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Are you willing to take your trousers off on the Tube? And – more importantly – are you able to keep a straight face about it?
These are the two main requirements for people wishing to take part in this Sunday’s event in which Londoners ditch their trousers and waltz onto the London Underground with bare legs.
Known globally as the No Pants Subway Ride, but in the UK as the No Trousers Tube Ride, this now-annual event will see participants gathering at 3pm in a central location before removing their trousers, travelling the Tube and eventually making it to the pub, all in the name of fun.
The event was originally started by Improv Everywhere in New York. The organisers say the mission “started as a small prank with seven guys and has grown into an international celebration of silliness, with dozens of cities around the world participating each year.”
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride DayShow all 35 1 /35In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Brussels, Belgium People wearing no pants participate in the first No Pants Subway Ride in Brussels
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Berlin, Germany An unsuspecting subway passenger reads a book next to participants of the No Pants Subway Ride in Berlin
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Berlin, Germany Participants of the No Pants Subway Ride prepare to board a train in Berlin
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Buenos Aires, Argentina A couple taking part in the No Pants Subway Ride remains on a metro train in Buenos Aires
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Buenos Aires, Argentina People taking part in the No Pants Subway Ride wait at a metro station in Buenos Aires
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Kiev, Ukraine No Pants Subway Ride organizers often recommend that participants wear hats that 'cover all of the head and ears.' Also socks must be 'as high as you can manage' and preferably individualistic
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Kiev, Ukraine Passengers without pants wait on a underground platform during the No Pants Subway Ride in Kiev
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Kiev, Ukraine Young Ukrainians wearing no pants participate in the first No Pants Subway Ride in Kiev
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day London, UK A woman reads a book while taking part in a No Pants Day 2014 flash mob on the London Underground
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day London, UK No Pants Day flash mob is the event organized by Improv Everywhere and takes place in many cities across the world
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day London, UK The goal for the participants of No Pants Day is to get on public transport dressed in normal winter clothes, but without pants while keeping a straight face
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Madrid, Spain A passenger stands in between participants as they wait for the train without their pants during the 5th annual No Pants Subway Ride in Madrid
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Mexico City, Mexico A man without pants and wearing a mask sits in a subway train during the No Pants Subway Ride in Mexico City
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Mexico City, Mexico After meeting in a chosen point passengers undress and with their legs bare they board a metro car at separate stops behaving the usual way – reading a paper, looking at a cell phone etc
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Mexico City The unusual thing, to the shock of other passengers, is that that people taking part in No Pants Day, wear no pants while the upper body is properly dressed for winter
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Mexico City, Mexico A couple without pants walks off a subway train at an underground platform during the No Pants Subway Ride in Mexico City
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Mexico City, Mexico A woman without pants is photographed by members of her team at an underground platform during the No Pants Subway Ride in Mexico City
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Atlanta, USA Participants begin to shed their pants for the No Pants Subway Ride annual event joining other pantless riders at the Civic Center station in Atlanta
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Chicago, USA In the very first event, only seven guys went pants-less in New York, but now the annual celebration has followers in dozens of cities around the world
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day New York, USA A man takes part in the annual No Pants Subway Ride in New York
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day New York, USA Passengers on a subway stand next to a girl dressed for the annual No Pants Subway Ride in the Manhattan borough of New York
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day New York, USA People take part in the annual No Pants Subway Ride in New York
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day New York, USA A passenger walks in his pants in a subway station in New York
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day New York, USA Passengers on a train in New York during the No Pants Subway Ride
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day New York, USA A statement on the Improv Everywhere website said: ‘The mission started as a small prank with seven guys and has grown into an international celebration of silliness, with dozens of cities around the world participating each year’
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day New York, USA No Pants Day begun as a joke in 2002 when New York acting group Improv Everywhere decided to shock members of the public by taking off their trousers
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Washington, USA Rules for participants are pretty simple. First, pranksters agree meeting points, often through social media, then split into groups and descend on the subway with pants on
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Paris, France A passenger without his pants waits for a train during the 'No Pants Subway Ride' event at a subway station in Paris
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Paris, France There were quite a few recommended options for undies: 'granny panties, boxer briefs, boxers, or boy cut' – in other words, something tasteful or funny rather than scandalous
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Paris, France Event organizers also suggested that those willing to join the mission may wear two pairs of underwear
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Prague, Czech Republic One of the suggestions from organisers was: 'Don’t wear a thong or anything else that might offend people. Our aim is to make people laugh, not piss them off'
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Sofia, Bulgaria Women in underwear wait for a train in the Sofia City subway as they take part in the 2014 No Pants Subway Ride in the Bulgarian capital
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Beijing, China Participants should pretend that they do not know each other and are instructed not to speak with one another
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Hong Kong, China Commuters in Hong Kong and Beijing braved public transport without trousers in the stunt
In pictures: People around the world strip off for No Pants Subway Ride Day Bangalore, India Indian commuters, stripped to their underpants, participate in a No Pants Subway Ride on the metro in Bangalore
“The idea behind No Pants [trousers in the UK] is simple: Random passengers board a subway car at separate stops in the middle of winter without pants. The participants behave as if they do not know each other, and they all wear winter coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. The only unusual thing is their lack of pants.”
Last year trouserless travellers boarded underground trains in London, New York, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Shanghai and Hong Kong as events took place in over 60 cities in more than 25 countries.
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