TITLES: (text, not Voice over)The Worlds cities are increasingly polluted, traffic is reaching gridlock, the polar ice-caps are melting away, the temperature of the world is rising. In large part this is due to our dependency on oil based fuels. What can be done about it? Not much you might say, but that doesnt mean you should do nothing.A small number of individuals have hatched a plan to get people thinking about the problem. The Plan: to hold the first ever mass naked protest, on bikes, on Londons busiest streets.Lets hope there isnt a chill in the air.
Jesse Sync: on rollerblades Hi Im Jesse Schust, and Im helping coordinate the WNBR.
SLATE: WORLD NAKED BIKE RIDE
Jesse Sync: Its coming back to me, but er, its certainly not as easy as riding a bike ha! but Ill definitely be riding a bike on the actual day.
VO 1: Animation 1Nudity seems to be the latest fashion accessory. The idea of a naked bike ride was conceived in Canada in 2004. last year it spawned 37 nude protest rides around the world.The smallest consisted of just two riders.London held a last-minute ride in Hyde park, but this year they are going to hit the actual streets of London for the first time.
IV Jesse: I think that its really important to have a nude cycle ride in London that takes the ride to the streets and interacts with the traffic, er, because right now theres a lot of questions over transport and car advocates are really getting, you know, verbal, and I think its important for people who dont believe the future is the car, to speak up and have theirselves heard.
VO: 2So whats Jesse, whose day job is setting up computer systems, and the handful of other volunteers, got to tackle to problem of Britains 32 million polluting vehicles?Well, like most protest organisations they are on a shoe-string. Their entire budget for the event is £90.Whilst their HQ is Jesses somewhat cluttered living room.But what they do have up their sleeve is the power of naked flesh.
IV Jesse:Ive been interested in the potential of protest nude because I think its pretty neat, like, its a form of non-violent protest, that kind of attracts attention the same way setting fire to things does.(image of cyclists)Im not an advocate of setting fire to things, but you have to say, when people do that they get attention drawn to the issue.
VO 3 The organisation is a decentralised internet based group, existing to make the ride happen, and then dissolving away as soon as its over. But because of this they have no idea how many people will show up.
Jesse IVThe aims of the naked Bike ride are to(sync) protest against Oil dependency and sort of promote a car free culture (under images of traffic) and looking toward a future where we would be less dependant on motor transport that pollutes the environment and makes the streets unsafe for cyclists and other sustainable transport. (sync) The other thing is celebrating the body and sort of making a safe space for people to show their body and not feel ashamed of its (under traffic images)individuality and to kind of show the vulnerability of a cyclist in London by having people naked in the traffic and I think that basically we are trying to (sync)change the way people think about transport in London.
VO 4But surely cars and Oil arent all bad are they? What exactly is the situation in Great Britain today?In the past 30 years traffic on our roads has more than doubled.
VO 5Last year sales of heavily polluting 4 by 4s rose by 13 percent.Road transport already pumps out more than a fifth of UK emissions of carbon dioxide.And up to 24,000 people die prematurely in the UK every year as a result of air pollution.
VO 7 Camden Green Fair:The nude protest ride needs to publicise itself as much as possible in the days leading up to the event.Regan: If it rains then youll just get wet.Another ride volunteer, Community health worker Regan Davis, has set up a stall at the annual Camden Green fair, to persuade people, who arent neccessarily naturists, to come along for the ride.
Regan: What is it? Well basically its a protest against oil dependency and the fact that people probably use their cars far too much and the damage that has on the environment.(sync) I mean Im white as a ghost, Im really gonna have to cover up(off) have a good day mate. I think its important just talking to people. I think thats where you make the biggest connection
Sync; Is this a dare?
Regan,(off)Yeah it is. Its happening next Saturday, Hyde Park Corner
Man: (sync) You mean you literally have to come naked?
Regan: (sync) Well no, you can come with your clothes on and then should you feel you wanna cut loose then go for it
Man: (sync) Ok, so, well see you there.
Regan: (sync) Excellent!, excellent
Regan (sync): Usually when you say naked you get a bit of a like ooooh, but
Regan (off): Whats the banner for? I think it will be really nice, (sync) everyone with their bikes, holding up the banner, it might cover up some strategic thing (giggle) People might have their photo taken more willingly if they can hide behind a banner.(NAME STRAP: REGAN DAVIES)Publicity Co-ordinator London WNBR
Woman (sync): Ive never tried cycling naked.
Regan: (off) I have, and I can vouch for its comfortableness. Its like(sync) swimming naked, you feel really free, its like wooooh, all the air rushes on you and
Regan (off): You just cant pick who is going to do it. Its not something you can stereotype and say, oh, I wouldnt bother giving a (sync) pamphlet to that person cos theres no way, I mean, you you just cant , cant do that.
Dad: (sync)What do you think about your dad doing that?
Son: ha ha ha
Regan (sync) I think its really important to teach kids that their bodies are ok and you know, its not wrong to be naked no matter what shape or size you areCos I think we get bombarded with you know a lot of media messages about whats okay to look like, whats not okay to look like.
VO 8But with all this talk of getting your kit off, isnt it illegal to get your dangly bits out in public? Wont there be an outrage? Well apparently not. The organisers of the ride actually decided to try and get the police involved. The person who dealt with the police didnt wish to be identified.
