New Zealand hopes blasting music will cause protesters to leave

Published February 15, 2022 at 5:56 AM EST

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MACARENA")

LOS DEL RIO: (Singing in Spanish).

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Rachel Martin. This weekend, New Zealand officials started looking for ways to clear out about 3,000 protesters opposing vaccine mandates in front of Parliament. One idea - blast music. They played Barry Manilow classic "Mandy," James Blunt's "You're Beautiful," "Baby Shark" and, yes, the early '90s hit "Macarena." There have been reports of booing at these selections, but hundreds of protesters remain. But this method is definitely working on me. I got to go. It's MORNING EDITION.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MACARENA")

LOS DEL RIO: (Singing) Ay, Macarena. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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