Dozens of muscular male foreigners dressed as Spartans were detained by Beijing police Wednesday, accused of disturbing public order in Sanlitun, one of Beijing’s hot hubs for entertainment.
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About 40 mostly blond and brown-haired men wearing bronze shorts, arm and leg guards and capes styled after the attire of people in the ancient Greek city of Sparta marched in Beijing’s central business district and an upscale shopping area Wednesday. They were meant to be delivering salad lunches to office workers, but the stunt went wrong.
The bare-chested men attracted crowds and posed for photos with women that circulated widely on social media.
Police were photographed restraining some on the ground at the Sanlitun shopping area.
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A statement by police later said the officers were forced to take action to control the “foreigners in short trousers”, according to the Associated Press. It said the matter was still under investigation. “Whether they are naked or not, I will eat my salad calmly”. “Handsome Spartan warriors tried to occupy the Chinese capital, but were defeated by our awesome police in five seconds”, state media quoted a witness as saying. Salad Sweetie later issued an apology for the hullabaloo, but that’s probably no skin off their back given the massive success of the stunt. “The company thoroughly communicated with the police officers last night and has cleared the misunderstanding”.
