Bondi Beach is globally recognised as an iconic Australian location, but on Thursday October 22 it was transformed from Kaftans to Kazakhstan as it was re-branded ‘Borat Beach’ in … read morecelebration of Friday October 23’s premiere of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat Subsequent Moviefilm exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in Australia and over 200 countries and territories around the globe. In an event which will go down as one of the proudest days in recent Kazakhstan/Australian diplomatic relations and which Kazakhstani media compared to the French people’s gift of the Statue of Liberty to New York City 134 years ago, a Kazakhstani-military helicopter delivered a six metre sculpture of the country’s most famous reporter, Mr Borat Sagdiyev, clad only in the American flag at Bondi’s Marks Park. The generous gift to Australia, in Bondi for 24 hours and delivered following strict social distancing protocols, will no doubt go a long way to filling the void left by the postponement of the 2020 Sculpture by the Sea, a yearly festival which has been postponed this year because of COVID-19. Australia’s renowned love affair with all things Kazakhstan was on full display, with the beach awash in the country’s flags, as Bondi muscle men shared their workout park with moustachioed Borat look-a-likes, proud mask-clad Kazakhstanis rode up and down the Pavilion on Segways and a Borat-inspired yoga class was a show-stopping spectacle on the sand, followed by surfing lessons which provided a chance to wet the moustache and cool off. All activities followed strict social distancing rules and other COVID-19 safety plans, with support and guidance from Government partners.
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