The streets of London really are paved with gold

The streets of London really are paved with gold: Historic cobbled streets given a gilded makeover to launch new gold smartphone

By Emma Thomas
PUBLISHED: 08:31 GMT, 20 December 2013 | UPDATED: 08:38 GMT, 20 December 2013

You can tell Dick Whittington it's true - London's streets are paved in gold.  
Residents of Shad Thames in the heart of historic London woke up on to find on their iconic cobbled streets had been given a gilded makeover.  
The transformation was a marketing stunt to celebrate the gold makeover of the HTC One smartphone.  

Paved with gold: Pets and people enjoyed the new-look streets that had been given a gilded makeover to celebrate the release of a new gold-coloured smartphone

Dancing in the streets: People were shocked to find their usually bare cobbles were covered in gold when they woke up in Shad Thames. London, this week

Statement: The usually dull streets of London were given a luxury makeover. he transformation was a marketing stunt to celebrate the gold makeover of the HTC One

It took a team of ten people less than an hour to bling the street using a jigsaw-like faux precious-metal cobble effect surface.  
Residents walked on the 'luxurious' new road and even took their pets for a stroll along the new surface.

 

Although gold in colour, the new phone is not actually made of the precious metal although the company has already released an exclusive range made from real gold. 
HTC made just five of their most expensive phone. Valued at £2,750, the HTC One is plated with real 18ct gold.

Marketing: HTC decided to pave the streets gold to mark the launch of their new phone which is gold-coloured. The company also have an exclusive 18-carat version

Sunrise: A team of ten took an hour to put together the jigsaw-like faux precious-metal cobble effect surface before the residents woke up to the surprise

Created to celebrate the 18th Anniversary of the MOBO Awards, one of the five phones was given to the winner of Best Newcomer category.
Duo Krept and Konan took home the phone for winning the award, sponsored by HTC, at this year’s ceremony in Glasgow.
The HTC One was already available in silver, black, red and blue.
Spokesman Mike Levaggi said: 'The HTC One has won international recognition for its stunning design, with its striking brushed finish and metal unibody design, the latest shade makes gold the glamorous colour of the festive season and a must-have for Christmas 2013.'
It will be available through Phones 4u, Carphone Warehouse and Vodafone.

Historic: The cobbled streets of Shad Thames were transformed from their iconic look to resemble the precious metal

Exclusive: HTC made just five of their most expensive phone. Valued at £2,750, the HTC One is plated with real 18ct gold and was given as a prize at the MOBO awards

Streets of Basel paved with gold

Streets of Basel paved with gold: 15 TONS of five cent coins are dumped on city's streets as protesters demand a basic minimum income for every Swiss household

By Anna Edwards
PUBLISHED: 13:32 GMT, 4 October 2013 | UPDATED: 14:13 GMT, 4 October 2013

For years it's long been regarded as one of Europe's richest countries.
And judging by these photos, they really have got money to throw about - and can even pave the streets with gold.
But the cash so freely splashed was with five-centime pieces - and the reason behind the move was to demand a minimum income for Swiss households.

Activists pile 8 Mio five-centime pieces, one for each citizen in Switzerland, into a bank vault

Money to throw around: The controversial scheme was presented to parliament today

As Europe continues to struggle with financial turbulence and unemployment, activists in Switzerland have decided to take a stand and demand a basic income to each citizen on a monthly basis.

Activists piled 8 Mio five-centime pieces, one representing each citizen in Switzerland, in the safe room of the 'Basler Volksbank' bank building, in Basel, Switzerland.
Then the team from 'Generation Basic Income Initiative' dumped the 15 tons of money in front of the parliament building in Bern, the capital of Switzerland.
The initiative aims to have a minimum monthly disposal household income of CHF 2,500 (US$ 2,700) given by the government to every citizen living in Switzerland

The activist of the 'Generation Basic Income' dumped the 15 tons of money in front of the parliament building in Bern

The initiative aims to have a minimum monthly disposal household income of CHF 2,500 (US$ 2,700) given by the government to every citizen living in Switzerland

Enno Schmidt, founder of Generation Basic Income Initiative, says he wants government to implement an unconditional basic income (UBI), Ruptly.TV reported.
His organisation presented 130,000 signatures to Parliament urging them to pass a law guaranteeing a basic income of CHF 2,500 for all Swiss nationals.

The Swiss Parliament must address or hold a referendum over any issue which has gathered more than 100,000 signatures.
According to Schmidt the Swiss government is angry 'because now they have to look into this initiative'.

Streets are paved with gold: Committee members use brooms to spread out five cent coins over the Federal Square

Each 8 Mio five-centime pieces represented each habitant in Switzerland

He went on to clarify that the goal of the initiative is 'not to make people equal' but instead 'to give people the right of life in an economical way'.
According to The Richest, Switzerland does not have a minimum wage written into law.
It does have bargaining arrangements between its workers and management and covers the majority of the working population.
The founder and Daniel Häni both made The Basic income, a cultural impulse that praises the idea of a Basic income.
The movie, directed by and Enno Schmidt, was released in 2008 and has been translated into more than ten languages including English, French, Slovak and Finnish