London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Official mascot of COP26 ‘Bonnie the Seal’ decried as ‘giant rat’ dressed in pricey taxpayer-funded outfit

Official mascot of COP26 ‘Bonnie the Seal’ decried as ‘giant rat’ dressed in pricey taxpayer-funded outfit

Already plagued with organizational issues, the upcoming COP26 climate summit is facing another problem: it's just-unveiled ‘Bonnie the Seal’ mascot is being mocked for its expensive outfit and unfortunate resemblance to a rat.

The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) is set to begin in Glasgow on 31 October – and its official mascot was recently revealed by the city council.

Bonnie was previously the mascot for the Glasgow 2018 European Championships, but, in the spirit of environmentalism, she is “being recycled” for COP26 to “engage with volunteers.” “She will pop up from time to time to support and spread excitement amongst those volunteering at the international summit,” the organizers said in a statement.

The announcement didn’t exactly “spread excitement” among Brits on social media – or officials in Westminster, however. Though Bonnie is not a novice at working the crowd at international events – aside from the European Championships, she was also a mascot at the European Swimming Championships in 2019 – this time round, the price of her outfit has not gone unnoticed.


It was revealed that £1,625 had been spent on her new attire, with the Daily Mail reporting that, while the council’s volunteer-marketing budget initially covered the cost, it would ultimately come from UK taxpayers.

“Bonnie looks like a giant rat,” one commenter on Twitter said, drawing attention to the mascot apparently having paws instead of flippers.

“Roland Rat confirmed as Nicola Sturgeon’s choice for COP26 Glasgow mascot,” another user mocked.



According to the Daily Telegraph, despite the government having given it the green light, some MPs are less than pleased about the summit’s mascot.

One Whitehall source branded Bonnie the “king of the Glasgow rats” – a reference to an ongoing vermin problem in the city that has seen refuse workers strike over concerns about rat attacks.

The UK government has been heavily criticized for its handling of preparations for COP26. Besides being lambasted for the amount of litter on Glasgow’s streets, the summit organizers are facing a major problem in providing accommodation for the more than 30,000 guests set to descend on the city in the coming days. They were forced to make a last-minute decision to charter two cruise liners to accommodate delegates.

There is no clarity, either, as to how the government plans to manage the public-health risk of holding such a large event during a pandemic. Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf admitted that COP26 may place substantial pressure on the National Health Service and that there was “absolutely a risk” of a spike in Covid-19 cases following the summit.

There had been calls to cancel the conference altogether, not only in response to coronavirus concerns, but also because of the apparent lack of inclusiveness. Both Climate Action Network and Greenpeace have pointed to the disparity in vaccine rollout across the world, which has made it difficult, if not impossible, for delegates from the poorest countries – and, ironically, those most affected by climate change – to attend.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×