Boston has been awarded Glasgow's 'highest honour' by locals after becoming sister cities. The mayor of Boston made the union official, and a few Glaswegians wanted to return the favour.
Statue Tradition
The statue found outside Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art has been sporting a traffic cone since the mid-eighties. Scotland may not have been victorious against Morocco last night, but people across the world feel the nation has already won the World Cup of fans. The Tartan Army have made waves since arriving stateside in Boston, so much so the American city has been named twin cities with Glasgow.
Official Ceremony
Mayor of Boston Michelle Wu made this official on Thursday, June 18, and placed a cone on a statue of Bill Russell outside city hall to celebrate the union. And a couple of Glaswegians felt compelled to return the favour.
Content creator Mark Thorburn recently took to the streets of Glasgow to offer a replacement for the traffic cone currently donned by the Duke of Wellington statue in the city centre. Keeping on theme, the new cone sports a massive Boston logo.
Glasgow locals will be familiar with the tradition which has seen the statue sporting an orange traffic cone since the 1980s. Even when removed by officials, a cone always finds its way back on top of the Duke's head. Tartan Army fans in Boston have even shown their gratitude by placing cones on local statues.
Social Media Reaction
Taking to Instagram to share the feat, Mark began: "The people of Glasgow love Boston, so much that we want to class you as our sister city. So to do that we have got this Boston cone that we're gonna put on the statue, it's the Duke of Wellington. I don't know how this is gonna go but we'll give it a try. Here we go, good luck, thank you."
Two of Mark's pals can then be seen scaling the famous statue, at which he jokes that he hopes "nobody perishes". In true Glasgow fashion, a separate fan comes into shot sporting a full traffic cone costume wrapped in a Saltire flag, at which Mark states that "you belong up there". The luminous fan responds "I'm absolutely F****d mate honestly."
The men eventually remove the previous cone and top the Duke with its Boston branded replacement, followed by giving the statue's horse a few pats. "We now have a Boston cone on the Duke of Wellington."
American fans flooded the video's comments with appreciation, with one writing: "I'll speak for all of America here: You Scottish people are welcome in Boston whenever you want… This truly has been the most fun and electric I've ever seen Boston be."
Another lamented: "Boston has peaked. There is no higher honour for us!" A third said: "Watched this after watching the mayor of Boston sign an intent for partnership with Glasgow. Dreams do come true!"
After a memorable time in Boston, the Tartan Army have begun their migration down south to Florida where Scotland will take on Brazil in Miami. Hopes of advancing hang in the balance after losing 1-0 to Morocco on Friday night. However a draw in the next match could greatly boost chances.