IV DEALING WITH THE POLICEOrganiser: (off) We were divided on whether to seek police permission, or not, simply go ahead with the ride. We knew that, the previous year, rides in in Edinburgh and New York had been stopped and people had been asked to put their clothes on. In the end we just decided to just go for it and see what their reaction would be to a large scale naked bike ride I knew that you dont actually have to get legal permission for a protest, so I added that we werent actually sort of formally asking for their permission. I dont know if the word naked actually caused any alarm bells to ring. Strictly speaking it isnt actually illegal to be naked in public, however the law is a little bit murky in that area. You could be done for indecent exposure or causing a public nuisance. If its a question of public order then the police would step in and I took that to mean that if there was a threat of violence. Well I was pretty confident that our naked protest wasnt going to degenerate into a public brawl.
VO 9With more than 20 cyclists killed each year, riding in London is dangerous at the best of times, so riding naked seems to be asking for trouble.The organisers have decided to recce the route, looking out for potential danger spots.
(NAME STRAP: ERIC NOLAN) Safety Co-ordinator London WNBREric (sync) (spoken in English with heavy French accent) In one week time, we are going to start from here, Wellington Arch, err, the first world naked bike ride inside the streets of London(off) so today Im trying to check this route, to see if there are any trouble that we should expect during the ride, turning points, difficulties with the traffic, traffic lights, all that kind of things.
VO 10Eric, who works on the stockmarket, knows they have taken something of a gamble with such an ambitious route:Eric sync: Were going through Piccadilly circus, Trafalgar Square, across the river to the houses of parliament up to Tottenham court road, to Marble Arch and down here, so its a circle, inside the main streets of the city.(off) we can see here that theres not(sync) too much traffic but when theres not too much traffic, people are trying to drive crazy, so its a little bit dangerous to cross here and of course we expect that, with plenty of people joining the ride, if everybody stay all inside the ride, thats the best way we can guarantee the safety of the ride. (sync) Now, were back with the road here, were going to go all the way in Oxford Street(off) Its going to be the busiest street were going to ride in one weeks time, some people would be a little bit intimidating to see all these people, maybe theyre going to get a little bit nervous if we stay too long in the
streetInterviewer: Are you nervous?
Eric (sync): Oh I will certainly be very nervous, not now, but a few minutes before the ride starts I will. Certainly.
Eric (off) Have you heard that next week its going to(sync) be a bicycle ride and with some naked peopledriver: Ohh! Ha haEric: yeah, yeah
Driver: Hope youre not going to be naked yourself!
Eric: Yeah, maybe, maybe. And its all about to make the point about oil dependencies, so, against pollution
Driver: Ok, I understand
Eric:and all the green issues to..
Driver: But do you think do you think we can live without all these things polluting the air. We need it.
Eric: Well we need it but imagine that your bus could be electric powered
Driver: Well, if you can find it.
Eric: Yeah, it will be nice.
Driver: Ok, hang on, let meE
ric: Yeah, sorry, sorry about..
Driver: Thats alright, thats alright
Driver: Thats a good point that. There are things that you cant do without
Eric: Yeah.
IV Jesse (sync)I think its really an important moment to have pressure put onto the car culture and say look, theres, theres a way that we could get around with our own bodies. Were not using any oil. Were not using any clothing
Cyclist: (sync) Burn your cars, get a bikeJesse: I think its really important to have this message now when the transport system is like, really at a loss for providing for Londoners needs
VO 11 ANIMATION Environmentalist IVHow is it that successive governments' transport policies seem to have led us into such an environmental jam?
IV Kerry HamiltonProfessor UEL, former director of London TransportKerry (sync) We do hear that the increase in cars is slowing down, but its only slowing down marginally, therefore, car numbers are increasingANIMATION- no specific words(NAME STRAP: PROFESSOR KERRY HAMILTON University of East LondonFormer Director of London Transport)Kerry (sync): The theory has been and the policy has been to build yourself out of this kind of crisis, but we now know that building yourself out of the crisis just expands the crisis cos the more you build a space, the more it is occupied by more car drivers.ANIMATION- no specific wordsKerry (sync): Policies should be about encouraging people to use other modes, other than the car.ANIMATIONKerry: Politicians (sync) arent necessarily unaware of the crisis, but there is an enormous pressure on them, particularly by the road lobby, particularly by the car manufacturers, particularly by the insurance industry, particularly by tyre manufacturers, er, to really not change the status quo, so what you really need is consumer pressure, is public pressure to bring about change.Were seeing changes in parts of Europe, parts of Northern Europe in particular, where theyve got car free cities, where theyve got car free developments, they build whole flats, where, if youre going to live in them you wont have a car, so all these things could knit together.
VO 12Recent research found that nearly 40 per cent of young children under the age of 11, who go to school by car, would prefer to walk or cycle. Whilst the cost of building 15 miles of motorway is the same as 5000 miles of cycle network.
IV Kerry HamiltonKerry: It looks like dark days(sync) in terms of transport at the moment, but they won out on tobacco. Were all terribly aware now of the social cost and the health cost of tobacco and one day we will be aware of the social costs and the health cost and the environmental costs of car dependency and we will do something about it and at the moment were not, but that doesnt mean that we wont.
