Sacha Baron Cohen and 300 fans, all of whom were dressed like the performer’s satirical character Ali G, took to the streets of London on Sunday ahead of the release of Ali G: Who Iz I?
Cohen was decked out in a yellow “Ali G” hoodie and matching pants as the hip-hop journalist that he originated on the sketch comedy series Da Ali G Show, which debuted in the U.K. in 2000 and later aired on HBO. Accompanied by the hundreds of individuals dressed similarly, some of whom were sporting wrap-around sunglasses and even fake goatees, the star led his cohorts on a tour of London landmarks that culminated in Cohen overseeing the Ali G Lookalike Competition.
Cohen’s Ali G and the look-alikes rode double-decker buses, enjoyed a boat party on the Thames, posed for photo opportunities near Big Ben and Marble Arch and ordered hundreds of hamburgers at the McDonald’s in London’s famed Leicester Square. The journey ended at Cineworld Leicester Square, where Cohen awarded a winner for the contest.
The festivities were timed to promote the forthcoming comedy movie Ali G: Who Iz I?, with Cohen starring and making his directorial feature debut. Amazon MGM Studios will release the comedy in theaters Oct. 23 for just one week, with the theatrical strategy designed to create a special experience and add urgency to the opportunity to see the movie on the big screen before it hits Prime Video.
“Me iz well proud to have staged de biggest event in London since de Paris Olympics 3 years ago — de bloke who counts Donald Trumps crowds said dere woz over 800,000 Ali Gs on de streets!” Ali G said in a statement in his trademark dialect. “Dis haz gone so well me iz gonna make it an annual event every five years and best of all it went wivout trouble and it woz a massive boost to de London economy — in fact TK Maxx on Oxford Street had its busiest day in a decade wiv over 300K worf of goods shoplifted. De next biggest crowdz in London will be for me movie Ali G: Who Iz I? in cinemas for one weekend only October 23nd and available shortly after at Egham Market on DVDs me haz burned. Westside.”
The character’s official Instagram account posted multiple videos that Cohen recorded during the London tour. One video, which is seen above, showed the fans following the star in reciting such Ali G catchphrases as “Booyakasha!” Ali G: Who Iz I? centers on the titular character learning that his girlfriend is eight months pregnant, leading him to visit America to prepare for the child’s arrival.
Known for his bravado and London street slang, Ali G made his big-screen debut with director Mark Mylod’s 2002 feature Ali G Indahouse. Da Ali G Show also featured Cohen’s characters Borat Sagdiyev and Brüno Gehard, who would both go on to lead their own movies. Borat made his big-screen debut in 2006 with Larry Charles’ acclaimed film Borat and returned in 2020 with Oscar-winning sequel Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Meanwhile, Charles helmed the 2009 movie Brüno.