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Today in Focus

Are we facing a summer of sporting protests?

Today in Focus

The Guardian

Daily News, News

4.65.9K Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2023

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

High-profile protests at the Grand National and the World Snooker Championships made headlines around the country; the London Marathon could be next. Sean Ingle and Damien Gayle report on what sporting stunts can achieve – and whether the authorities can stop them. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is the Guardian.

0:31.0

First, it was the Grand National.

0:33.0

It's a race that I'll be remembered not just for the winner, but the drama of the course too.

0:37.0

In terms of raising awareness of the cruelty involved in horse race,

0:41.0

and we can only call this a success.

0:44.0

And then came the snooker.

0:46.0

A just stop oil protester jumped on the snooker table and unleashed a wave of orange-type powder goodness nose.

0:56.0

Now the organisers of this weekend's London marathon worry that their race will be next.

1:02.0

Doing this and interrupting events and potentially now they're talking about interrupting the London marathon,

1:07.0

ruining people's days is absolutely the wrong thing to do. It's utterly deplorable.

1:16.0

Activists are going viral for staging eye-popping protests at Britain's biggest sporting events.

1:23.0

They prompted fury, debate, and enough disruption to get themselves arrested.

1:30.0

But now they have public attention for their cause.

1:33.0

Can they bring public support with them?

1:37.0

From the Guardian, I'm Nushy Nikfal.

1:40.0

Today in focus is Britain ready for a summer of sporting protest.

1:54.0

Jean Ingle, you're the chief sports reporter at the Guardian, so you're not usually tasked with covering protests,

2:00.0

but Saturday was different. Can you describe to me what happened?

2:04.0

Well, we were setting the press room at the Grand National Aintry waiting for Britain's biggest steeple chase to begin.

2:11.0

The Grand National is sort of seen as Liverpool's day, so there are 70,000 people there.

2:15.0

People go along, they dress up, men in their proper three-piece suits, women in their very posthrocks,

2:21.0

and there's a lot of drinking, there's a lot of eating, there's a lot of celebrating.

...

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