directly from the man, Belgian media reports.

Nel Vandevennet, who managed the restoration project, told outlet VRT NWS : 'The repairs are going to cost a lot of money because the work will have to be done by real craftsmen.

'It is listed heritage and there will be follow-up from the monuments and landscapes agency of the Brussels region.'

The torch and what appears to be part of the arm of the statue clatters to the floor as the man makes his way down

The tourist looks down as he realises he's knocked part of the statue off

Pictures show the statue in a state of disrepair before it was restored. Now, it will need to be worked on again

The reopening of the landmark has been highly anticipated in the Belgian city, with guided tours being put on as tourists are welcomed back

Pictures show the erosion suffered by the stone statue before it was restored. Now, it will need to be worked on again.

Share or comment on this article: Moment Irish tourist damages statue outside Brussels Stock Exchange the day after it was unveiled following £15,000 restoration

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14 times foolish tourists damaged our ancient sites

I t seems we can’t go a single week without a story of damage caused to a great landmark by a foolish tourist. A British holidaymaker is currently facing a large fine for defacing a frescoed wall in Pompeii, reportedly carving some initials, and the word “Mylaw”, with a blunt object. A local police source told The Telegraph that the man was “mortified” after he was caught, but that “he will have to pay.”

He isn’t the only tourist determined to make his mark. In June, a visitor from Kazakstan was spotted writing on the wall of Pompeii’s House of Ceii. And there are plenty more instances across the world – some of which is centuries old . Here are some of the most staggering recent examples.

1. An ‘imbecile’ in Florence

A German tourist was branded “an imbecile” last year after clambering onto a Renaissance statue of the god Neptune in Florence. Authorities say he broke off a chunk of marble from Neptune’s chariot and damaged the hoof of a sculpted horse at the base of the monument, causing about €5,000 (£4,250) of damage. They managed to track down the 22-year-old tourist, who had to pay a hefty fine.

2. Football fans spoil the Vasari Corridor

Florence seems to be a hotspot for this sort of behaviour, with another incident happening in close proximity – this time involving two German tourists. The pair found themselves wanted by Italian police after graffiti referencing the football team Munich 1860 was found on external columns of the 460-year-old Vasari Corridor.

Uffizi Galleries director Eike Schmidt called for stricter punishments for such acts, saying: “Clearly this is not a drunken whim, but a premeditated act. Enough with symbolic punishments and imaginative extenuating circumstances. We need the hard fist of the law.”

3. Signing the Colosseum

Last summer, a tourist was filmed scratching a romantic message into a wall at the world’s most famous amphitheatre. Ivan Dimitrov, a 27-year-old fitness instructor living in Bristol , was seen, in a video posted online, using a set of keys to carve the words “Ivan + Hayley 23” in full view of other tourists.

The man’s actions risked a fine of up to €15,000 (£12,850) and a jail term of up to five years. He eventually wrote a letter of apology to the city’s mayor, saying he was “embarrassed” and claiming he did not realise the building was so ancient.

4. Lopping off an Easter Island ear

The desire for souvenirs seems to lead tourists to make remarkable decisions. Marko Kulju, a 26-year-old Finnish national, was forced to apologise to Easter Island residents in 2008 after chipping the ear off one of its famous Moai statues. The mayor of the island was less than impressed, telling local radio: “If an ear is cut off, then an ear gets cut. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth: that would be my form of justice.”

5. Stone age rocks in Yorkshire , toppled

Britons sadly aren’t exempt from poor behaviour. In 2018, a hanging stone at Brimham Rocks – which formed during the Ice Age – was toppled off a crag in an act described as “mindless destruction”. The 320-million-year-old balancing rock was damaged beyond repair.

6. The loneliest tree in the world, knocked down

For hundreds of years, travellers and caravans in Niger used an isolated tree in the Sahara Desert as a landmark. It was the only one in a 250-mile radius, giving it the moniker “the loneliest tree in the world”. But in 1973, it met its match: a suspected drunk driver ploughed into it, snapping its trunk. The driver’s name was never released, and now the spindly remains of the tree are held in the country’s National Museum.

7. A grave error in Southend

Britons were also to blame for the damage sustained to an 800-year-old coffin at Prittlewell Priory Museum in Southend in 2017. A child was placed in the sarcophagus by their parents, ostensibly to take a photograph, when a piece crumbled off the sandstone casket. The family fled from the scene without reporting it, but were caught on CCTV.

