Far Left Protesters Are Dressing up as Zombies to Protest Governments and Banks at the G20 Summit

The streets of Hamburg looked like a scene from Night of the Living Dead as a thousand zombies walked and crawled from all corners of the city towards a central square. Once assembled, the figures began to dance and shake off their grey clay coverings to reveal colourful clothing or their naked bodies. The performance, organised by the collective 1,000 Gestalten (1,000 Figures), was a peaceful protest against the upcoming G20 summit in the city.

"The goal of our performance today is to move the people in their hearts, to give them the motivation to get politically engaged again. We want to create an image, because we believe in the power of images...we want to motivate people to take part. To free themselves from their crusted shells, to take part in the political process," one of the event organisers, Catalina Lopez told Reuters TV.

An unprecedented cast of controversial world leaders, including Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is set to arrive in Germany's second-largest city, provoking protests that are expected to escalate. "G20: Welcome to Hell" is the slogan anti-globalisation activists have adopted. The zombie-inspired demonstration was designed to send a rousing message to the public to fight for tolerance and solidarity, and be more engaged in politics generally.

It appears to be an attitude that is widely shared. The protests have included groups as diverse as anti-capitalist activists and middle class families voicing their opposition. In a preview of things to come, police clashed in Hamburg with hundreds of protesters on Tuesday night (4 July), using pepper spray and water cannons to eventually bring the crowd under control.

In a note from the German defence ministry, leaked to Der Spiegel, soldiers have even been advised against wearing their uniforms in public over the course of the summit for fear of becoming targeted by "spontaneous attacks by members of violent-prone participants of leftwing extremist protests".

— Picture curation: David Sim.