Colombia's new right-wing president sworn in

Summary

Global News Podcast – August 8, 2026

Colombia's New Right-Wing President Sworn In

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Episode Overview

This episode begins with Colombia's dramatic political shift, as right-wing outsider José Manuel de la Esprasier is sworn in as President. The episode explores his tough security promises, regional ramifications, and his close relationship with Donald Trump. Other major stories include a stalled Trump renovation at the White House, the hunt for Syria’s infamous former spy chief, and Europe’s latest migration tensions affecting vulnerable children. The episode ends with a report from Copenhagen on making tourism more sustainable.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Colombia’s New President: José Manuel de la Esprasier

• Swearing-in Ceremony

  • Held in Cali (not Bogota), marking a move toward areas hit hardest by violence ([02:20]).
  • “The time has come to restore order, authority and freedom.” – José Manuel de la Esprasier ([02:38]).

• Political Profile & Trump Connection

  • Esprasier was a political unknown until his July 2025 candidacy ([03:08]).

  • Describes himself as a political outsider, high-profile lawyer, and Trump admirer.

  • Trump endorsed Esprasier, strengthening US-Colombia ties but raising human rights alarms.

  • Both leaders share a hardline crime/military approach and conservative rhetoric ([03:08]).

  • Notable Quote:
    “They both share the preference for a tough approach to crime, free market economic policies and conservative and often religious speech.”
    – Jose Carlos Cuito Lopez, BBC Mundo Colombia Correspondent ([03:08])

• Security Promises & Criticisms

  • Vowed to “hunt down cartels like rats” and bomb trafficking camps and vessels ([04:27]).

  • His strategy mirrors Trump’s, linked to 200+ deaths in South American waters since 2025.

  • Criticism from human rights groups regarding the militarized approach.

  • Notable Quote:
    “Dale Esprit is willing to take a very strong stance against armed groups in the country.”
    – Jose Carlos Cuito Lopez ([04:27])

• Impact on Ordinary Colombians

  • Decades-old conflict continues despite 2016 peace accords with FARC.
  • Armed groups have regrouped; roots include deep inequality and lack of state presence in rural areas where coca is grown ([05:08]).

• Regional Political Shift

  • Most of South America now governed by the right, barring Brazil and Uruguay.
  • This consolidates Trump’s regional influence and the so-called “Donroe Doctrine” ([06:02]).

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2. US: White House Ballroom Controversy

• Trump’s $400 Million Ballroom Project Halted

  • Court orders construction stopped after surprise East Wing demolition ([06:55]).

  • Trump argues the ballroom is necessary for security after a prior evacuation incident.

  • Still allowed to continue building a military bunker underneath.

  • Memorable Moment:
    “He [Trump] carries pictures of how he wants it to look on Air Force One.” – Sarah Smith, BBC North America Editor ([06:55])

• Funding & Political Fallout

  • Project funded by private donors; details undisclosed, raising transparency questions.
  • Trump vows to appeal to the Supreme Court or persuade Congress ([07:46]).
  • Past reflecting pool refurbishment mishap is cited as further embarrassment for Trump.

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3. Syria: Tracking Down ‘The Spider’

• Who is Hossam Luka?

  • Feared former Assad intelligence chief, accused of torture and atrocities ([08:56]).
  • Associated with the 2015 EBE massacre in Homs, where 17 children died ([10:12]).

• The Hunt

  • After Assad’s 2024 fall, BBC journalist Alice Cuddy discovers Luka’s contacts via an abandoned notebook ([10:45]).

  • Years-long investigation leads to a phone call with Luka in Moscow – he quickly hangs up ([13:55]).

  • Russian authorities refuse to comment; Luka evades justice in exile.

  • Notable Quote:
    “He should be executed at the very least, he was behind the murder of many. It reached a point where the death of 10, 20 children wouldn't matter to him…”
    – Motaz, ex-rebel, on Hossam Luka ([12:03])

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4. Migration Crisis: Children Trapped in Ceuta

• Roots of the Crisis

  • New border controls as Italy and Spain clash over migration into Spanish enclave Ceuta ([14:44]).
  • Spain now implementing checks on Italians in retaliation ([15:13]).

