The coronavirus lockdown hasn’t prevented Brits from celebrating one of their favorite national holidays, as ‘Ed Balls Day’ marks its eighth anniversary.
Way back in 2011, then-Labour Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls accidentally tweeted his own name while searching for a news article about himself. The mistake took on a life of its own and has become a viral sensation every year since. ‘#EdBallsDay’ racked up thousands of tweets on Tuesday, and once again climbed into the UK trending charts.
Ed Balls
*Flings open window shutters*”You there, boy! What day is this?”Street urchin:”Today, sir? Why, it’s #EdBallsDay” pic.twitter.com/6aKM7C3waO
Of course, the 2020 version marks an Ed Balls Day unlike all the ones that have gone before, and people were keen to observe the special day while also noting their sadness about the present circumstances.
“I know it’s sad we can’t be together to celebrate, but I want you to wish you all a happy Ed Balls day,” one wistful Twitter user wrote.
Happy #EdBallsDay one and all! A tough one this year but next year will be soo much better celebrating with the ones we love pic.twitter.com/koVtFiHtsn
A shame there won’t be the traditional Ed Balls Day Parade this glorious 28th, but stay safe and celebrate at home. #EdBallsDaypic.twitter.com/NDPWnVKbBm
However, not everyone was so mournful, noting that the pandemic offered an opportunity to return to a time when the day was less commercialized.
“Seriously, it’s getting too commercialised each year. We’re doing #EdBallsDay at home this year. Just us. No fuss,” another person commented.
Humanity is healing – with all the commercialisation gone, we can finally return to celebrate the true meaning of #EdBallsDaypic.twitter.com/pw1hnAsbDW
With schools closed due to Covid-19, Balls himself marked the day by releasing a video to teach children about the volume of balls.
Ed Balls is teaching kids about balls on Ed Balls day I’m done https://t.co/JKrVpoJPNC
The 53-year-old was ousted from the House of Commons when he lost his seat in the 2015 general election. Despite this, a recent YouGov poll found that he is the third most popular politician in the UK, and the most popular living Labour politician.
Names for Ed Balls in different languages #EdBallsDaypic.twitter.com/7VBC341qvq
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