ICE CAP FOOTAGE
VO 13 The Day of Ride, Its the morning of the ride. A few brave souls have gathered to get pertinent messages painted onto their bodies, and the mainstream media have arrived.
Interviewee: (sync) Im very excited today because Im here at the London leg of the World Naked Bike Ride
Jesse (sync): It looks like it might be a little cold today. I hope it gets sunny, that would be nice.Interviewer voice: Have you ever done anything like this before?
Man in red: Not..Not..Not prior to last year, no, not at all, so I was a bit sort of nervous about doing it but erm, once youre out with no clothes its fine. Everyone else is doing it so, join in.
Interviewer: and so youve never done anything like this before?
Girl: (sync) No, not at all. Ive never really done an organised ride, or been naked in public, so
VO 14There is slight concern at the number of inexperienced cyclists coming on the ride, andtoday just happens to be the Trooping of the Colour
Eric (sync): Its a day where there are many many people around, cos its the queens birthday so maybe its going to be a little bit crowded all around.Interviewer: This is the first ever bike ride in London to go out on the roads of London rather than in a park,
Girl: (sync)yeah
Interviewer: How are you feeling about that?
Girl: Well, I think were a good group, so thats fine, um, I probably wouldnt do it alone.
Jesse (sync): What colour would you like to go with?
Male voice: just in black
Jesse: black?
Voice: yeah
Jesse: good
Interviewee in green: I dont think therell be too (sync) too much road rage. A hundred or two hundred naked cyclists will be quite a force to be reckoned with, (laughs) for any motorist.S
ame man with bike: (sync)Its Its a little bit meagre but it shows willing (laughs)
Jesse: (off) Its really important that the ride is open to everyone, and the way weve done that is to make it bare as you dare, basically nudity is really optional rather than required. (sync) As long as youre not going to freak out with a lot of naked people around you, I recommend it to anyonecheers from crowd
Interviewer: Hows it all going?
Regan: Um Really well. Its slightly overwhelming just (sync) having everyone ask for information and everything like that, but thats to be expected.
Interviewer: How many people do you think weve got here?
Regan: heaps given the weather! Check it out! We do have a photography policy that seems to have gone out the window, we tried to enforce it a few times but
Man with skates: Ive got skates but Ive only skated a short time
Regan:ok
Man: will it be fast, going fast on skates?
Interviewer: So youve just decided to join the ride have you?
Man: Yes I think I have.
Interviewer: What was it made you think youd join the ride?
Man: Err, um. Just give it a go. See if Ive got the bottle to do it. I wanna do it, but Im nervous.
Jesse: For me, I was really nervous that (sync) like thered be this moment where suddenly we were like, ok, get your kit off and the moment of truth, like, are you gonna do it?Cheers
Jessee: (off) its really funny how easy it is, you know, you just do it and (sync) it feels fine cos everybody else is.
VO 15The ride pulls in to Piccadilly Circus, where it makes its first impromptu stop for a rapidly gathering crowd. As the fleshy juggernaut pulls out of town, one lone member has nearly been cut off from the herd.
Jesse IV In some ways I think our ride (sync) exhibits the best qualities of the sort of body freedom campaigning. Its nudity with a purpose
VO 16After zipping through Trafalgar square, the ride takes another unexpected turn: veering off the designated route, down the Mall, and past number 10 Downing street
Interviewer (sync) Hi Jesse hows it going?Sync (along Mall)
Jesse: Good, its really good. Um, bit of a surprise going down Whitehall, I didnt We werent planning that, some people just started down there and I tried to get people to go the other way but er
Interviewer: Its an improvisation
Jesse: Yeah. Its an improvisation. Its quite fun going past Tony Blair! I heard theres more than 200 of us.
Jesse (sync): Get on your bikes!
Interviewer: Is this your first time?
Girl: Its my first time naked, and my first time on a bike ride in London
Man: Its had a fabulous turn out, the people are loving it. Ive never seen (sync) so many smiles in London. Its wonderful.
Interviewer: Hows the ride going so far?
Rollerblader: (sync) Excellent!Interviewer: What do you think about getting the message across?, you got some leaflets, do you think people are taking them?
Rollerblader: I think its helping, Im putting them on many cars so hopefully theyll help.
Interviewer: Hows the bike ride going so far? Are you enjoying it?(no response)Did you join in? Were you cycling somewhere and you decided to join in?
Old lady: Im a naturist as well if its warm enough.
Jesse IV: (sync) I think it will be a big shock to people when we go down Oxford Street. I think thats going to be the point at which um, were gonna have the biggest sort of collision of cultures. Well be encountering British culture which is a mixture of tolerance of eccentricity to the extreme and at the same time being reluctant to shed clothing in public. I think that were gonna have a mixture of responses sort of people dealing with it as almost a carry on film, like tittering and making jokes and at the same time people being like Oh its London, naked people, whats next?
Interviewer: Whats your impression of the naked bike ride?
