Wembley Park cleaner sweeps up stardom

Abdulaziz Sufyan, member of Wembley Park's dedicated cleaning team

A TikTok video featuring Abdulaziz Sufyan, a member of Wembley Park's cleaning team, discovering the treasures left behind by fans whilst cleaning up the Northwest London neighbourhood after the concerts, has resonated worldwide, amassing anastonishing 7.5 million views, with 1.3 million users commenting on it, in 24 hours.

Abdulaziz’s efforts, retrieving glittery designer shoes, hot dog costumes, cowboy hats, hotdog costumes, and notably, a significant number of feathers left from fans' boas, has left viewers around the world impressed and amused. The feathers, a tribute to Styles' iconic fashion statement, pose an especially challenging cleaning task for the dedicated teams working tirelessly behind the scenes.

With over 2,000 user responses ranging from hilarious to heartfelt, the video has ignited discussions on responsibility and environmental consciousness among concertgoers. Commenting on the TikTok video, one user remarked, "it’s not hard to clean after yourself, if you’ve got a boa, spray it [with hairspray] so it doesn’t shed as much!” with another user echoing with: "it just shows how polluting those feather boas are… love the look but maybe there’s an alternative?”

Comments broadened to the environmental implications of the discarded feather boas, a distinctive feature of Harry Styles' concerts. One user remarked: "Cardiff town centre is also now covered in feathers. It was literally snowing feathers yesterday!” while an employee at a stadium in Australia, offered their insights: "I work at a stadium that held the Harry Styles concert here in Australia, and you will be finding feathers for months." Another user expressed their disappointment with the situation, sharing, "I was angry because of the feathers… yes, it looks good, but so much mess comes from it, it stays everywhere on the streets, trains."

More voices joined in with words of appreciation for the cleaning team, from shoutouts “to all the cleaners who have to clean up the feathers after a Harry concert", “petition for this guy to be in charge of literally the whole world”, “They and their jobs are miles away from being as much appreciated as they’d deserve” to personal observations, "the way I saw them cleaning the next day and the whole trash bag was filled with the feathers, I felt so bad, because they are everywhere." Another user added “it's really sad that there's so much litter, but I’m glad there's good people like you helping."

Finally, TikTokers expressed surprise and concern about the quantity of footwear left behind. One user humorously quipped, "everyone ringing Wembley Park to claim those shoes” and another wondered aloud, "did they go home barefoot or something? How do you just walk out of your shoes and keep going?”.

Wembley Park's dedicated cleaning team works tirelessly to transform the world-renowned hub of music and sports into a peaceful and pristine neighbourhood overnight, creating a clean and serene environment for the over 10,000 residents who now call Wembley Park home. Their team of 15 cleaners, which expands to 23 on event days, begins as early as 5.30am to maintain the cleanliness and beauty of the neighbourhood, including Union Park, car parks, and offices. The duties of the cleaners extend beyond basic sanitation and involve tackling tasks such as graffiti removal, fly-tipping management, and pavement jet washing, among others.

Abdulaziz shares, "during events, we face unique challenges due to the large number of people visiting Wembley Park. To keep our neighbourhood clean, we increase our team size, assign extra cleaners to busy areas such as Olympic Way, and spend a significant part of the day emptying bins. Once collected, waste is then sent to a waste recovery facility to be sorted and recyclable materials recovered. Last year, clearing boa feathers took us three months, with findings on rooftops, among vegetation and in public water features. Despite the challenges, we always do it with a smile, especially when we encounter unique and quirky objects like the ones captured in the TikTok."

Wembley Park's objective is to generate awareness through creative and educational content, such as this viral TikTok video, emphasising the crucial - and often overlooked - work of cleaning teams in similar neighbourhoods and encouraging concertgoers to contemplate their environmental impact. The neighbourhood is committed to sustainability, while striving to provide exceptional experiences for fans and residents, adopting a 'Share with Care' approach and offering diverse public spaces at various scales and settings to ensure a warm welcome for all.

As the summer season unfolds, Wembley Park is set to welcome more events, including performances by Blur, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, The Weekend at Wembley Stadium this summer as well as the just announced 2024 dates for Taylor Swift. London’s most exciting new neighbourhood is also hosting its own unique events this summer such as Wembley Park Live, the Spanish festival, Feria de Londres, and Wemba's Dream—an annual concert presented in partnership with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

To view the TikTok click here and for more information please visit www.wembleypark.com.