• Child Welfare Challenges

  • Over 1,000 unaccompanied minors remain in Ceuta; some still on the streets ([16:14], [16:55]).

  • NGOs like Save the Children prioritize identification, protection, and family reunification.

  • Notable Quotes:
    “There are still children who are in the streets, the forests and the beaches. So we are worried that they're exposed to violence. Mainly girls we're worried about.”
    – Catalina Parraza, Save the Children, Spain ([16:14])

    “I mean, the government said 1200 children so far who are unaccompanied, like they crossed on their own… and then there are also still children alone in the streets.”
    – Catalina Parraza ([16:55])

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5. US Politics: Hunter Biden on his Father and Presidential Pardon

• Joe Biden’s Withdrawal and Health

  • Hunter speaks candidly about Biden’s debate struggles, withdrawal from the 2024 race, and ongoing battle with cancer ([19:22], [21:40]).

• Presidential Pardon Controversy

  • Hunter acknowledges receiving a pardon from his father, admits it wasn't good for Joe Biden’s legacy, but stresses the targeting of political enemies under Trump ([21:06]).

  • Notable Quote:
    “Was it good for our Constitution? Was it good for the American people? Was it good for my dad's legacy? No, on all counts.”
    – Hunter Biden, on his own presidential pardon ([21:06])

• On Biden’s Health

  • “The cancer has spread, has metastasized into his bones and further. It's very painful. It's very debilitating…”
    – Hunter Biden ([21:53])

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6. Copenhagen: Sustainable Tourism Innovations

• CopenPay: Incentivizing Responsible Tourism

  • Tourists in Copenhagen can earn perks such as drinks or tours by participating in eco-friendly activities, like cycling or cleaning canals ([23:29]).

  • The scheme has resulted in a 59% increase in bike rental, and inspired similar programs abroad ([23:53], [26:37]).

  • Notable Quotes:
    “The good deed in Copen pay is to come out, help us clean up the waters, and the reward is to get a boat ride in return.”
    – Casper Ike Rommer, GoBoat co-founder ([25:22])

    “Three out of four say they want to change. They will change behavior when they go back home or when they are back home.”
    – Rika Holm Petersen, Copenhagen Tourist Board ([26:04])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Colombia’s New President & Regional Shifts: 01:16 – 06:25
• Trump’s White House Ballroom Controversy: 06:55 – 08:56
• Syria: 'The Spider' Tracked: 08:56 – 14:22
• Ceuta’s Child Migrant Crisis: 14:44 – 18:58
• Hunter Biden Interview: 18:58 – 22:24
• Copenhagen Sustainable Tourism: 22:24 – 27:00

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Memorable Moments / Notable Quotes

• “The time has come to restore order, authority and freedom.”
  – José Manuel de la Esprasier ([02:38])

• “[De la Esprasier and Trump] both share the preference for a tough approach to crime, free market economic policies and conservative and often religious speech.”
  – Jose Carlos Cuito Lopez ([03:08])

• "I was at my house here in California and like everybody else, I was shocked. I could tell as soon as my father came out that something was wrong… I've never seen him with kind of the hundred yard stare that he had."
  – Hunter Biden, on Joe Biden’s debate moment ([20:03])

• “We cannot save the world here in Copenhagen, but imagine if we next year see 40 cities having implemented this. Then we sort of started a global movement.”
  – Rika Holm Petersen ([26:50])

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Tone & Language

• The episode strikes a balance of informative, analytical, and at times deeply personal (Hunter Biden’s candor, victims of Syrian violence).
• Journalistic, direct, and engaging, staying true to the BBC’s accessible yet in-depth style.

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This summary covers the major stories and debates within the episode, provides segments and timestamps for reference, and highlights significant quotes and themes throughout.

