Earlier this week a Spanish circus artist and juggler went around Reykjavík, entertaining motorists who were stopped at red lights. The Metropolitan Police finally put an end to the entertainment and fun by stopping the man, asking him to take his juggling off the street and somewhere where he would not act as a distraction to drivers.
Pop-up circus at a busy intersection
A local man, Viðar Freyr Guðmundsson caught the juggler on video as he was performing on one of the crosswalks at the intersection of Hringbraut and Hofsvallagata streets in downtown Reykjavík. Viðar told the local newspaper Fréttablaðið that he was stopped at the intersection when the curiously dressed character performed a theatrical silly-walk into the middle of the crosswalk where he then started juggling.
Viðar stopped the juggler for a chat, and learned that he was called Guillermo and came from Barcelona, Spain. I was told he was there performing for a long time after I left, Viðar told Fréttablaðið.
Asked to take his act somewhere else
At some point, however, Guillermo moved his act to the intersection of Sæbraut and Kringlumýrarbraut on the North Shore Sculpture and Scenic Walk, close to Höfði House. According to the Police Diary of the Metropolitan Police officers stopped a man who was disrupting traffic by showing off his juggling skills. The man was asked to move on and stop his actions, as they were considered a distraction and threat to the safety of motorists.
The Police Diary does not identify the nationality or name of the juggler, but according to the sources of Iceland Insider it was the same man who had previously been entertaining people on the other end of downtown. At press time it is unclear whether Guillermo stopped juggling for Reykjavíkians altogether, or whether he just took the act off the street.
The video shot by Viðar. In the voice-over Viðar wonders whether the city should hire jugglers to entertain motorists at all intersections:
Earlier this week a Spanish circus artist and juggler went around Reykjavík, entertaining motorists who were stopped at red lights. The Metropolitan Police finally put an end to the entertainment and fun by stopping the man, asking him to take his juggling off the street and somewhere where he would not act as a distraction to drivers.
Pop-up circus at a busy intersection
A local man, Viðar Freyr Guðmundsson caught the juggler on video as he was performing on one of the crosswalks at the intersection of Hringbraut and Hofsvallagata streets in downtown Reykjavík. Viðar told the local newspaper Fréttablaðið that he was stopped at the intersection when the curiously dressed character performed a theatrical silly-walk into the middle of the crosswalk where he then started juggling.
Viðar stopped the juggler for a chat, and learned that he was called Guillermo and came from Barcelona, Spain. I was told he was there performing for a long time after I left, Viðar told Fréttablaðið.
Asked to take his act somewhere else
At some point, however, Guillermo moved his act to the intersection of Sæbraut and Kringlumýrarbraut on the North Shore Sculpture and Scenic Walk, close to Höfði House. According to the Police Diary of the Metropolitan Police officers stopped a man who was disrupting traffic by showing off his juggling skills. The man was asked to move on and stop his actions, as they were considered a distraction and threat to the safety of motorists.
The Police Diary does not identify the nationality or name of the juggler, but according to the sources of Iceland Insider it was the same man who had previously been entertaining people on the other end of downtown. At press time it is unclear whether Guillermo stopped juggling for Reykjavíkians altogether, or whether he just took the act off the street.
The video shot by Viðar. In the voice-over Viðar wonders whether the city should hire jugglers to entertain motorists at all intersections:
