Trafalgar Square braces for mass protests

Police are bracing for an influx of about 50,000 anti-Trump protesters in Central London on Friday, while smaller demonstrations are planned on Thursday in cities across the UK.

Friday’s demonstrations will include a “Stop Trump” march before a large rally is staged in Trafalgar Square.

Organizers have described the protests as a “carnival of resistance” in response to the US president’s visit.

Police are planning the biggest mobilization of officers since they were called out to quell riots in several London boroughs and cities and towns across England in 2011.

As of Tuesday, an online petition opposing Trump’s visit had been signed by 1.86 million people, and British activist Leo Murray had raised money to pay for “Project Trump Baby”, a 6-meter-tall inflatable caricature of the president that will fly over London aimed at embarrassing him.

The media speculated that Trump dropped plans to visit London over fears of protests after a poll showed that 2 million people would be prepared to join protests if he was offered a full state visit.

“Many people object strongly to his policies on immigration and the treatment of immigrant families and deplore his tweets about women and developing countries,” said Alan Barrell, a professor and entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of Cambridge.

“They see him as a threat to true democracy and an isolationist who will disrupt world trade to gain advantage for America. His public persona is strongly offensive to many people, including other national leaders.”

Trafalgar Square has been a focal point for protests over the years. The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said he supports the democratic tradition, and has given access to the square for such causes.

Many other events have been hosted in the iconic square, including cultural gatherings, spontaneous celebrations and commercial activities.

The square was the scene of protests against the Poll Tax in 1990, as well as large student demonstrations against increases in university fees in 2010, anti-war protests and demonstrations in support of women’s suffrage in the early 1900s, and, in the 1960s, the Aldermaston marches against nuclear weapons culminated there.

Thousands descended on the square in July 2005 when it was announced that London would host the 2012 Olympic Games. The square was also once a hub for unauthorized New Year’s Eve celebrations, until London officially embraced the party after the millennium.

Chinese New Year festivities are also held there annually and, in 2005, former South African president Nelson Mandela delivered a historic speech about poverty in the square.