8. Driving over the Nazca Lines

That same year, a truck drove across part of Peru ’s ancient Nazca Lines, leaving irreparable tyre scars on the sacred site. The mysterious geoglyphs, created sometime between 500 BC and 500 AD, have been described by Unesco as one of archaeology’s “greatest enigmas”. Three were damaged by the driver, although he was later released without charge as the incident was deemed a genuine mistake.

9. Vengeance against the ‘Duckbill’

In 2016, a group of tourists smashed a much-loved sandstone pillar in the Cape Kiwanda state park, dubbed the ‘Duckbill’ , claiming that it was a health and safety hazard.

“I asked them, you know, why they knocked the rock down, and the reply I got was: their buddy broke their leg earlier because of that rock,” said a witness.

10. A Scottish stone curses its thief

Tourist misbehaviour predates the social media age. In 2000, a Belgian tourist admitted taking a stone from the neolithic burial ground at Clava Cairns, Scotland . Within the year, however, he returned the two-pound rock to the site, claiming he had been cursed. During that time, he said his daughter had broken her leg, his wife had become very ill, he had lost his job and also broken his arm.

11. Scrawlings on the Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland , are regarded as one of the geological wonders of the world. For a graffiti artist in 2013, however, it was seen as a challenge. An anonymous vandal spray-painted a giant mural, taking on considerable risk to life for the huge artwork. Experts were worried about permanent damage to the rock, so it was quickly removed.

12. Driving in the Death Valley

Death Valley National Park is one of the driest, hottest places on Earth. The vulnerable environment is protected for its unique wildlife and mysterious stones, which seem to move by themselves. That didn’t stop a driver in an SUV tearing up a part of the playa known as The Racetrack in 2016, leaving the fragile landscape scarred with long tyre track ruts and doughnuts.

13. ‘Ding Jinhao was here’

It seems that no matter how respected a site is, a tourist will always have an urge to write their name on it. A decade ago, images circulated on social media of Chinese characters scrawled into a monument in Luxor, roughly translating to “Ding Jinhao was here”. After an online frenzy, the culprit was found, with his parents apologising to their local newspaper. Apparently their son “cried all night” after being tracked down by internet users.

14. Scrawling on Mount Everest

Remarkably, the same thing also happened three years later on Mount Everest . Monuments, signs and stone tablets on the world’s highest mountain were covered in graffiti, again mostly attributed to Chinese tourists. In a bid to curb the practice, officials compiled a “bad behaviour list” and published it in national media to name and shame the culprits.

This story was first published in September 2023 and has been revised and updated.

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In 2018, a tourist chipped the ear off one of Easter Island's famous Moai statues

Video: Irish Tourist Causes Rs 16 Lakh In Damages To Historic Brussels Statue

A viral video shows a newly renovated statue at the brussels stock exchange breaking down when a tourist climbs onto it..

The man was arrested and asked to cover the cost of repairs.

An Irish tourist in Belgium was arrested after causing significant damage to a recently restored statue in Brussels. The damage is estimated to be worth $19,000 (Rs 15.83 lakh).

According to the New York Post , the tourist, reportedly intoxicated, was filmed trying to ride a lion statue at the Brussels Stock Exchange in Belgium. The statue, which also features a man with a torch, is one of two that were recently restored as part of a $150 million renovation project. As the tourist tried to climb down, he broke off a part of the statue, believed to be the torch.

Watch the video here:

An Irishman climbed the statue in front of the Brussels Stock Exchange, which was reopened yesterday after 3 years of renovation, and broke its arm #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/Ne5yu5fFaU — 𝕬𝖐ı𝖓𝖈ı (@soneerbozkurt) September 15, 2023

The statue, known as The Bourse, incurred this damage just one day after its reopening.

According to local media, the police arrested the tourist at a nearby fast-food restaurant. The tourist claimed to be unaware of the extent of the damage he had caused.

Nel Vandevennet, project manager for the restoration, said the Brussels Stock Exchange building and statues were heritage-listed.

"We would like to carry out the repairs quickly, but it will surely take a few weeks or even months," he told news outlet VRT NWS.

He continued: "The whole building has only just been restored to its former glory, including the two lions, which were in a bad way.

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