Female bystander 1: (sync) Fantastic
Male bystander: (sync) Idiot
VO 17 But before they get the rare opportunity to streak down London's busiest thoroughfare, the ride grinds to a sudden and worrying standstill. They've bumped into some local officers, who completely unaware of the imminent arrival of 250 naked environmentalists, and unsure what to do, have blocked off the entry to Oxford Street
Rainbow man:(Sync) Theres a big car there, blocking our way, yeah?.General commotion
Girl in glasses: (sync)its authorised. yeah. Its already agreed, its just these police dont know.
Rollerblader in helmet: (sync): Are you asking us to get dressed or not? We have to announce it if you do, but you know we cant do it.
VO 18As the confusion reigns tempers begin to fray, and one over-helpful roller-blader gets into a bit of a hand-bag fight with a police cameraman
Roller blader: (Sync): Why are you touching me? Its assault. Hes touching me. (falls) careful!
General chaos
Jesse: (off) The police tried to stop us from going on the route that wed planned(sync) but actually they let us in the end, you know, they realised that (off) we were going to do it anyway, I mean, I didnt have any control over what people did
girl (clapping): (sync) let us through!
.
VO 20As the gathering crowd gets restless, the officers know they have to make a decision quickly.At last, Headquarters tells them to let the show roll on.
Interviewer: As a taxi driver, what do you feel about the naked bike ride?
Taxi driver (sync): I think its great
Interviewer: Are you going to sell your taxi and get one of these instead?
Taxi driver: Ive already got one, Im just gonna take me clothes off in a minute!
Female blader: (sync)Im freezing!
Rickshaw driver: (sync): Its free rides if you take off your clothes guys!
Interviewer: Whats the sort of reaction from the general public?
Lady in red: (sync) People are cheering. I think its good. Ive had a few funny comments about my red boobs, but
Walking girl: Im trying walking, cos its more like being one of the people on the pavement, and I feel even more naked and vulnerable. Its fucking scary.
VO 21In a nerve wracking moment, a double-decker bus has worryingly managed to get into the middle of the ride, cutting it in two, leaving half the cyclists stranded on Oxford street while the rest race ahead to the US embassy
Regan (sync): bus has split the ride. We need to stop people probably at some lights because other cars are getting in(sync): We can try. I think its gone a bit pear shaped.(sync): Heres the other half!
Girl with red hair (sync): My bush for president!
VO 22Outside the US embassy impassioned speeches were made, but it seems people werent quite sure what was going on.
Interviewer: Do you know where we are?
Man: Houses of parliament, I think.
Interviewer: Yeah? Its the U.S embassy.
VO 23It seemed like the message was confused, but then again, maybe just making men with guns smile for once, is enough of a justification.
Long haired man: (off) We havent got any weapons on us officer. (sync) I havent got a single hand grenade today. My testicles might be possibly very small hand grenades, but (laughs)
rider (sync): No more oil!
VO 24It's the last stretch of the ride. As they cruise along the edge of Hyde park, the aching limbs and chaffed bottoms manage one more burst of speed.
Interviewer: Regan its all over, weve made it, how did you feel it went?
Regan: (sync)ah, really well. It did go well, seeing the looks on peoples faces. There was one bus driver near Waterloo bridge who was literally crying with laughter, he just (mimes action) you know, people loved it.Hippy girl: (sync) Freedom! Feeling of just being, yeah I can do what I want and I wanna cycle around naked.
Eric: No trouble with the traffic, absolutely excellent(sync) people very happy, you can see all people around our route, smiling, laughing and they were very very friendly.
Interviewer: Did you get any funny comments from people?
Red hair: (sync)Oh you hear a few people shouting
Man in hat (sync-overlap): Oh my God! Aaaah!
Girl: You go so fast.
Red hair: I hear people say, thats disgusting, but still staring at everyone.
Man: Seeing the reaction on the faces of the public, you know theres just a er...a sea of cameras and smiling faces; I felt like the queen!
Man with wreath: (sync): I wish my saddle didnt have so much stitching, but
Interviewer: Youve got a bit of er bit of nappy rash is it?
Man 2: Yeah, a little bit of chafe, but hey!
Interviewer: You think if cyclists rode naked all the time theyd be received better generally?or
Man in shades: (sync) (laughs) theres a good chance actually
Man: (sync) In critical mass its kind of us versus them, whereas on this er everyones er I think theyve been pleased to see us!
Girl with red hair: (sync) I said at the U.S. Embassy I stood up on the er I dont know some platformy thing there and I said My bush for president, but you know I just think its really easy to scapegoat world leaders or whatever, but we all have a part to play to get this place back into shape, every single car driver, every single person, every single minute of the day, you know, we cant give up.
Interviewer: Do you think you got the message across?
Jesse (sync) I I dont know, I think that a lot of people also just sort of were like, what a weird event, all these naked people coming by, they were very excited and happy, um, and hopefully theyll catch some of the publicity afterward and get a context for it.
Interviewer: Regan, kits back on
Regan: (sync)Yeah
Interviewer: Back to normalityRegan: A little bit warmer
Interviewer: How does it feel to be fully fully clothed again?
Rickshaw man (sync): warm and uncomfortable
VO 25As the crowd melts away, it seems a few die-hardnaturists just don't want it to end.Nor do the last of the papparazzi.And by the looks of it, neither does the little lady in her raincoat, sneaking in for the final photo.
