London’s National Gallery opens fire on Trafalgar Square Yodas

Finaldi, the new director of London’s National Gallery, has said that street performers should be cleared from the north end of Trafalgar Square. The area is a hotspot for living statues, some of whom pose as levitating characters from film and folklore.

Yoda street performer in Trafalgar Square. Image by steve p2008 / CC BY 2.0

Last year saw reports that several performers dressed as Yoda from Star Wars were competing for the same spots as early as 6am. Finaldi instead wants the pedestrianised area to be used as a public space that ties into the gallery’s activities. Finaldi last worked at the National Gallery in the 1990s when the gallery’s entrance was a very different space. “I don’t remember the bagpipes or the Yodas or the oompah band player who shoots flames out of his tuba or the Elvis impersonator or the west African evangelist preacher,” he said. Read more: standard.co.uk