British Airways’ baggage handlers at London’s Heathrow Airport staged a dazzling performance of legendary rock band Queen’s hit song I want to break free on the occasion of frontman Freddie Mercury’s 72nd birth anniversary on 5 September. The rock icon, born Farrokh Bulsara, had worked as a baggage handler at Heathrow and the performance was meant to be a tribute to the staff’s “former colleague”.
Passengers were delighted as the staff swapped their neon safety vests for jackets in the style of Mercury (still in neon) and surprised on-lookers with the seemingly impromptu performance. Take a look at the video that’s going viral.
The special performance and video was took two weeks to produce and British choreographer Lyndon Lloyd worked with British Airways to create the routine.
Heathrow dubbed the day “Freddie Mercury Day” as they had Queen references on the arrivals boards, the band’s memorabilia on display and played their music through the airport speakers. They also had an offer where they presented any traveler named Freddie, Fred, Frederick or Farrokh with free access to British Airways exclusive lounge.
The whole initiative was to raise awareness about AIDS, considering the singer passed away in 1991 from the deadly disease. It is also a tie-in with Bohemian Rhapsody, the upcoming biopic on Freddie Mercury, set to release in October.
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