Jesse (off): Cruising the streets with a (sync) bunch of naked people, you cant get more sort of thrilling and surreal and beautiful you know?(click of camera)You cant beat like cycling around London completely naked to protest against oil dependency, its like a dream protest.
Photographer (off) 5, 4,3, 2, 1 CHEESE!
Jesse Sync: on rollerblades Hi Im Jesse Schust, and Im helping coordinate the WNBR.
SLATE: WORLD NAKED BIKE RIDE
Jesse Sync: Its coming back to me, but er, its certainly not as easy as riding a bike ha! but Ill definitely be riding a bike on the actual day.
VO 1: Animation 1Nudity seems to be the latest fashion accessory. The idea of a naked bike ride was conceived in Canada in 2004. last year it spawned 37 nude protest rides around the world.The smallest consisted of just two riders.London held a last-minute ride in Hyde park, but this year they are going to hit the actual streets of London for the first time.
IV Jesse: I think that its really important to have a nude cycle ride in London that takes the ride to the streets and interacts with the traffic, er, because right now theres a lot of questions over transport and car advocates are really getting, you know, verbal, and I think its important for people who dont believe the future is the car, to speak up and have theirselves heard.
VO: 2So whats Jesse, whose day job is setting up computer systems, and the handful of other volunteers, got to tackle to problem of Britains 32 million polluting vehicles?Well, like most protest organisations they are on a shoe-string. Their entire budget for the event is £90.Whilst their HQ is Jesses somewhat cluttered living room.But what they do have up their sleeve is the power of naked flesh.
IV Jesse:Ive been interested in the potential of protest nude because I think its pretty neat, like, its a form of non-violent protest, that kind of attracts attention the same way setting fire to things does.(image of cyclists)Im not an advocate of setting fire to things, but you have to say, when people do that they get attention drawn to the issue.
VO 3 The organisation is a decentralised internet based group, existing to make the ride happen, and then dissolving away as soon as its over. But because of this they have no idea how many people will show up.
Jesse IVThe aims of the naked Bike ride are to(sync) protest against Oil dependency and sort of promote a car free culture (under images of traffic) and looking toward a future where we would be less dependant on motor transport that pollutes the environment and makes the streets unsafe for cyclists and other sustainable transport. (sync) The other thing is celebrating the body and sort of making a safe space for people to show their body and not feel ashamed of its (under traffic images)individuality and to kind of show the vulnerability of a cyclist in London by having people naked in the traffic and I think that basically we are trying to (sync)change the way people think about transport in London.
VO 4But surely cars and Oil arent all bad are they? What exactly is the situation in Great Britain today?In the past 30 years traffic on our roads has more than doubled.
VO 5Last year sales of heavily polluting 4 by 4s rose by 13 percent.Road transport already pumps out more than a fifth of UK emissions of carbon dioxide.And up to 24,000 people die prematurely in the UK every year as a result of air pollution.
VO 7 Camden Green Fair:The nude protest ride needs to publicise itself as much as possible in the days leading up to the event.Regan: If it rains then youll just get wet.Another ride volunteer, Community health worker Regan Davis, has set up a stall at the annual Camden Green fair, to persuade people, who arent neccessarily naturists, to come along for the ride.
Regan: What is it? Well basically its a protest against oil dependency and the fact that people probably use their cars far too much and the damage that has on the environment.(sync) I mean Im white as a ghost, Im really gonna have to cover up(off) have a good day mate. I think its important just talking to people. I think thats where you make the biggest connection
Sync; Is this a dare?
Regan,(off)Yeah it is. Its happening next Saturday, Hyde Park Corner
Man: (sync) You mean you literally have to come naked?
Regan: (sync) Well no, you can come with your clothes on and then should you feel you wanna cut loose then go for it
Man: (sync) Ok, so, well see you there.
Regan: (sync) Excellent!, excellent
Regan (sync): Usually when you say naked you get a bit of a like ooooh, but
Regan (off): Whats the banner for? I think it will be really nice, (sync) everyone with their bikes, holding up the banner, it might cover up some strategic thing (giggle) People might have their photo taken more willingly if they can hide behind a banner.(NAME STRAP: REGAN DAVIES)Publicity Co-ordinator London WNBR
Woman (sync): Ive never tried cycling naked.
Regan: (off) I have, and I can vouch for its comfortableness. Its like(sync) swimming naked, you feel really free, its like wooooh, all the air rushes on you and
Regan (off): You just cant pick who is going to do it. Its not something you can stereotype and say, oh, I wouldnt bother giving a (sync) pamphlet to that person cos theres no way, I mean, you you just cant , cant do that.
Dad: (sync)What do you think about your dad doing that?
Son: ha ha ha
Regan (sync) I think its really important to teach kids that their bodies are ok and you know, its not wrong to be naked no matter what shape or size you areCos I think we get bombarded with you know a lot of media messages about whats okay to look like, whats not okay to look like.
VO 8But with all this talk of getting your kit off, isnt it illegal to get your dangly bits out in public? Wont there be an outrage? Well apparently not. The organisers of the ride actually decided to try and get the police involved. The person who dealt with the police didnt wish to be identified.
