The Daily Populous Tuesday May 14th, 2024 evening edition
Authored by euronews.com and submitted by euronews-english

"I thought the people of Dublin deserved to see my two New York homegrown potatoes," the model said.

A 24/7 livestream between Dublin and New York was temporarily switched off after videos went viral showing flashing, swearing and people showing images of the Twin Towers burning on 9/11.

Since being activated on 8 May, videos have been shared on social media of people using the video livestream in ways not intended by the designers or local authorities behind the project.

OnlyFans model Ava Louise posted a video of herself lifting up her top and showing her breasts to the portal with her naked back facing the New York City crowd.

"I thought the people of Dublin deserved to see my two New York homegrown potatoes," Louise said.

The stream appeared to shutdown after Louise was caught flashing Dublin.

In another video, a man held up his phone to the screen, showing a video of the World Trade Center towers burning and billowing with black smoke during the 9/11 attack.

Another video showed a woman being dragged away from the portal by police after grinding against the screen.

"Basically she was there for about 20 minutes very drunk and was slapping and grinding against the portal before guards stepped in," the person who filmed it explained.

Dublin City Council says it is working on 'technical solutions' to address 'inappropriate behaviour'.

Why have Dublin and New York set up a 'portal'?

“We are delighted to connect Dublin with New York which we share a deep historical and cultural bond with,” says Lord Mayor of Dublin, Daithí de Róiste, after the portal launched to a crowd of hundreds of people in Dublin on 8 May.

“From July the Dublin Portal will also connect to other global city destinations in Poland, Brazil and Lithuania.”

The main idea behind the portal is connection. It was given the green light in Dublin as part of the city’s recent designation as European City of Smart Tourism 2024.

Hello New York! The @LordMayorDublin has officially launched 'The Portal' connecting the great cities of Dublin and New York! It's a 24/7 visual live stream, come wave to your friends, family or even complete strangers in The Big Apple! @NYC_DOT@DublinTown@LovinDublin… pic.twitter.com/xsH0b5MyIw — Dublin City Council (@DubCityCouncil) May 8, 2024

“Portals are an invitation to meet people above borders and differences and to experience our world as it really is—united and one,” says Benediktas Gylys, a Lithuanian artist who invented the Portal.

Chatting up locals through the portal

The portal has proved popular with Dublin locals, with crowds gathering to check out what’s happening across the ocean.

There have been some.. ahem.. interesting encounters right from when it was first switched on.

Who’s idea was it to have a portal from Dublin to New York I’m actually in bits pic.twitter.com/l91SlosDN3 — Mel (@melsanobrain) May 8, 2024

In one clip shared on social media, a Dubliner can be seen trying to communicate his phone number to a special someone on the other side in New York.

And another one doing the rounds showed a girl in New York calling a guy in Dublin after connecting through the portal.

A video was also circulating of the police physically removing someone who was standing in front of the portal.

In a more heartwarming scene, an Irish university shared a picture of one of its American students linking up with their mom in New York through the portal camera.

🤏🧿 Aww! Native New Yorker and UCD student Dakota Taylor reaches out and touches her mum through...𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓟𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓪𝓵

🗽 The Portal forms an unprecedented visual bridge between New York and Dublin.

Each sculpture features a 24/7 visual live stream from the Portal in the other… pic.twitter.com/ODfmLPRfWx — University College Dublin (@ucddublin) May 9, 2024

In a statement to Euronews Travel the team behind the portals responded to these creative scenes: "We are overwhelmed by the reactions, which are vastly positive. We are not trying to suggest any particular way in how people should interact with the Portals or with each other."

It continued: "Instead, Portals are an invitation to meet fellow human beings and for people to draw their own interpretations and feelings. In this sense, we are also just observers of this event, and it's great to see the amount of creative energy that people have and how powerful human connection can be."

Running until autumn, visitors and locals can find the portal on Dublin’s O’Connell street, with the iconic GPO building and the Spire as the backdrop.

In New York you can find it on the Flatiron South Public Plaza at Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street, next to the famed Flatiron Building.

Other portals are also installed in Lublin in Poland and Vilnius in Lithuania, according to the maker’s website.

capthazelwoodsflask on May 14th, 2024 at 15:51 UTC »

So you're telling me that there's a live camera between two big cities and people are doing inappropriate things over it? I highly doubt it.

arcalumis on May 14th, 2024 at 11:52 UTC »

People showed the towers falling over the portal and nothing, someone shows some boobs, panic.

lingh0e on May 14th, 2024 at 08:34 UTC »

Wait... I assumed there was gonna be dong hung left and right with this thing. This is the first nudity?