September snapshots: new London sculpture, US Republican rally, Belgian forest fire and global cultural scenes
London unveiled Tschabalala Self’s blue bronze sculpture in Trafalgar Square, while US Republicans sang the national anthem at their Dallas convention and Belgium faced its worst forest fire in a century.
Tschabalala Self’s "Lady in Blue" bronze sculpture was installed on the fourth plinth of Trafalgar Square, portraying a contemporary urban woman meant to reflect the city’s zeitgeist. At the Republican National Convention in Dallas, delegates sang the US national anthem, highlighting the party’s unwavering backing of Donald Trump despite unfavorable poll numbers. In eastern Belgium’s Hautes Fagnes protected area, a historic forest fire ravaged peat bogs, pine stands and walking paths, marking the largest blaze the country has seen in a hundred years.
In Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, a laborer harvested salt produced through solar evaporation, a key industry for the “salt city.” A Senegalese skateboarder showcased a trick alongside US Olympic skateboarder Minna Stess during a training session in Dakar, as the nation prepares to host the Youth Olympic Summer Games. Additional scenes included a bakery worker in Kuala Lumpur carrying mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival and a worker in Salé marking a wall for upcoming election posters ahead of Morocco’s parliamentary vote.