IV DEALING WITH THE POLICEOrganiser: (off) We were divided on whether to seek police permission, or not, simply go ahead with the ride. We knew that, the previous year, rides in in Edinburgh and New York had been stopped and people had been asked to put their clothes on. In the end we just decided to just go for it and see what their reaction would be to a large scale naked bike ride I knew that you dont actually have to get legal permission for a protest, so I added that we werent actually sort of formally asking for their permission. I dont know if the word naked actually caused any alarm bells to ring. Strictly speaking it isnt actually illegal to be naked in public, however the law is a little bit murky in that area. You could be done for indecent exposure or causing a public nuisance. If its a question of public order then the police would step in and I took that to mean that if there was a threat of violence. Well I was pretty confident that our naked protest wasnt going to degenerate into a public brawl.
VO 9With more than 20 cyclists killed each year, riding in London is dangerous at the best of times, so riding naked seems to be asking for trouble.The organisers have decided to recce the route, looking out for potential danger spots.
(NAME STRAP: ERIC NOLAN) Safety Co-ordinator London WNBREric (sync) (spoken in English with heavy French accent) In one week time, we are going to start from here, Wellington Arch, err, the first world naked bike ride inside the streets of London(off) so today Im trying to check this route, to see if there are any trouble that we should expect during the ride, turning points, difficulties with the traffic, traffic lights, all that kind of things.
VO 10Eric, who works on the stockmarket, knows they have taken something of a gamble with such an ambitious route:Eric sync: Were going through Piccadilly circus, Trafalgar Square, across the river to the houses of parliament up to Tottenham court road, to Marble Arch and down here, so its a circle, inside the main streets of the city.(off) we can see here that theres not(sync) too much traffic but when theres not too much traffic, people are trying to drive crazy, so its a little bit dangerous to cross here and of course we expect that, with plenty of people joining the ride, if everybody stay all inside the ride, thats the best way we can guarantee the safety of the ride. (sync) Now, were back with the road here, were going to go all the way in Oxford Street(off) Its going to be the busiest street were going to ride in one weeks time, some people would be a little bit intimidating to see all these people, maybe theyre going to get a little bit nervous if we stay too long in the
streetInterviewer: Are you nervous?
Eric (sync): Oh I will certainly be very nervous, not now, but a few minutes before the ride starts I will. Certainly.
Eric (off) Have you heard that next week its going to(sync) be a bicycle ride and with some naked peopledriver: Ohh! Ha haEric: yeah, yeah
Driver: Hope youre not going to be naked yourself!
Eric: Yeah, maybe, maybe. And its all about to make the point about oil dependencies, so, against pollution
Driver: Ok, I understand
Eric:and all the green issues to..
Driver: But do you think do you think we can live without all these things polluting the air. We need it.
Eric: Well we need it but imagine that your bus could be electric powered
Driver: Well, if you can find it.
Eric: Yeah, it will be nice.
Driver: Ok, hang on, let meE
ric: Yeah, sorry, sorry about..
Driver: Thats alright, thats alright
Driver: Thats a good point that. There are things that you cant do without
Eric: Yeah.
IV Jesse (sync)I think its really an important moment to have pressure put onto the car culture and say look, theres, theres a way that we could get around with our own bodies. Were not using any oil. Were not using any clothing
Cyclist: (sync) Burn your cars, get a bikeJesse: I think its really important to have this message now when the transport system is like, really at a loss for providing for Londoners needs
VO 11 ANIMATION Environmentalist IVHow is it that successive governments' transport policies seem to have led us into such an environmental jam?
IV Kerry HamiltonProfessor UEL, former director of London TransportKerry (sync) We do hear that the increase in cars is slowing down, but its only slowing down marginally, therefore, car numbers are increasingANIMATION- no specific words(NAME STRAP: PROFESSOR KERRY HAMILTON University of East LondonFormer Director of London Transport)Kerry (sync): The theory has been and the policy has been to build yourself out of this kind of crisis, but we now know that building yourself out of the crisis just expands the crisis cos the more you build a space, the more it is occupied by more car drivers.ANIMATION- no specific wordsKerry (sync): Policies should be about encouraging people to use other modes, other than the car.ANIMATIONKerry: Politicians (sync) arent necessarily unaware of the crisis, but there is an enormous pressure on them, particularly by the road lobby, particularly by the car manufacturers, particularly by the insurance industry, particularly by tyre manufacturers, er, to really not change the status quo, so what you really need is consumer pressure, is public pressure to bring about change.Were seeing changes in parts of Europe, parts of Northern Europe in particular, where theyve got car free cities, where theyve got car free developments, they build whole flats, where, if youre going to live in them you wont have a car, so all these things could knit together.
VO 12Recent research found that nearly 40 per cent of young children under the age of 11, who go to school by car, would prefer to walk or cycle. Whilst the cost of building 15 miles of motorway is the same as 5000 miles of cycle network.
IV Kerry HamiltonKerry: It looks like dark days(sync) in terms of transport at the moment, but they won out on tobacco. Were all terribly aware now of the social cost and the health cost of tobacco and one day we will be aware of the social costs and the health cost and the environmental costs of car dependency and we will do something about it and at the moment were not, but that doesnt mean that we wont.
ICE CAP FOOTAGE
VO 13 The Day of Ride, Its the morning of the ride. A few brave souls have gathered to get pertinent messages painted onto their bodies, and the mainstream media have arrived.
