Thousands of activists are expected to join a Fridays for Future climate change protest fronted by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, the movement’s founder, in the south-western English city of Bristol.
Thunberg, 17, tweeted that she was “looking forward to joining the school strike in Bristol.”
“Bristol is feeling inspired,” said Sandy Hore-Ruthven, the Green Party’s Bristol mayoral candidate.
“Greta is the rock star of our young peoples’ voice – inspiring millions to take action,” Hore-Ruthven wrote for local news website B24/7.
Mike Jackson, executive director of Bristol City Council, and Andy Bennett, the commander of Bristol police, said in a joint statement that they expected “major disruption to the city,” with people travelling to the protest from across Britain.
Jackson and Bennett warned parents that the organizers’ usual security controls “may not be adequate, especially for primary school children and people with disabilities.”
Organizers Bristol Youth Strike 4 Climate rejected the safety concerns, saying they would deploy more than 80 stewards and keep a “safe zone” for younger children.
City councillor Helen Godwin said on Thursday that she was unsure if she would take her own young children to Friday’s event.
“Greta’s commitment, resilience and passion for making climate change pivotal to global political discussion can only be admired,” Godwin wrote in a blog post.
“It feels like a once in a lifetime event and opportunity to hear from a young woman who has used her voice so powerfully to change the world,” she said.
