The Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation was established in 2004 with the purpose of initiating and endorsing events related to the Andersen bicentenary as well as handling public relations. The foundation aimed at promoting wider awareness and appreciation of the life and work of Hans Christian Andersen by endorsing and sponsoring a wide array of events within the arts, culture, education and tourism both nationally and internationally. In Denmark, the official celebration opened with the Fairytale Weekend, 1-3 April 2005, and came to a close on 6 December 2005.

The HCA2005 board of directors:
Director Poul Bache, the Danish Arts Council (Chairman); Councillor Jørgen Lund, the Municipality of Odense; Mayor of the County of Funen, Jan Boye; Chief Corporate Public Relations Manager at MGT, Niels Jørgen Langkilde; CEO of the Bikuben Foundation, Peter Højland; Director of the Bikuben Foundation, Kay Dam Steffensen; Movie and Stage Director Kaspar Rostrup; Chief of Event Tourism at VisitDenmark, Lars Blicher-Hansen.

Anker Boye, former Mayor of Odense, was originally appointed Chairman of the Board but resigned on 31 May 2005.

The HCA2005 Foundation Secretariat:
Acting director of the Secretariat, Mette Sigaard; Artistic Advisor Lars Seeberg; Programme Manager Jakob Steen Olsen; Programme coordinator Helena N. Jørgensen; Legal Advisor Thomas Abildtrup; Project Coordinator Louise Just; Secretary Helle Vandet Nielsen; Secretary Karin Krohn Sarris and Clerk Lone Kjær.

Lars Seeberg was originally appointed Secretary General of the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation but resigned on 31 May 2005.

Public relations, including marketing and web-based communications for the Hans Christian Andersen 2005 Foundation, were handled by Have PR & Kommunikation - www.have.dk