Marxist-led protest group Black Lives Matter was once again featured in London’s woke New Year’s Eve fireworks show, the latest politicisation of the once neutral display by London’s left-wing mayoralty.
During the British capital’s 2021 New Year’s Eve fireworks display, Brits tuning in across the country were once again subjected to far-left propaganda during what, in normal times, would be an apolitical moment for amusement and reflection.
Mayor Sadiq Khan’s London’s New Year’s event kicked off with a woke ‘spoken word’ poem read by Hamilton actor Giles Terera. The poem included praise for Britain’s socialised healthcare system the NHS, footballer and left-leaning campaigner Marcus Rashford, and the environmental conference COP26.
When the fireworks show began, it contained a reference to the radical protest group Black Lives Matter during the event’s tribute to the England football team. At the start of this tribute, the display’s narration said: “The players take the knee – united in their stance against racism”, before going on to replicate the team scoring a goal.
This part referred to some players from the England football team’s controversial decision to kneel also known as ‘taking the knee’ – sometimes accompanied by booing from the crowd – before Euro 2020 football (American soccer) games.
Taking the knee is closely associated with Marxist-led protest group Black Lives Matter who in the UK said their aims included “dismantling” capitalism.
At BLM protests activists would demand the police ‘take the knee’ and in some cases actually successfully intimidated officers into doing so.
The England football team has, however, denied that taking the knee is related to the far-left Black Lives Matter group. Nevertheless, in 2020 twenty Premier League teams had the slogan ‘Black Lives Matter’ printed on the back of their players’ shirts, instead of their names, firming up in the minds of some the association of Black Lives Matter with English football.
It is currently unclear whether the England team will be taking the knee ‘against racism’ in Qatar for the football World Cup in 2o22. Over 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar since they won the right to host the World Cup ten years ago, yet this has largely been met with silence in the international football community.
Providing a slither of hope for normality in the New Year, the Elizabeth Tower also known as Big Ben, rung its iconic bell at midnight with an uncovered face for the first time since 2017, having undergone renovations. The lower parts of the tower are still shrouded in scaffolding.
So far the BBC’s footage of the fireworks display has been viewed by nearly 2 million people on YouTube alone.
Since Labour’s Sadiq Khan first became mayor in 2016, London’s traditional firework show has taken a more multicultural and left-leaning theme. For London’s 2020 New Year’s Eve fireworks display a clenched fist in reference to Black Lives Matter was raised above the city.
In 2020 Britain Black Lives Matter were responsible for the toppling and vandalism of statues, and desecration, with an attempt to burn the Union Flag on the Cenotaph national war memorial.
The 2020 display also included music by British rapper ‘Stormzy’ who denounced Britain as “definitely 100 per cent” racist in 2019.