Transcript

[Narrator/Host]

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[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

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[Charlotte Gallagher]

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Charlotte Gallagher and in the early hours of Saturday 8th August are our main stories. Colombia's new president has been sworn into office and promises to hunt down cartels like rats. Donald Trump is forced to hit pause on his plan to build a $400 million ballroom in the White House. The BBC tracks down the spy chief of Syria's former dictator, Bashar al Assad. Also in this podcast, the thousand child migrants currently stand stuck in the Spanish territory of Ceuta. We start the podcast in Colombia, where Abdelado de la Espressier has been sworn in as the country's new Presidente de la Republica de Colombia, Elekto Dr. Jose

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

Manuel

[Charlotte Gallagher]

the ceremony was held in the southwestern city of Cali rather than the capital, Bogota. In his speech, the right wing president, who is a supporter and ally of Donald Trump, vowed to improve security and tackle drug traffickers and armed groups

[Alice Cuddy]

from

[Casper Ike Rommer]

Cali, a city so closely linked to national life and the capital of a province that has suffered the scourge of terrorism, drug trafficking and the actions of violent groups. I send a firm message to the Colombian people. The time has come to restore order, authority and freedom.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Some of the region's other right wing leaders were there, including Argentina's Javier Milei. BBC Mundo's Colombia correspondent Jose Carlos Cuito Lopez told me more about the new president.

[Jose Carlos Cuito Lopez]

He was pretty much unknown in the political sphere before launching his presidential candidacy in July 2025. He describes himself as a political outsider and a high profile lawyer who built much of his public profile through the media and social media. He describes himself as an admirer of Donald Trump. They both share the preference for a tough approach to crime, free market economic policies and conservative and often religious speech. In fact, Trump endorsed him during the campaign. And many analysts now expect a new chapter in the relationship between Colombia and the United States. And that relationship is important not only economically but also in terms of security, because for decades Colombia has been one of Washington's closest security partners in Latin America. Both the Lesperia and Trump share, as I was saying, preference for using the military to tackle organized crime and drug trafficking and approach that has also attracted criticism from human rights groups. So, yeah, I would say that he's a figure who attracts strong support, but also strong opposition.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

And you mentioned there this relationship with Donald Trump. I wondered if anything had been said then about Colombians that were killed by the US Military, you know, for allegedly being drug traffickers off the coast of Colombia. Has that come up in the campaign at all?

[Jose Carlos Cuito Lopez]

The himself has promised to bomb drug trafficking camps, drug trafficking vessels. And that strategy pretty much echoes the one that Trump is developing right now that has left more than 200 people killed in South American waters since last, last August in 2025. So I would say that Dale Esprit is willing to take a very strong stance against armed groups in the country.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

I think I read that he said he was going to hunt cartels down like rats. And is the security situation and the power of cartels in Colombia, is that very concerning for just normal voters, the impact that it's having on their lives?

[Jose Carlos Cuito Lopez]

Yeah, it has been a primary concern in Colombia pretty much since the armed conflict started 60 years ago. The reality is that since the peace accords were signed between the state and the FARC rebel groups in 2016, pretty much shortly after that in 2018, armed groups started to regroup again and become more powerful. And part of that is because there are profound, deep situations that have not been solved and serve as a fertile ground where for the proliferation of crime, which is the extreme inequality and what is called here, the absence of the state and the institutions in many remote areas that have, for example, many areas of coca leaf crops.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

And does this victory represent a general shift in that region towards right wing politics, do you think?

[Jose Carlos Cuito Lopez]

Yes, definitely. If you look at the political map right now, the only two countries, at least in South America that don't have a right wing government at the moment are Brazil and Uruguay. But definitely with all these right governments in the region, Donald Trump will be closer to succeeding his strategy to have more influence over the region with what is called the Donroe Doctrine.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Jose Carlos Cuaito Lopez in Bogota. Donald Trump is pursuing an ambitious makeover of Washington, D.C. but his renovations are not going to plan. A U.S. court has now ordered the Trump administration to halt construction of a $400 million ballroom on the site of the demolished East Wing of the White House. The president called the ruling a national disgrace and vowed to appeal. Our North America editor Sarah Smith reports from Washington.

[Sarah Smith]

Donald Trump still essentially thinks and behaves like the property developer he used to be. Three months ago, he was proud to show off the construction site where the East Wing previously stood. Its sudden demolition last year shocked many and sparked a lawsuit aimed at stopping him building his massive new ballroom. Today, he's been told he does not have the authority to dramatically alter this historic landmark. The ballroom has become something of an obsession for President Trump. He carries pictures of how he wants it to look on Air Force One.

[Hunter Biden]

A lot of people are giving it really good reviews. Some are giving it reviews without even seeing the building.

[Sarah Smith]

After a gunman caused him to be evacuated from the White House Correspondents Dinner in April, he argued that showed the need for a secure ballroom.

[Hunter Biden]

It's drone proof, it's bulletproof glass.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

We need the ballroom.

[Hunter Biden]

That's why Secret Service, that's why the

[Sarah Smith]

military are demanding it today, he complained on social media. The military and Secret Service are viewing this horrendous, politically motivated and unlawful ruling as a national security threat. There is a state of the art military bunker being built underneath the ballroom. Work on that is allowed to continue. You can see building work is still going on in the ballroom today with cranes that are operating above the White House. And President Trump's got two weeks in which he can carry on while he appeals to the Supreme Court, hoping they will rule that he can finish the construction. If that fails, though, he can go to Congress and ask them to vote to give him the authority to finish the ballroom. But it's far from certain that he would actually win that vote. There is some mystery about what's on going going on behind the scenes with the funding for this project. President Trump has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from private donors, but won't tell us how much they've given or what he may have promised them in return. The disastrous refurbishment of Washington's reflecting pool has become a deeply embarrassing flop for Donald Trump. Now he has to ask the courts or Congress to let him complete his renovation of the most famous house in America.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Sarah Smith in Washington. In 2024, after 13 years of brutal civil war, Syria's then president Bashar Al Assad was overthrown and fled to Russia. Many of his top henchmen also escaped the country. One was former senior intelligence officer Hossam Luka. Known as the Spider. He is considered one of Assad's most feared men and is accused of orchestrating atrocities and systematic torture. When the regime fell, the BBC gained access to an abandoned apartment in Syria, where our reporter found a notebook that has now led her to track him down. Alice Kudi reports.

[Alice Cuddy]

It's a Muslim holiday. Eid parents and children are enjoying a rare moment of fun at a playground in the Syrian city of Homs amid the Civil War in 2015. Seven year old Wael is gardening in the play park his father Mohammed had created. When a bomb hits.

[Narrator/Host]

This ground here, it was painted red with blood. There were body parts everywhere.

[Alice Cuddy]

The tragedy that killed as many as 17 children is known as the EBE massacre. In the aftermath, one man's name was on everyone's lips. Hassan Luka, who was nicknamed the Spider, was a feared senior Syrian official under the Assad dictatorship. And he would go on to hold one of the most powerful roles in the country as head of one of its feared intelligence agencies.

[Narrator/Host]

Rebels celebrate the end of the regime

[Charles Haviland]

of Syria's Bashar al Assad.

[Alice Cuddy]

In December 2024, Assad's brutal dictatorship collapsed. For the first time in years, journalists could enter a country long closed off from the world. I was there in Damascus and in an abandoned apartment, I stumbled across a forgotten address book cast aside next to a smiling photo of the Spider warmly shaking the hand of Azad. It was the start of a more than year long hunt for Hassan Luka. Inside were the numbers of doctors, shopkeepers and friends in the regime. I wanted to know more about what Luca was accused of. My hunt for Hossam Luka has taken me to a hotel in central Homs where I'm told he used to meet with his associates. It feels really bizarre that today I've been meeting with men who've been telling me over coffee and cigarettes that they were victims of or witnesses to his crimes. In this city,

[Motaz]

Husam Luka was an evil genius. The siege of Old Homs was the first siege of its kind in Syria. It became the blueprint of other sieges across Syria.

[Alice Cuddy]

Motaz was a trader before the revolution and then joined rebel forces fighting the Assad regime.

[Motaz]

He should be executed at the very least, he was behind the murder of many. It reached a point where the death of 10, 20 children wouldn't matter to him for as long as the regime's objectives were fulfilled.

[Alice Cuddy]

From speaking to people like Motaz, it was clear that Luka was skilled in infiltrating rebel operations. But where had he gone? There were rumors that he had fled via Lebanon, but something offered a lead. As I started to dig further, a source gave me a recording that gave me a clue as to how he operated and what his voice sounded like. In the recording, Luka can be heard leading talks with rebels alongside a Russian official. It raised suspicions that he could be in Russia. For months, we drew a blank in our hunt for Luka. We spoke to personal doctors of the family and neighbors, but no one would tell us where he was. At one point, we found his personal bodyguard who said he was angry. Luca left him when he fled, but he wouldn't share his contact details. So, my name is Alice. I'm a reporter at the BBC. I'm not sure how much he knows about, but then finally, I found a route to Luca. A source called him, but he wouldn't answer my questions. Then we found a phone number which we tracked to the outskirts of the Russian capital, Moscow. We've located Hossamluka in Russia now. So I guess the final step of this. It was what we'd been looking for. A chance to speak to him directly. I called with my Arabic speaking colleague. After ringing once with no answer, Luka picked up.

[Motaz]

Hello? Hello?

[Alice Cuddy]

The phone call lasted only long enough to confirm it was him, but when we said we were the BBC, he hung up. I sent him questions on WhatsApp about his alleged crimes, but he never responded. Like other Assad officials, by hiding in Russia, Luca has so far evaded justice. We reached out to the Russian government about Hassan Luka's location, but they didn't respond.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Alice Cuddy reporting. Still to come in this podcast, the

[Casper Ike Rommer]

good deed in Copenhagen is to come out, help us clean up the waters, and the reward is to get a boat ride in return.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

One country's new strategy to make tourism more sustainable.

[Adrienne Murray]

Foreign

[Charlotte Gallagher]

this is the global news podcast. Spain has brought in temporary border checks on people traveling from Italy, escalating a migration row between the two countries. Last week, Italy announced similar measures applying to travelers from Spain, saying the partial suspension of the EU's border free Schengen arrangements was in response to a surge of migrants into the North African territory of Ceuta.

[Charles Haviland]

Charles Haviland reports Spain has imposed controls on Italians for one month at its borders, ports and airports. Madrid's been angered by Italy's response to the sudden influx last week of tens of thousands of would be migrants, Moroccans and others, including sub Saharan Africans and Egyptians, into the Spanish territory of Ceuta, an enclave on the Moroccan coast. Italy promptly imposed border restrictions on travelers from Spain. Spain's foreign minister called this a torpedo fired at the hull of European unity. Critics say the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgio Meloni, has overreacted, given that Ceuta isn't part of the Schengen open borders system shared by 29 European nations.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Most of the migrants who swam or scrambled around the border from Morocco into Ceuta have now returned, but more than a thousand children remain there. So how are they being cared for and what happens next? Catalina Parraza is director of Advocacy and Regional development for Save the Children in Spain.

[Catalina Parraza]

We are worried that it's not fast enough, the identification that it's been done of children, you know, but there are still children who are in the streets, the forests and the beaches. So we are worried that they're exposed to violence. Mainly girls we're worried about. And we think that we need to prioritize the child protection response.

[Ben Wright]

And what will your priority be when you, when you get, get to the city? We think there are about a thousand children. Is that right? Who are they on their own? They've been separated from their families or did they cross individually as children? Do you know how they ended up there?

[Catalina Parraza]

Well, we have both, both cases. I mean, the government said 1200 children so far who are unaccompanied, like they crossed on their own. They are within the child protection centers. And then there are children who are with the families. We don't know the number of those ones. And then there are also still children alone in the streets. And that's the number. What we don't know because there are no estimations yet, but it could be a thousand more.

[Ben Wright]

The Spanish government says they'll transfer many of these children, maybe all of them, to the mainland. Would you be involved in that?

