Just Stop Oil protesters sprayed orange paint over TVs during a Tekken 7 tournament at the EGX conference in London.
On Sunday (15 October), three Just Stop Oil protestors calmly walked onto the stage during a Tekken 7 match on the EGX Arena stage and sprayed orange paint over the TVs and the giant screen behind. The protesters then turned to give a speech to the crowd, before they were escorted off stage by security and later arrested by the Metropolitan Police for criminal damage, according to the Just Stop Oil website.
The website notes that the three were cosplaying as Ghostbusters characters, and were carrying water pistols adapted to spray paint. Just Stop Oil said that one reason for targeting EGX is that it is sponsored by Barclays Bank, which it says has “financed around $167 billion in fossil fuels”. The group also highlighted the oil company Shell’s sponsorship of Fortnite and gaming influencers.
A spokesperson for Just Stop Oil gave the following statement: “Video games let us escape into new and exciting dimensions, but real world physics are about to deliver the deaths of billions. Put more carbon into the atmosphere at this point and it’s game over. Gamers co-operate to win, and we need these skills to survive. Everyone must step up and join in civil resistance against new oil and gas, because this isn’t a game. Let’s unite to make this world safe, so that we can get back to exploring cyber worlds. Join Just Stop Oil on a slow march through London from 29th October”
Just Stop Oil has been staging a campaign of civil disobedience to highlight the ongoing use of fossil fuels for some time now, demanding a halt to all new oil and gas projects. Earlier this month, members of the protest group sprayed paint over university buildings in various UK towns and cities, including Manchester, London, Oxford and Exeter, as well as disrupting a performance of Les Misérables at the Sondheim Theatre in London.
