David Lammy looked confused. To his left sat Benedict Cumberbatch; to his right sat Britain’s consulate general. Between them was the theatre director Sophie Hunter. On the 25th floor of a Manhattan skyscraper, as the United Nations gathered for the General Assembly, the Foreign Secretary was hosting a panel to promote the UK’s Soft Power Council. Or so he thought.
Hunter was talking about the importance of salt marshes. These are expanses often found near airports which, she said, the common man confuses with wastelands. She read about it in the National Geographic, you see. She called up the article’s author and found herself on a boat somewhere gazing at the “sacred” things. Which was why she created an exhibition inspired by the biblical story of Lot.
Cumberbatch listened attentively. When invited to speak, he muttered stern words against the patriarchy, as his audience sipped Chapel Down and gazed upon the buildings below. He said he always tries to foreground women voices as producers and artists, as opposed to those “angry men shouting at each other or throwing rocks, or worse”. When playing characters such as Alan Turing he would realise that “it’s nothing to do with me”. What were the benefits of his job? “Fame?” he chuckled. “Not so much.”
When Lammy tried to shift the focus back to soft power, Cumberbatch and Hunter shared a knowing, condescendingly indulgent smile. As a band began singing hits from musicals, Theresa May loitered by the door, looking mystified. Cumberbatch slouched into the corner. Now you understand why Lammy looked confused.
For three days, he had been trying to stop the increasing tensions in Lebanon. But suddenly, he had to listen to Cumberbatch carp on about his preference for art with a purpose. The Foreign Secretary was thrust into the world where celebrity and diplomacy collide – a mix which defines the UN General Assembly’s “high-level” week.
Justin Trudeau found time to cavort with talk-show host Stephen Colbert. The Spanish prime minister was reportedly due to party with Anne Hathaway; Matt Damon was at an event with Jacinda Ardern; Prince Harry lurked behind every red velvet rope. The world’s problems were mammoth, and yet they felt trivial. Poverty and death became glamorous. The catwalk became more important than war and peace. The sound of artillery was drowned out by Doja Cat.
Celebrities have always hovered around the UN, perhaps attracted to the prospect that its moral brand could rub off on to their own. They bring the cameras; the UN provides the backdrop. Many lend their backing to development programmes, but, more often, a mutual appreciation occurs and both parties go their separate ways.
Billionaires don’t want to miss out, either. Elon Musk spied an opportunity to cosplay as world king. The Tesla CEO introduced Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni at the Atlantic Council’s annual gala dinner as “someone who is even more beautiful on the inside than she is on the outside”.
Who was Musk representing? The US? The State Department did not reply to the New Statesman’s requests for comment. Musk has his own foreign policy. He is currently negotiating a stand-off with the Brazilian government over whether X is legal in the country. He has the power to bestow the internet on whomever he likes. He sent his satellite internet service Starlink to the Ukrainian army, but wouldn’t let them deploy it in Crimea.
In the 1980s, the Reagan administration slapped down the billionaire Ross Perot when he led his own diplomatic mission to Vietnam. Now, the pretence that the government controls billionaires has been dropped. Musk can flirt with Meloni, while Oxfam announces that the world’s richest 1 per cent owns more wealth than the bottom 95 percent of the world’s population put together.
Amid the glitter, diplomacy ploughed on: sharp words were shared in the corridors and elevators; bilateral meetings were snatched in plastic cubicles. In the lounge reserved for China, the North Korean delegation stood alone, flags in hand. Looming over it all was war in the Middle East and what the US election means for Ukraine’s campaign against Russia. Lammy left the reception early to go to an emergency session of the Security Council. Cumberbatch didn’t, of course – he was there to be seen, war or no war.
This piece first appeared in the Morning Call newsletter; receive it every morning by subscribing on Substack here.
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