[Catalina Parraza]

What we are offering because we have these children on the move programs and we are specialized in forming teams who have cultural mediators, someone who speaks the language, which is very important in order to connect with these children. And then child protection officers and what they do, they work with the children in order to kind of like carry out an interview so they can identify their needs and register all the information. And with this we submit like a report that the authorities can use to carry out the procedure faster you know, to be more agile to decide what's the best solution. Yes, because we are. Yeah.

[Ben Wright]

No, presumably there are parents in Morocco waiting to hear from. From missing children.

[Catalina Parraza]

Indeed. Indeed. Yeah, definitely. That's why when we, when you carry out the interview and get to know what the child situation is, one of the main, the first operations or procedures that you have to carry out as a child protection system is to contact the family if it is in the best interest of the child and see together with the country of origin, if it is possible to carry out a reunification.

[Ben Wright]

But at the moment, there are vulnerable children there who quickly need your help.

[Catalina Parraza]

Well, yeah, all the help they can get. And that's what we are offering. Yes.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

That was Catalina Paraso speaking to my colleague Ben Wright. Hunter Biden, the son of the former US President Joe Biden, has opened up about his father's politics and his presidential pardon. Joe Biden pulled out of running for a second term after scrutiny about his cognitive abilities and age. The BBC's Paddy O' Connell asked Hunter why the family didn't stop him.

[Hunter Biden]

Before the campaign, Joe Biden made all the decisions. There was no taking the keys away from a president that had done more for the American people in a four year period of time than any single one of his predecessors had since FDR.

[Narrator/Host]

Watching the 2024 presidential debate, where were you, Hunter, when your father failed to complete a sentence on primetime television during a presidential election campaign? Where were you watching that?

[Jose Carlos Cuito Lopez]

The total initiative relative to what we

[Hunter Biden]

can do with more Border patrol and more asylum officers.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

President Trump, I really don't know what

[Hunter Biden]

he said at the end of that sentence. I don't think he knows what he said either. Look, I wasn't alone. I was at my house here in California and like everybody else, I was shocked. I could tell as soon as my father came out that something was wrong. I've never seen him with kind of the hundred yard stare that he had. And, you know, everybody has their questions, but the reason that we know about that is not because Joe Biden wasn't on TV or in public a million and a half times before and after. The reason that was so shocking is because it had never happened before and it hasn't happened since.

[Narrator/Host]

So here's another of his own decisions which is attracting controversy as well, which is a pardon for his son. For you, Hunter, it looks like a favor to the family, which is another word for critics, for a corruption which you've criticized the Trump administration for. Do you think that he went too far as a dad in issuing a pardon to you.

[Hunter Biden]

Well, here's what All I know is that I am. I am the most privileged person as it relates to that, that there could possibly be. I was one of one. And I am eternally grateful for it because I think that Donald Trump has proven to be exactly who my dad thought he was going to be as it relates to the revenge and retribution that he would seek on his political enemies. And that's the decision that my dad made. Was it good for our Constitution? Was it good for the American people? Was it good for my dad's legacy? No, on all counts.

[Narrator/Host]

I asked you if I could end by talking about your father's health. He has prostate and bone cancer and will forever live with cancer. How has the family taken this diagnosis?

[Hunter Biden]

It's really tough, Patty. That's the real answer. The only thing that I say about my dad, about his health right now is I wish he would complain more because it's not good. The cancer has spread, has metastasized into his bones and further. It's very painful. It's very debilitating in many respects. But he's still out there. He's still doing his thing, that he so believes in this country. And as long as he's alive, I promise you, he's going to continue to fight.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Hunter Biden, speaking to the BBC. Over the last few decades, cheap flights and package holidays have fueled a boom in mass tourism. In fact, the World bank estimates around one in 10 jobs around the globe are now supported by travel and tourism. But it's also led to increased pollution and waste. And some areas are becoming overwhelmed with visitors, upsetting local residents. So how can tourism have a more positive impact? Our reporter, Adrienne Murray, got on her bike to find out more about one idea. In the Danish capital, Copenhagen, more tourists

[Adrienne Murray]

are choosing this green way of getting around. But as a local resident, I can tell you many of them struggle with the busy cycle lanes. And it can cause us commuters a lot of frustration. To help, the city is holding cycling safety workshops and offering a free bike rental session for visitors who take part. Don't forget to look over your shoulder.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

Oh, okay, got it. Otherwise, you're blindly going into a corner.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

There might be somebody coming.

