Anticipation for the Trump-Kim summit reaching fever pitch in Singapore
Restaurants and shops get on the marketing bandwagon. Cocktails and food are named after the two leaders. Gold, silver and zinc peace medals are on sale. Oddball figures like former NBA player Dennis Rodman and a Kim Jong-un impersonator are showing up in the city-state.
Singapore (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Summit excitement is reaching a fever pitch with a combo of tacos, cocktails, peace medals and (more or less) famous figures as the countdown for the meeting between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump ticks away.
The hotels are almost full for summit nights, scheduled for 12 June on Sentosa island, Singapore fourth largest island.
Journalists, bystanders and photographers are set to fill the streets of the city, and Singaporeans are ready to welcome them with exclusive products and services.
Everywhere one can enjoy red, white and blue cocktails and tacos named after the two leaders.
Many businesses are also using Trump’s slogan "Make America Great Again" in all sorts of ways.
At the Harmony Nasi Lemak restaurant, a signboard greets passers-by with the sign "Let’s make HARMONY Great Again". At the Lucha Loco Mexican restaurant, the owners are promising to "make tacos great again", offering one taco called El gringo with US cheeseburger flavour and another one dubbed El hombre cohete (Rocket Man) filled with Korean fried chicken.
At Hopheads, a craft beer bar, patrons can get a Bromance cocktail in honour of the warming relations between the two countries and buy a T-shirt featuring the likenesses of Trump and Kim emblazoned with the words "Peace" and "Love."
The Singapore Mint announced the release of gold, silver and base-metal medallions to mark "this momentous step to world peace" and Singapore's "role as a neutral host."
The front side of each features a handshake between Kim and Trump and the flags of both countries under the text "Summit in Singapore." The back side features a peace dove and the national flowers of the United States and North Korea.
The summit has also attracted people not usually associated with politics, most notably US former basketball star Dennis Rodman (picture 3) who will be in Singapore during the summit.
The former NBA player – who has been in North Korea three times and participated in the Trump reality show Celebrity Apprentice for two years – will arrive the day before the summit.
Some media sources are speculating that Rodman might have even played a role in the negotiations, a rumour squashed by the White House, which said that the star will have no role in the summit.
In reality, it seems that his visit is part of a marketing campaign. Shawn Perez, spokesman for PotCoin – a cryptocurrency used in marijuana sales – says that the company is sponsoring “Rodman’s peace mission”, noting that Rodman deserves the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with President Trump and the Marshal Kim Jong-un
As improbable as Rodman's role at the summit is, the presence of Howard X (picture 4), a Hong Konger famous as a Kim Jong-un impersonator with a great following online, has caused headaches for Singapore authorities who stopped him today at Singapore airport and warned him against coming near the summit.
Earlier this year, Howard X showed up at the PyeongChang Olympics, creating confusion among North Korean cheerleaders sent to egg on the inter-Korean women's hockey team.
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12/02/2016 15:14
