Mayor Sadiq Khan clears his ‘bikini balloon’ in London sky
LONDON: Weeks after protestors sought to embarrass US President Donald Trump during his visit here with a blimp, another group sought and received from London mayor Sadiq Khan the green signal to put up a yellow balloon showing him wearing a bikini.
This was organised as a challenge to see if Khan would allow his own caricature under the principle of freedom of expression, whereby he allowed the protest against Trump. A total of £59,452 was raised through crowd-funding to put up the Khan balloon on Saturday.
After London authorities cleared the latest blimp protest, Khan said: “If people want to spend their Saturday looking at me in a yellow bikini they’re welcome to do so. I don’t really think yellow’s my colour though.”
Yanny Bruere, described as a free speech advocate, is reported to be behind the “Make London Safe Again” campaign, which highlights rise in crime in the capital under the mayorship of Khan.
Trump and Khan have clashed on Twitter on terrorism, particularly during the 2017 terror attacks in London.
They did not meet during Trump’s visit in July, when most of his engagements were scheduled outside London.
Bruere wrote on the protest’s crowd-funding page: “Under Sadiq Khan, we have seen crime skyrocket to unprecedented levels. People in London don’t feel safe and they aren’t safe, (there have been) 81 murders this year alone.”