[Rika Holm Petersen]

Yeah, okay. Thank you.

[Adrienne Murray]

The sessions are part of a city wide scheme called Cope and Pay, which essentially rewards tourists for good behaviour. Visitors can earn perks like a free drink or a museum tour by doing some volunteering or traveling around by bike or public transport. Rika Holm Petersen from the local tourist board says the scheme has encouraged Tourists to move around sustainably.

[Rika Holm Petersen]

We've been running Copen pay for two years now and we've seen bike rental increase of 59%, which is huge. And for sure we need to make sure that people are safe. So it really become a great experience both for the visitors and the locals.

[Adrienne Murray]

I got chatting to a few of my fellow cyclists to see what they thought, starting with Bo, who was visiting from New Jersey.

[Bo]

I stumbled across it online. Didn't occur to me that we could do this in Copenhagen, but now that I'm doing it, I'm definitely going to rent a bike and see the city. That way you cover a lot more ground. It's great.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

I'm Shefali Suchdeva, I belong to India.

[Adrienne Murray]

We wanted to experience the bike culture here and it was a very pleasant experience, I would say. Yeah, but do you think it's a good approach that Copenhagen, the colourful, rewarding tourists, doing positive things? Absolutely.

[Catalina Parraza]

It is a great thing.

[Adrienne Murray]

I mean, you know, rather than restricting places for tourists, which, you know, some of the cities do. The Copenhagen scheme started in 2024 with 24 local partners. It's now expanded to more than 100 partners and they range from cafes and restaurants to museums and even a ski slope. Another partner that's been involved since the beginning is GoBoat, a Danish company that rents out battery powered boats on Copenhagen's canals. I met up with Goboat co founder Casper Ike Rommer to try out their activity.

[Casper Ike Rommer]

The good deed in Copen pay is to come out, help us clean up the waters, and the reward is to get a boat ride in return.

[Adrienne Murray]

The company uses the scheme to fill quieter morning slots and says it's become a valuable marketing tool.

[Casper Ike Rommer]

So far it's been sold out the two other years, so we've had 1200, I think, guests out there helping cleaning up the waterways. So that's remarkable and nice.

[Adrienne Murray]

So should we get ready with these nets? And we've got a bag here for collecting the rubbish in.

[Casper Ike Rommer]

Let's do our best.

[Rika Holm Petersen]

That's another one.

[Alice Cuddy]

Yeah.

[Adrienne Murray]

Got it. Rika from Copenhagen's Tourist Board says all the activities are shaped to help tourists think a bit more about their impact.

[Rika Holm Petersen]

I mean, the reason why we did it was creating awareness about the choices we make when we travel or when we are at a destination. So when we've been interviewing our visitors and asking them about copenhp, three out of four say they want to change. They will change behavior when they go back home or when they are back home. We've had 30,000 participants doing Copenhp during the past two years and of course we hope a lot more participants or people will join. The one thing we've been hearing over and over again is like every city should have this.

[Adrienne Murray]

Rika says that since Copen Pay was launched two years ago, 100 other tourist destinations have been in touch to find out how it works. Last month Germany's capital ran a pilot called Berlin Pay.

[Rika Holm Petersen]

We cannot save the world here in Copenhagen, but imagine if we next year see 40 cities having implemented this. Then we sort of started a global movement.

[Charlotte Gallagher]

That was Adrienne Murray reporting from Copenhagen and that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email [e-mail] you can also find us on XBCWorldService. Use the hashtag globalnewspod. Don't forget our sister podcast, the Global Story. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Rebecca Miller and the producers were Alfie Habershon and Charles Sanctuary. The editor is Karen Martin and I'm Charlotte Gallagher. Until next time.

[Catalina Parraza]

Goodbye.

[Advertiser/Commercial Voice]

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