By Tim Binnall
Dozens of individuals wishing to celebrate the summer solstice at Stonehenge stormed the ancient monument in defiance of the site's caretakers, who had closed the iconic location to visitors to help thwart the spread of the coronavirus. For the second year in a row, the annual June celebration had been cancelled by World Heritage, the organization that oversees the historic location, because of concerns regarding the pandemic. However, around 100 to 200 people apparently would not be denied as, shortly before 5 AM on Monday morning, revelers reportedly began arriving at the outskirts of the famed standing stones on the Salisbury Plain in England.
A small metal fence surrounding the site was no match for the throngs of people, who quickly scrambled over the barrier to find a place within the monolith for the forthcoming sunrise. The subsequent gathering had something of a circus-like atmosphere as costume-clad individuals played drums and a 'Standing with Stonehenge' banner was unfurled. The chaotic scene proved to be too much for World Heritage as they actually wound up cutting their livestream of the solstice just minutes before it occurred. Disappointed viewers around the world who had hoped to see the sunrise at Stonehenge were, instead, treated to a pre-recorded video of the monument and, by the time the feed resumed, the big moment had sadly passed.
As for the people who stormed Stonehenge, they were met by cadre of police officers who did their best to disperse the group and, presumably, protect the monument from any ne'er-do-wells. Fortunately such miscreants seemed to be few and far between as, to their credit, the unauthorized visitors to the site were largely peaceful individuals simply celebrating the solstice and so officers mostly just milled around the area keeping an eye on things. That said, cops did arrest one particularly jubilant woman for public intoxication, which is a rather remarkable feat on her part considering that the incident unfolded at five o'clock in the morning.