Interviewee: (sync) Im very excited today because Im here at the London leg of the World Naked Bike Ride
Jesse (sync): It looks like it might be a little cold today. I hope it gets sunny, that would be nice.Interviewer voice: Have you ever done anything like this before?
Man in red: Not..Not..Not prior to last year, no, not at all, so I was a bit sort of nervous about doing it but erm, once youre out with no clothes its fine. Everyone else is doing it so, join in.
Interviewer: and so youve never done anything like this before?
Girl: (sync) No, not at all. Ive never really done an organised ride, or been naked in public, so
VO 14There is slight concern at the number of inexperienced cyclists coming on the ride, andtoday just happens to be the Trooping of the Colour
Eric (sync): Its a day where there are many many people around, cos its the queens birthday so maybe its going to be a little bit crowded all around.Interviewer: This is the first ever bike ride in London to go out on the roads of London rather than in a park,
Girl: (sync)yeah
Interviewer: How are you feeling about that?
Girl: Well, I think were a good group, so thats fine, um, I probably wouldnt do it alone.
Jesse (sync): What colour would you like to go with?
Male voice: just in black
Jesse: black?
Voice: yeah
Jesse: good
Interviewee in green: I dont think therell be too (sync) too much road rage. A hundred or two hundred naked cyclists will be quite a force to be reckoned with, (laughs) for any motorist.S
ame man with bike: (sync)Its Its a little bit meagre but it shows willing (laughs)
Jesse: (off) Its really important that the ride is open to everyone, and the way weve done that is to make it bare as you dare, basically nudity is really optional rather than required. (sync) As long as youre not going to freak out with a lot of naked people around you, I recommend it to anyonecheers from crowd
Interviewer: Hows it all going?
Regan: Um Really well. Its slightly overwhelming just (sync) having everyone ask for information and everything like that, but thats to be expected.
Interviewer: How many people do you think weve got here?
Regan: heaps given the weather! Check it out! We do have a photography policy that seems to have gone out the window, we tried to enforce it a few times but
Man with skates: Ive got skates but Ive only skated a short time
Regan:ok
Man: will it be fast, going fast on skates?
Interviewer: So youve just decided to join the ride have you?
Man: Yes I think I have.
Interviewer: What was it made you think youd join the ride?
Man: Err, um. Just give it a go. See if Ive got the bottle to do it. I wanna do it, but Im nervous.
Jesse: For me, I was really nervous that (sync) like thered be this moment where suddenly we were like, ok, get your kit off and the moment of truth, like, are you gonna do it?Cheers
Jessee: (off) its really funny how easy it is, you know, you just do it and (sync) it feels fine cos everybody else is.
VO 15The ride pulls in to Piccadilly Circus, where it makes its first impromptu stop for a rapidly gathering crowd. As the fleshy juggernaut pulls out of town, one lone member has nearly been cut off from the herd.
Jesse IV In some ways I think our ride (sync) exhibits the best qualities of the sort of body freedom campaigning. Its nudity with a purpose
VO 16After zipping through Trafalgar square, the ride takes another unexpected turn: veering off the designated route, down the Mall, and past number 10 Downing street
Interviewer (sync) Hi Jesse hows it going?Sync (along Mall)
Jesse: Good, its really good. Um, bit of a surprise going down Whitehall, I didnt We werent planning that, some people just started down there and I tried to get people to go the other way but er
Interviewer: Its an improvisation
Jesse: Yeah. Its an improvisation. Its quite fun going past Tony Blair! I heard theres more than 200 of us.
Jesse (sync): Get on your bikes!
Interviewer: Is this your first time?
Girl: Its my first time naked, and my first time on a bike ride in London
Man: Its had a fabulous turn out, the people are loving it. Ive never seen (sync) so many smiles in London. Its wonderful.
Interviewer: Hows the ride going so far?
Rollerblader: (sync) Excellent!Interviewer: What do you think about getting the message across?, you got some leaflets, do you think people are taking them?
Rollerblader: I think its helping, Im putting them on many cars so hopefully theyll help.
Interviewer: Hows the bike ride going so far? Are you enjoying it?(no response)Did you join in? Were you cycling somewhere and you decided to join in?
Old lady: Im a naturist as well if its warm enough.
Jesse IV: (sync) I think it will be a big shock to people when we go down Oxford Street. I think thats going to be the point at which um, were gonna have the biggest sort of collision of cultures. Well be encountering British culture which is a mixture of tolerance of eccentricity to the extreme and at the same time being reluctant to shed clothing in public. I think that were gonna have a mixture of responses sort of people dealing with it as almost a carry on film, like tittering and making jokes and at the same time people being like Oh its London, naked people, whats next?
Interviewer: Whats your impression of the naked bike ride?
Female bystander 1: (sync) Fantastic
Male bystander: (sync) Idiot
VO 17 But before they get the rare opportunity to streak down London's busiest thoroughfare, the ride grinds to a sudden and worrying standstill. They've bumped into some local officers, who completely unaware of the imminent arrival of 250 naked environmentalists, and unsure what to do, have blocked off the entry to Oxford Street
Rainbow man:(Sync) Theres a big car there, blocking our way, yeah?.General commotion
Girl in glasses: (sync)its authorised. yeah. Its already agreed, its just these police dont know.
Rollerblader in helmet: (sync): Are you asking us to get dressed or not? We have to announce it if you do, but you know we cant do it.
VO 18As the confusion reigns tempers begin to fray, and one over-helpful roller-blader gets into a bit of a hand-bag fight with a police cameraman
Roller blader: (Sync): Why are you touching me? Its assault. Hes touching me. (falls) careful!
General chaos
Jesse: (off) The police tried to stop us from going on the route that wed planned(sync) but actually they let us in the end, you know, they realised that (off) we were going to do it anyway, I mean, I didnt have any control over what people did
girl (clapping): (sync) let us through!
.
VO 20As the gathering crowd gets restless, the officers know they have to make a decision quickly.At last, Headquarters tells them to let the show roll on.
Interviewer: As a taxi driver, what do you feel about the naked bike ride?
Taxi driver (sync): I think its great
Interviewer: Are you going to sell your taxi and get one of these instead?
Taxi driver: Ive already got one, Im just gonna take me clothes off in a minute!
Female blader: (sync)Im freezing!
Rickshaw driver: (sync): Its free rides if you take off your clothes guys!
Interviewer: Whats the sort of reaction from the general public?
Lady in red: (sync) People are cheering. I think its good. Ive had a few funny comments about my red boobs, but
Walking girl: Im trying walking, cos its more like being one of the people on the pavement, and I feel even more naked and vulnerable. Its fucking scary.
VO 21In a nerve wracking moment, a double-decker bus has worryingly managed to get into the middle of the ride, cutting it in two, leaving half the cyclists stranded on Oxford street while the rest race ahead to the US embassy
Regan (sync): bus has split the ride. We need to stop people probably at some lights because other cars are getting in(sync): We can try. I think its gone a bit pear shaped.(sync): Heres the other half!
Girl with red hair (sync): My bush for president!
VO 22Outside the US embassy impassioned speeches were made, but it seems people werent quite sure what was going on.
Interviewer: Do you know where we are?
Man: Houses of parliament, I think.
Interviewer: Yeah? Its the U.S embassy.
VO 23It seemed like the message was confused, but then again, maybe just making men with guns smile for once, is enough of a justification.
Long haired man: (off) We havent got any weapons on us officer. (sync) I havent got a single hand grenade today. My testicles might be possibly very small hand grenades, but (laughs)
rider (sync): No more oil!
VO 24It's the last stretch of the ride. As they cruise along the edge of Hyde park, the aching limbs and chaffed bottoms manage one more burst of speed.
Interviewer: Regan its all over, weve made it, how did you feel it went?
Regan: (sync)ah, really well. It did go well, seeing the looks on peoples faces. There was one bus driver near Waterloo bridge who was literally crying with laughter, he just (mimes action) you know, people loved it.Hippy girl: (sync) Freedom! Feeling of just being, yeah I can do what I want and I wanna cycle around naked.
Eric: No trouble with the traffic, absolutely excellent(sync) people very happy, you can see all people around our route, smiling, laughing and they were very very friendly.
Interviewer: Did you get any funny comments from people?
Red hair: (sync)Oh you hear a few people shouting
Man in hat (sync-overlap): Oh my God! Aaaah!
Girl: You go so fast.
Red hair: I hear people say, thats disgusting, but still staring at everyone.
Man: Seeing the reaction on the faces of the public, you know theres just a er...a sea of cameras and smiling faces; I felt like the queen!
Man with wreath: (sync): I wish my saddle didnt have so much stitching, but
Interviewer: Youve got a bit of er bit of nappy rash is it?
Man 2: Yeah, a little bit of chafe, but hey!
Interviewer: You think if cyclists rode naked all the time theyd be received better generally?or
Man in shades: (sync) (laughs) theres a good chance actually
Man: (sync) In critical mass its kind of us versus them, whereas on this er everyones er I think theyve been pleased to see us!
Girl with red hair: (sync) I said at the U.S. Embassy I stood up on the er I dont know some platformy thing there and I said My bush for president, but you know I just think its really easy to scapegoat world leaders or whatever, but we all have a part to play to get this place back into shape, every single car driver, every single person, every single minute of the day, you know, we cant give up.
Interviewer: Do you think you got the message across?
Jesse (sync) I I dont know, I think that a lot of people also just sort of were like, what a weird event, all these naked people coming by, they were very excited and happy, um, and hopefully theyll catch some of the publicity afterward and get a context for it.
Interviewer: Regan, kits back on
Regan: (sync)Yeah
Interviewer: Back to normalityRegan: A little bit warmer
Interviewer: How does it feel to be fully fully clothed again?
Rickshaw man (sync): warm and uncomfortable
VO 25As the crowd melts away, it seems a few die-hardnaturists just don't want it to end.Nor do the last of the papparazzi.And by the looks of it, neither does the little lady in her raincoat, sneaking in for the final photo.
Jesse (off): Cruising the streets with a (sync) bunch of naked people, you cant get more sort of thrilling and surreal and beautiful you know?(click of camera)You cant beat like cycling around London completely naked to protest against oil dependency, its like a dream protest.
Photographer (off) 5, 4,3, 2, 1 CHEESE!