Nigel Farage is coming to Parliament Square — and unfortunately not in the form of an unflattering blimp.
A Brexit party (with a small p), is set to take place outside the Houses of Parliament on the evening of 31 January — the day Britain leaves the European Union.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
— The Brexit Party (@brexitparty_uk) January 15, 2020
Leave Means Leave have been granted approval to hold a 🇬🇧Brexit Celebration🇬🇧 event in Parliament Square on January 31st!
Sign Up here if you'd like to attend!👇https://t.co/3lmgjv2irD pic.twitter.com/ikr9ep2qk9
The event, arranged by Leave Means Leave and thought to coast in the region of £100,000, will take place between 9pm and 11.15pm. 11pm is when Britain officially exits the EU — giving partygoers exactly 15 minutes of Union Flag waving and renditions of Rule Britannia, before they have to clear out.
As with Brexit itself, it's not entirely clear what the celebration will comprise of: a website titled Brexit Celebration has little info on it apart from a countdown, and "fireworks, bands and comedians" is so far the only hint at the entertainment.
As he's been pushing for this blowout, it's assumed that Farage will be there, but judging from early exit at the March to Leave last year, don't expect him to stick around.
A spokesperson for the Greater London Authority (GLA), which is in charge of granting permission to events in Parliament Square — said: "GLA officials have given provisional authorisation for an event to take place on Parliament Square on January 31."
This provisional authorisation, says the GLA, is subject to the agreement of amendments to Leave Means Leave's application regarding setting up and clearance times.
There's a separate campaign to sound Big Ben on the stroke of Brexit, although the famous bell is largely out of action at the moment and the stunt could cost £500,000 (but then, come on guys, you don't get to Brexit every day, right?).
London itself voted 59.9% to 40.1% in favour of remaining in the EU.
