London marathon: Could the race be disrupted by climate protests?
By Elaine McCallig, ITV News Digital Content Producer
On Friday, almost 30,000 climate protesters are due to begin a four-day protest in central London.
The protest, dubbed "The Big One" by organisers Extinction Rebellion (XR), begins on Friday and will continue until Monday.
The protest is supported by more than 200 organisations, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the PCS union.
It will coincide with the London Marathon on Sunday, which will bring an estimated 45,000 runners into the capital to participate in a 26.2-mile race.
Will the protests cause disruption to the marathon?
Some of the almost 30,000 protests may be in the Westminster area, during the most famous stretch of the marathon on Sunday.
Hugh Brasher, event director for the TCS London Marathon, advised people to “watch the marathon from other locations and avoid the Parliament Square area on the day”, as the square and “immediate surrounding area” will be “very busy”.
But XR has "no intention" of disrupting the race, XR co-founder Clare Farrell said.
The group has been in contact with the marathon organisers since November to ensure both events can occur at the same time "and support one another", she said. This was echoed by Brasher, who said XR organisers have given assurances that they do not wish to disrupt the race.
Farrell said: "We both [XR and marathon organisers] acknowledged that the charities and campaigns groups that runners are supporting are unequivocally in favour of acting against climate collapse.
"In an emergency, as we are, we must find a way to share the London streets as we all want to support charity but we also need to hold government to account. Unlike our government, the marathon organisers are happy to have an adult conversation about the situation and how to work together."
It would be "wrong" to disrupt the marathon, Extinction Rebellion Protest Liaison Richard Ecclestone told Times Radio, as "so many people who will be running in that marathon share our concerns about a multitude of issues."
Speaking on Wednesday, marathon director Brasher said XR will be "uniquely asking all their participants to help guard the London Marathon".
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Brasher was due to hold talks with Just Stop Oil (JSO) on Wednesday in a bid to avoid disruption.
He said: “I trust Extinction Rebellion, they have been very clear of what they are doing and why. I hope Just Stop Oil and the other organisations listen to what we are saying."
JSO, which disrupted the World Snooker Championship on Monday, would not say whether it plans to target the race.
A spokesman for the group said: “We will continue to disrupt sports and cultural events until sporting and cultural institutions join us in civil resistance against new new oil and gas."
On Monday, JSO will co-lead a "slow march" to demand an immediate end to new oil and gas consents and licences.
Alongside disrupting the World Snooker Championship, JSO activists have previously thrown tomato soup over a famous Van Gogh painting in the National Gallery and glued themselves to London roads.
A JSO protester disrupted the World Snooker Championship by covering a snooker table in orange powder during a game between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry
The Metropolitan Police said they have been in contact with XR ahead about the event and “will continue to engage with them” in an “effort to avoid serious disruption and delays to London’s communities and the other events taking place in London”.
A spokesman said the force has a policing plan in place for the protests, adding: “People can expect a visible, engaging but firm policing presence to tackle any criminal or anti-social behaviour and disorder.
“Alongside a significant policing response we will be using specialist officers to respond to any protesters who lock or glue themselves to street furniture or purpose-built structures.”
What do protesters want?
XR has laid out two key demands of "The Big One" protest; the introduction of a "citizen-led democracy to end the fossil fuel era" and "a fair society that includes reparation".
The group also wants to raise awareness for the "danger" humanity is in, and champion the need for rapid change. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025, protecting and repairing nature, and the creation of citizens' assemblies are also listed as demands on XR's website.
Citizens' assemblies are an exercise in deliberative democracy in which members of the public are selected - like a jury - to hear from experts before drafting and voting on recommendations. Citizens' assemblies were previously used in Ireland in the lead-up to the 2015 marriage equality referendum and the 2018 abortion referendum.
XR wishes to see such an assembly formed to discuss "climate and ecological justice".
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