Boston’s mayor Michelle Wu celebrated the new status of Boston and Glasgow as sister cities in true Glaswegian style, by adding a traffic cone to the head of a famous Boston statue
Boston’s mayor has celebrated her city and Glasgow becoming sister cities with a uniquely Scottish tribute.
The Tartan Army have made themselves at home in Boston over the past few days, winning over the natives with their friendly antics – so much so that mayor Michelle Wu has announced her city will be twinned with Glasgow.
She signed a letter of intent at The Haven, Boston’s only dedicated Scottish bar, which has served as the unofficial Tartan Army headquarters throughout the tournament, on Thursday
Speaking to journalists after the signing she also let slip she had placed a traffic cone on a statue outside Boston’s city hall, in a tribute to Glasgow’s Duke of Wellington statue who is never seen without his jaunty traffic cone.
“I think we may see some lingering traditions from their visit, and I have to admit I also put a cone on Bill Russell’s head outside today,” Mayor Wu said.
Basketball player Bill Russell played center for the Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1969, during his 13-year career the Celtics played 12 NBA championships winning 11 of them.
“It’s been fun. I mean, the cones are pretty fun.” She added: “I think that it’s such a sense of playful, joyful surprise when you can see that happening.
“We do need cones that need to be in the right place to stay in the right place, so we need to find additional cones for that, but it’s just a sense of joy everywhere.”
The Duke of Wellington statue outside the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow has had a cone on top of his head since the late 1980s. There have been many attempts to remove his high-vis headgear but the cone always seems to mysteriously reappear soon after.
Mayor Wu also praised the Tartan Army for bringing positive energy to the city and for cleaning up after themselves along the way.
“‘No Scotland, no party’ has been absolutely been stuck in my head all the time,” she said, referring to the chant which has been adopted by Tartan Army World Cup fans visiting Boston.
“I think one other bit of incredible feedback that I’ve gotten is that in space after space, where the Tartan Army has has occupied, whether it is the fan march or other spaces, they’re cleaning up after themselves completely.”
Mayor Wu added: “They’re gathering all the litter, putting it away when the trash cans are overflowed, putting it in a little pile next to the trash cans. It’s a mayor’s dream, really.”
A formal agreement will follow next April during Tartan Week.
Meanwhile it’s not just Bill Russell’s statue that has gained a new hat while the Scots have been in town for the World Cup. Elsewhere in Boston a statue of Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns has also been given the cone treatment.
A TikTok video captured the moment a Scotland fan dressed in a national team shirt and kilt can be seen climbing onto the statue while his friend behind the camera shouts: “It’s Rabbie Burns.”
The supporter then gives the statue a kiss before declaring: “Love you bro,” as he attempts to place a traffic cone on top of Burns’ head. Encouraged by his pal filming the stunt, he eventually succeeds before jokingly apologising.
“Sorry Rabbie,” he says, before giving the statue another kiss and climbing back down. The clip ends with the pair proudly posing in front of the monument, with the now-coned Burns statue standing behind them.
The clip, posted by TikTok user @rsullivan1991, has gone viral racking up more than 661,000 views and over 95,000 likes within just a few hours of being posted.
