This Fourth of July, during a transatlantic Age of Austerity, roughly 2,000 people paid to attend a private celebration near the American embassy in London’s Grosvenor Square, where a memorial statue of Ronald Reagan was unveiled. British Foreign Secretary William Hague and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were among the event’s distinguished guests.

It was not popular demand that brought an immortal image of the 40th president of the United States to the English capital. The event was organized by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation as part of a two-year-long Reagan Centennial Celebration marking what would have been his 100th birthday. –ARK

BBC:

But this is the Age of Austerity. The party is now a scaled down event for the creme de la creme. This year, the big 4 July event in London was held in Grosvenor Square just across from the American embassy and it was a private affair not hosted by the US government. A statue of Ronald Reagan, 40th president of the United States, was unveiled.

… The creation of the statue — total cost $1m — did not grow out of a public clamour for a fitting memorial to the late president (though Westminster City Council made an exception to its usual rule refusing permission for statues until 10 years have passed since the subject’s death).

The event is part of a year-long series of big occasions to mark the centenary of Reagan’s birth, organised by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. In the weeks prior to the London unveiling, statues have been unveiled and conferences convened in Krakow, Budapest and Prague.

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