This is the incredible moment eco-activists stormed the grand final of Sweden’s version of Strictly Come Dancing before a quick-thinking cameraman dramatically brought their stunt to an end.
Climate activists from the Restore Wetlands protest group ran onto the stage with powder paint and a banner, interrupting a performance during the Friday night final of Let’s Dance on TV4.
Olympic skier Charlotte Kalla was dancing the paso doble with her professional partner Tobias Karlsson as a man and woman launched themselves in front of the pair while hundreds of thousands watched at home.
But one cameraman wasn’t having any of it, and decided to take the protesters out by dropping an overhead camera onto the male protester’s head, with the force of it knocking him to the ground.
The protesters were then swiftly removed from the studio, with three people later questioned by police on suspicion of vandalism.
Climate activists from the Restore Wetlands protest group ran onto the stage during the performance by Olympic skier Charlotte Kalla, releasing paint and pulling out a banner
Climate activists from the Restore Wetlands protest group ran onto the stage with powder paint and a banner
A camera suspended on a crane swings into a protester after he stormed the Let’s Dance stage
The stage invasion was caught on camera from several different angles, including a video filmed by the activists themselves.
It captures the moment that the activists jump out of their chairs in the audience before running onto the stage.
One activist pulls out a pouch of yellow powder paint while the other holds out a banner reading ‘restore wetlands’.
In a tackle he could not have seen coming, the male protester is taken out by a cameraman, who swings their camera suspended on a crane into him.
The weight of the equipment knocks the activist flying, with footage from the camera itself showing its full force.
The group are then swiftly removed from the dancefloor by stewards on the set, and later filmed themselves furiously leaving the studio following their stunt.
The activist who released paint on the stage has been named as 30-year-old Tina Kronberg Berggren, who has also campaigned for Extinction Rebellion in the past.
She had been sat in the audience with her fellow campaigners before launching herself onto the stage as the performance got underway.
The activists were swiftly removed from the dancefloor by stewards on the set, with one covered in paint
Tina Kronberg Berggren filmed herself sat in the audience before she ran onto the dancefloor
The activists later filmed themselves furiously leaving the studio following their stunt
In a statement translated from Swedish, the campaigner explained why she staged the protest: ‘We want nothing more than to have fun and I also love to dance. But my future will be anything but full of fun.
‘The situation is so urgent and we cannot sit in the audience and just watch when our lives are threatened by climate collapse.’
TV4 viewers missed most of the drama on Friday night but videos from inside the studio show the camera swinging towards the activists from above.
Cross-country skier Kalla, who is Sweden’s most decorated Olympian with three gold medals, was commended by judges for not letting the ordeal deter her in her final performance.
She was runner up in the contest on Friday night, losing out on the win to YouTuber Hampus Hedström.
Roxy Farhat, spokesperson for Restore Wetlands, confirms that they are behind the campaign. The aim is to draw attention to what they say is a climate disaster.
The activist who released paint on the stage has been named as 30-year-old Tina Kronberg Berggren
‘We are heading for a climate collapse and our politicians are only making the crisis worse by not acting. We are the last generation that has a chance to stop this death project,’ she said.
‘We have been demonstrating for 30 years, but the politicians don’t care,’ she added, explaining why the group had shifted to more unorthodox forms of protest.
Charlie Forsberg, communications director at TV4, is reported to have said following the incident: ‘A number of people made it onto the stage. It was handled by on-site personnel and the police were quickly called to the recording, which expelled them from the venue.’
This is not the first time that Restore wetlands has struck at a major live TV event.
Eurovision champion Loreen’s performance of her winning song Tattoo, during Melodifestivalen in Malmö, was disrupted when an activist ran onto the stage.
Loreen was forced to sing her song again. An activist from the same movement stormed the stage during the Idol final on TV4.