Ah, the baby Trump blimp. It all seems a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? After all, a lot has happened since those sweet days of summer 2018, when then-US president Donald Trump came over to London for the first time to meet the then-monarch Queen Elizabeth and then-PM Theresa May. For those who don’t remember, the ‘blimp’ – as it was christened – was an inflatable depicting the POTUS as an enormous open-mouthed orange baby in a nappy. It was flown over Parliament Square as part of a 75,000-person strong protest against his visit.
And now that big ol’ blimp is back. Having been acquired by the Museum of London in 2021, it’s been reinflated. Rather than wanting to re-fly it, the museum is just making sure the balloon is structurally sound in case it needs to make any repairs. Y’know, checking for holes and leaks. That sort of thing.
It’s hoped that the baby Trump blimp will eventually go on show at the new location of the Museum of London in West Smithfield, which is set to open in 2026. It’ll be part of a ‘protest collection’, which will exhibit a range of placards, posters, badges and leaflets from public protests over the years.
Designed by Leicester-based company Imagine Inflatables, the six-metre-high balloon had a few more outings after its original appearance in 2018. It also flew during another Trump visit to London in 2019 before going on a global tour of France, Argentina, Ireland and Denmark. Several copies of the blimp were flown in the USA.
You can find out more about the blimp on the Museum of London’s official website here.
Did you see that South London could be getting new public spaces the size of 194 football pitches?
Plus: someone has renamed east London’s tube stations in cockney.
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