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London Booster

Coordinates: 50°2′16.97″N 14°29′52.47″E / 50.0380472°N 14.4979083°E / 50.0380472; 14.4979083
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London Booster
Czech: Klikující autobus
London Booster in London, 2012
Map
ArtistDavid Černý
Year2012
SubjectPush-up, double-decker bus
Dimensions900 cm (350 in)[1]
LocationPrague
OwnerAgrofert

London Booster is an art installation by Czech artist David Černý[2] that consists of a bus fitted with hydraulic arms, allowing it to do push-ups, accompanied by audiovisual effects. It was created to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics and inspire the Czech Olympic team. It was installed outside the Business Design Centre in Islington, which for the duration of the games was transformed into "Czech House".[3]

After the Olympics, the bus was installed in the Prague neighborhood of Chodov, in front of the Agrofert building, a company owned by former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš that sponsored the work.[4]

Bus

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The bus itself is a 1958 Bristol Lodekka LD double-decker with ECW bodywork. Despite being painted red, it never saw use as a London bus—it was new to the Isle of Wight-based operator Southern Vectis, numbered 555, registered ODL 15, and painted in their green livery. After twenty years of service, it was sold to a dealer who exported it to a museum in the Netherlands. In the 1990s, it was sold to a private operator, who returned it to use in the Netherlands as a red liveried corporate hospitality vehicle, registered BE-27-64. Černý sourced it in December 2011 from a Dutch dealer.

References

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  1. ^ "David Cerny – uplne oficialni stranka".
  2. ^ "This Ripped London Bus Does a Pushup Every Afternoon". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  3. ^ "A David Cerny sculpture walk in Prague". The Guardian. 10 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 September 2014.
  4. ^ ČTK (25 July 2012). "Autobus od Černého koupil Babiš za 9 milionů, bude cvičit u sídla jeho společnosti". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Retrieved 3 May 2019.
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50°2′16.97″N 14°29′52.47″E / 50.0380472°N 14.4979083°E / 50.0380472; 14.4979083