Protesters floated a blimp of London Mayor Sadiq Khan over the city Saturday to highlight London’s surging violence.
Yanny Bruere, a British free speech advocate, orchestrated the event and flew a 29-feet-long blimp of Khan wearing a bikini at Parliament Square, The Guardian reported.
The event was partly a response to protesters flying a blimp of U.S. President Donald Trump in a diaper to protest his July visit to the U.K., according to the Evening Standard. (RELATED: London Mayor Approves Giant Blimp Of Trump In A Diaper To Fly Over London During President’s UK Visit)
“I think a certain amount of respect should be afforded to the leader of the free world and the greatest ally the U.K. has – the president of America,” Bruere told reporters Saturday.
“Under Sadiq Khan, we have seen crime sky rocket to unprecedented levels. People in London don’t feel safe and they aren’t safe, 81 murders this year alone! Khan Out,” wrote Bruere in his Crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the blimp. The campaign raised approximately $76,470.
One thousand people went to the protest with another 7,900 thousand people interested, their event page stated. The protest was hosted by the “Make London Safe Again” Facebook group.
Official event for the @SadiqKhan giant balloon. Let’s get as many here as possible!!
https://t.co/EKYSjdMxxn pic.twitter.com/HUO6MGpde5— Yanny (@YannyBruere) August 21, 2018
I’m accustomed to doing children’s books, but doing this commission with @DenisLuncan was certainly interesting!
Having lived in and out of London, I’m proud to be one of the @london_safe organisers! #Illustration #Design #Caricature #BlimpBikiniKhan #lets #MakeLondonSafeAgain pic.twitter.com/dhEOwpFp4r— Michella Dos Santos (@Michella7) August 31, 2018
Breure explained on his crowdfunding page the swimsuit blimp after Khan banned “body shaming” bikini ads in 2016.
London’s murder rate shot past New York City in 2018, the first time in modern history. The two cities have roughly the same population. There were 15 murders in London compared to 14 in New York City in February 2018. March 2018 saw 22 murders in London compared to 21 in New York City. The murder rate rose 38 percent since 2014, excluding terrorism, the Times U.K. added.
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