Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Donald Trump UK visit: Sun will be blocked in the sky by partial eclipse when president arrives on Friday 13th

Eclipses have long been feared and celebrated as moments of change

Andrew Griffin
Thursday 26 April 2018 17:24 BST
Comments
Donald Trump 'working visit' to UK confirmed

A shadow will be cast across the Earth when Donald Trump arrives in the UK.

The president will arrive on the same day as a partial solar eclipse, when the moon moves in front of the sun and blocks out the sky. What’s more, it will arrive on the famously unlucky day of Friday the 13th.

Eclipses have long been feared as harbingers of great change or danger, throughout human society. In the past, many cultures formed myths and traditions around the events, which were seen as dangerous and awe-inspiring in equal measure.

Friday the 13th has acquired much the same reputation, being seen as a particularly unlucky day. But some have appropriated it as positive for precisely that reason, celebrating it instead.

The eclipse will not be visible in the UK or the US. It will only pass over Antarctica and Australia, though it will almost certainly be streamed online.

The dates of Mr Trump’s visit – and whether he should be invited to come at all – has long been a point of dispute in the UK. Some politicians have argued he shouldn’t be invited at all, and his arrival will be met with what could be one of the largest ever protests on UK streets.

Donald Trump stares into solar eclipse without safety glasses, while aides shout 'don't look!'

It is not the first time that an eclipse has overlapped with Mr Trump’s presidency. When the US was visited by a total solar eclipse last year he made the news for looking directly at the sun despite all medical advice, and then proceeded to tweet a bizarre animated picture in which he eclipsed President Obama.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in