Thousands of demonstrators gathered in London on Saturday, April 22nd, as part of a four-day protest event by the environmental activist group, Extinction Rebellion. The demonstration, titled “The Big One”, was held to “highlight the environmental failures” of the British government, according to XR. The group had promised less disruption and more inclusivity than in previous years, when its blockades became its trademark.
The protest began on Friday, with the group saying that thousands of people gathered outside government departments in London to “highlight the environmental and social failures across them all”. On Saturday, the protest focused on nature and biodiversity, coinciding with Earth Day. The protest started from Westminster Abbey, with attendees, many of them children, wearing animal costumes and masks. Many attendees had made banners for the occasion.
The protest ended in Parliament Square with a mass “die-in”, where participants “lie down in silence, in memory and mourning for the heart-breaking 70 percent decline in wild animal populations since the first Earth Day in 1970”. The protest also called for the government to take immediate action against climate change.
“The climate and ecological crisis aren’t something that is going to happen in the future, it is already here,” said XR spokesperson Zoe Cohen. “It’s time that the government took this seriously and listened to the people here,” Cohen added.
The group hopes that 40,000 to 50,000 people will attend Sunday’s event, which coincides with the London Marathon. Discussions have been held with race organizers to reduce disruption.
Environmental groups such as Greenpeace UK have supported the protest, with Greenpeace UK’s executive director, Areeba Hamid, stating that the event will “act as the catalyst of a new united fight against the vested interests putting profits over people and the planet”.
Extinction Rebellion has previously caused huge disruption, with direct action protests against climate change causing delays to public transport networks, airports, and roads. However, in January, the group called a temporary halt to its high-profile demonstrations, instead opting to mobilize large numbers of people against what it sees as government inaction against global warming.
