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All Czechia Prague London Booster

London Booster

A bus with a butt and biceps to put Olympic athletes to shame.

Prague, Czechia

Added By
Sebastián Wortys
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The statue in London for the Olympic games.   ozz13x/CC BY 2.0
June 2023   DMStephenson / Atlas Obscura User
June 2023   DMStephenson / Atlas Obscura User
June2023   DMStephenson / Atlas Obscura User
The backside of the London Booster.   ŠJů/CC BY-SA 3.0
The London Booster by David Černý.   ŠJů/CC BY-SA 3.0
The London Booster.   ŠJů/CC BY-SA 3.0
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About

The "London Booster" is a mechanical sculpture created to commemorate the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. It is a 1958 double decker bus transformed into an athlete, with a pair of muscular arms and a sculpted bottom.

Because pushups are a training activity employed by almost every sort of athlete, the bus is poised to "boost" itself. Every day at 3 p.m. it does so, lifting itself high above the heads of onlookers.

The artist, David Černý, even equipped the hydraulic sculpture with realistic groans of a strained workout. The only thing that keeps it from its daily exercises is inclement weather.

The statue was installed in front of the Czech house in Islington during the Olympics. After the games had commenced, it was relocated to Prague. Černý is unsure how long the bus's hydraulics will remain functional, so see the London Booster while you still can.

Related Tags

Automata Mechanical Instruments Sculptures Statues Olympics Transportation David Cerny

Community Contributors

Added By

Sebastian Wortys

Edited By

Molly McBride Jacobson, DMStephenson

  • Molly McBride Jacobson
  • DMStephenson

Published

January 13, 2017

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Sources
  • http://www.topgear.com/car-news/british/watch-double-decker-do-push-ups
  • https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/London_Booster_by_David_%C4%8Cern%C3%BD
  • http://metro.co.uk/2012/07/23/artist-transforms-london-bus-into-athlete-doing-push-ups-for-olympics-506204/
London Booster
Klíčova
Prague
Czechia
50.037998, 14.497942
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