The days following the British Parliament voted in favour of increasing the university tuition fees and the violent student protests on the streets of London saw increased police presence in the capital. But this did not stop the brave men, women and children to express their own protest agenda – STOP THE MADNESS!
Stop the madness!
Yes, 11th of December 2010 marked the first anniversary of the hit mobile game Angry Birds by Rovio. There was a global call to organise meetups to celebrate this phenomenon and London had the most numerous response and (possibly) participation. Yours truly was one of them.
Several secret starting points around Covent Garden were emailed to the flash mob participants only hours before the protest march. When I got there, I was given an authentic Angry Bird slingshot plush toy that makes sounds like in the game. Some people were also designated to carry placards. We then convened towards the Christmas tree in Covent Garden where we froze – supposedly looking angry – and the Angry Birds music playing at full volume from our phones. Tourists and shoppers alike were nervously thinking “not another protest to ruin my shopping day!” But they soon realised it was a peaceful and an amusing display of madness.
Against warnings, our group marched on towards Trafalgar Square. As expected, there were plenty of police. Julien Fourgeaud, the organiser, told us that we would just march quietly with the Angry Birds music playing. Of course, the men and women in uniform saw that we wouldn’t cause any trouble at all. We all posed at the giant Christmas tree by Nelson’s Column to give out a mighty birthday cheer to Angry Birds. Also gave the tourists a chance to photograph us. The march moved on towards Westminster where the group stopped and posed at the Horseguards Parade and even at 10 Downing Street! It was shortly after that I quietly broke away from the mob. There was an after-party a 8 Northumberland, which I was unable to join as I had to do some Christmas shopping.
Back home, I saw all the tweets and photos posted not only of the first Angry Birds Day in London but also all over the world. It was great to be part of the madness and may it continue for a long time!
Here is the complete set of the photos I took.
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- Stop the madness!
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- Raise your arms in protest
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- She’s not alone
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- Silent protester
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- Men, women and children united
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- At the Horseguards Parade
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- At Downing Street
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- Something for David Cameron
Below are links to reports and blog posts by fellow protesters:
- Angry Birds Day 2010 – Celebrating one year of madness from appfreakblog
- Angry Birds Day – The London protest from The Average Gamer
P.S. If you see more photos of the London Angry Birds Day protest, I’m the one wearing a mustard yellow coat!
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