1 skyscraper. 6 women. No permission. http://savethearctic.org
Music: “Dissolve Me”, generously supplied by Alt-J, supporters of the movement to save the Arctic.
At 4:20 in the morning, 11 July 2013, six climbers began a 15 hour climb of Europe’s tallest building, the Shard, to send a message to the headquarters of oil giant Shell.
This behind-the-scenes film captures the months-long build-up to the climb and the first hair-raising moments when things didn’t go to plan.
The climb was live-streamed from the activists’ helmet cameras in a ground-breaking digital campaign roll-out that represented a “new paradigm”, according to leading PR advisor Solitaire Townsend. A live audio commentary overlaid the footage for the whole day — with Greenpeace presenters interviewing experts and taking comments from as far away as New Zealand (Xena actress Lucy Lawless called in to the show). #Iceclimb trended globally on Twitter and at one point six of the top ten trending topics in the UK were about the protest.
In the last 30 years we’ve lost 75% of the Arctic sea ice volume. And as the ice melts, Shell and other oil companies want to drill there for more oil. Burning that oil only accelerates the melt. It is up to us to stop Shell’s dangerous and destructive plans.
The climbers: Ali Garrigan, 27 (UK), Liesbeth Deddens, 31 (Netherlands), Sabine Huyghe, 33 (Belgium), Sandra Lamborn, 29 (Sweden), Victoria Henry, 32 (Canada), Wiola Smul, 23 (Poland).
What will you do to save the Arctic? http://savethearctic.org