Flashmobs are the latest craze in Europe this summer
Published:
18 August 2003 y., Monday
Flashmobs are the latest craze in Europe this summer. It’s another scorching day in Berlin, and on the Alexanderplatz in the city’s center, people are sitting on the edge of a fountain, hoping to catch some relief from the heat. A few are standing around in curious expectation. An Internet site had said a flashmob would take place at 5:00 p.m. But at 4:59 there was no trace of anything out of the ordinary.
Then at five on the dot, a circle of some 10 people suddenly convened around the fountain from out of nowhere. They were all young men in their 20s. Each took off his left show and passed it to his neighbor. Within about 15 seconds, the shoes had made a full circle and were back with their owners. The men gave themselves a high-five and dispersed without a trace. All that was left after their departure were amused and slightly confused onlookers, wondering what they just say.
Flashmobs, or spontaneous gatherings of people engaged in somewhat pointless activities, are the most recent U.S. import. In June of this year, the first such event took place in a Macy’s department store in New York. Since then, the concept has spread quickly across the United States, and leapfrogged over to Australia, Singapore and, as of the end of July, made its way to Europe.
In Germany, flashmobs have become very popular among a mostly young, computer-savvy group. More than 150 towns and cities have been the sites for the blitz-like gatherings, and in Berlin, at least two or three of the brief nonsensical events are announced every day on various Web sites, e-mail lists and mobile phone messages.
Šaltinis:
dw-world.de
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
The Sydney skyline cleared Thursday, after an enormous dust storm clouded the city under a red hue a day earlier. Sydney residents began cleaning their city after a huge outback dust storm blew tones of soil into the city.
more »
European day of languages is a celebration of the many languages spoken in the EU.
more »
Job fairs pitch benefits of working abroad in the EU.
more »
The world’s poor will bear the brunt of the impact of global climate change.
more »
The European Heritage Days – supported by the European Commission – will once again attract around 20 million people in 49 countries to visit selected sites and monuments.
more »
An Asian black bear attacked a group of tourists waiting at this bus station in a mountainous region of central Japan.
more »
One hundred and sixty-eight couples line up to say “I Do.” The mass wedding ceremony took place at Singapore's Botanic Gardens to mark the attraction's 150th anniversary.
more »
The Commission celebrates this year's European Day of Languages, 26 September, for almost a week.
more »
New navigation and layout make it easier to find what you’re looking for on the EU site’s main pages – in any official EU language.
more »
The Helsinki Commission, Helcom, receives the Swedish Baltic Sea Water Award 2009.
more »