Eco campaigner storms Strictly Come Dancing final in Sweden, stopped by cameraman
This is the incredible moment when eco-activists stormed the grand finale of Sweden’s version of Strictly Come Dancing before a quick-thinking cameraman brought their stunt to a dramatic end.
Climate activists from the Restore Wetlands protest group ran onto the stage with powder paint and a banner, interrupting a performance during the Friday night finale of Let’s Dance on TV4.
Olympic skier Charlotte Kalla danced the paso doble with her professional partner Tobias Karlsson as a man and woman launched into the pair as hundreds of thousands watched at home.
But one cameraman was having none of it and decided to eliminate the protesters by dropping a camera over the male protester’s head, with the force with which he fell to the ground.
The protesters were then quickly removed from the studio, with three people later questioned by police on suspicion of vandalism.
Climate activists from the Restore Wetlands protest group ran onto the stage during Olympic skier Charlotte Kalla’s performance, peeling off paint and pulling out a banner
Climate activists from the Restore Wetlands protest group ran onto the stage with powder paint and a banner
A camera hanging from a crane swings at a protester after he stormed the Let’s Dance stage
The stage invasion was captured on camera from several angles, including a video filmed by the activists themselves.
It captures the moment when the activists jump out of their seats into the audience before running onto the stage.
One activist pulls out a bag of yellow powder paint while the other holds up a banner that says “restore wetlands.”
In a tackle he couldn’t have seen coming, the male protester is knocked out by a cameraman, who swings their crane-mounted camera at him.
The weight of the equipment sends the activist flying, with footage from the camera itself showing its full power.
The group is then quickly removed from the dance floor by stewards on set, and later filmed leaving the studio in a rage after their stunt.
The activist who released paint on stage has been named as 30-year-old Tina Kronberg Berggren, who has also campaigned for Extinction Rebellion in the past.
She had been in the audience with her fellow campaigners before launching herself onto the stage as the performance got underway.
The male protester unfurled a banner reading Restore Wetlands before the camera was pointed at him
The activists were quickly removed from the dance floor by on-set stewards, one of whom was covered in paint
Tina Kronberg Berggren filmed herself sitting in the audience before running onto the dance floor
The activists later filmed how they left the studio in anger after their stunt
In a statement translated from Swedish, the campaigner explains why she organized the protest: ‘We want nothing more than to have fun and I also like to dance. But my future will be anything but fun.
“The situation is so urgent and we can’t sit in the public eye and stand by when our lives are threatened by climate collapse.”
TV4 viewers missed most of the drama on Friday night, but videos from the studio show the camera waving at the activists from above.
Cross-country skier Kalla, Sweden’s most decorated Olympian with three gold medals, was praised by judges for not being deterred by the ordeal on her final performance.
She came second in Friday night’s competition, losing out to YouTuber Hampus Hedström.
Roxy Farhat, spokesperson for Restore Wetlands, confirms that they support the campaign. The goal is to draw attention to what they believe is a climate catastrophe.
The activist who released paint on stage has been named as 30-year-old Tina Kronberg Berggren, who has also campaigned for Extinction Rebellion in the past
“We are heading for a climate collapse and our politicians are only making the crisis worse by doing nothing. We are the last generation that has the chance to stop this death project,” she said.
“We’ve been demonstrating for 30 years, but the politicians don’t care,” she added, explaining why the group had turned to more unorthodox forms of protest.
Charlie Forsberg, communications director at TV4, is said to have said after the incident: ‘A number of people made it to the stage. It was handled by staff on site and the police were quickly called to the recording, removing them from the scene.”
This isn’t the first time Restore wetlands has hit a major live TV event.
Eurovision champion Loreen’s performance of her winning song Tattoo, during Melodifestivalen in Malmö, was disrupted when an activist ran onto the stage.
Loreen was forced to sing her song again. An activist from the same movement stormed the stage during the Idol final on TV4.