Normally I’d say that alcohol and vehicles don’t mix – but in this case I think we’ve found a nice compromise. With a sober driver and a gaggle of tipsy riders in back, this 7-seater electric beer bike might be one of the weirdest ways to get your brew on. And since I found it on my favorite collection of ridiculous EVs on the internet, it’s a great addition as this week’s Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week.
What’s not to like here?!
Built on what appears to be a steel buggy frame, there’s a driver’s bench up front and space for drunk tourists in the rear.
Four of the six victims passengers get a set of bicycle pedals so that they can pretend they’re actually doing something productive while day drinking, and the last two can enjoy the comfort of a hard plastic bench seat to pass out on. At least the driver’s bench has some foam in it, but that rear bench looks like it’s made out of airplane tray tables.
I’ve got a sneaky suspicion those pedals do absolutely nothing, though it’d be pretty cool if they were actually connected to the drivetrain.
The real power comes from a 3,500W motor on the rear axle. It’s not huge, but this isn’t a particularly fast vehicle either. It only gets up to 25 km/h (15 mph), but the world goes by pretty quickly when you’re day drunk with a reaction time that can be measured in seconds.
The electric beer bike runs on a 48V system and has a massive 400Ah battery, meaning you’ve got a freaking 20 kWh battery! I think this beer bike might have more range than a Nissan Leaf!
It’s definitely got more beer capacity than a Nissan Leaf, that’s for sure. There are not one but two wooden casks, though I think that one in front might be fake. Something about having a steering wheel passing through it screams “not watertight” to me.
Realistically speaking, that rear keg is probably fake too. I’m not sure where the beer actually comes from, but there are a pair of taps on the world’s smallest (and most mobile) wet bar, so it must come from somewhere. Like manna in the desert, this electric beer bike is ready to roll up and rock your socks off right when the clock hits 5 PM. Or noon. Whatever. You’re on vacation.
I know this thing is probably meant for tourist towns (remember what those were like?) and other events, but I really want to just own one of these as a personal vehicle. Imagine pulling up to work in this. Or using it for an Uber. I really want to see that text message: “Hi Jim, your driver will be arriving shortly. Remember to check the license plate (123456) and the car details (blue Chinese Beer Bike). Have your mask on and enjoy your ride.”
How can that not be a five star ride every time?!
With lights, fenders and even an awning (wouldn’t want you to get sunburned while you’re getting drunk and dehydrated), there’s some nice thought put into this electric beer bike. Check out the short video clip above to see it in action!
I’m not saying this electric beer bike is worth the $6,500 that the vendor is charging for it. But I’ve also been known to buy crazy electric vehicles on Alibaba before, and this is tugging at my heart strings in a dangerous kind of way.
I might just need to become my local beer bike entrepreneur around town. With the right markup, how long can it take to recoup that startup cost?! I mean, I’d be kind of crazy NOT to but it, right? Right. Guys?
I just hope there’s a plan for how to get it home if the battery ever runs out or (more likely) the thing just breaks down. Somehow I don’t see six drunk college students being much help when its time to push 1,300 kg (2,900 pounds) of bike-car.
But at least we’ll have something to drink while we wait for the tow.
Former Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The 67-year-old announced his diagnosis on social media, saying it was one of stage four “advanced” cancer.
He said he was “fortunate to have a simply outstanding medical team” looking after him that was “administering the best possible care with expertise, compassion and sensitivity”.
“I’m responding positively to their excellent treatment, and feeling well,” he added.
“I’m blessed to be fortified by the monumental love and support of my wife, family and close friends.
“Needless to say, my message to all men over 50, in high risk groups, or displaying symptoms, is get yourself tested and campaign for routine prostate screening by the NHS.
“Early detection is crucial. And be aware, this disease can sometimes progress rapidly without obvious symptoms.”
Image: Murnaghan also presented on BBC News and ITV News
Murnaghan said he would be taking part in Sir Chris Hoy’s charity bike ride in Glasgow in September, which aims to “shine a spotlight” on stage four cancer.
Billionaire Jeff Bezos is marrying Lauren Sanchez, a former TV journalist, in a glitzy multi-day event in Venice.
While city officials haven’t confirmed the wedding details, Italian media have reported it will be a three-day affair between Tuesday and Thursday.
They also say it will take over the whole island of San Giorgio opposite St Mark’s Square – but that the location of the ceremony itself remains private.
Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger and Ivanka Trump are expected to attend, as is pop star Katy Perry, who joined Ms Sanchez in the all-female celebrity crew that travelled to space in April.
They and other celebrity guests – rumoured to include Leonardo Dicaprio and Eva Longoria – are expected to be joining the couple for parties on Amazon owner Bezos’s super yacht, worth about $500m (£371m), which will dock in the port of Venice for the wedding, Sky News Italy reports.
But not everyone in the iconic city is excited.
What protests are planned?
More on Jeff Bezos
Related Topics:
Members of the group No Space for Bezos are planning to disrupt celebrations and have already made clear that, to them, the billionaire is not welcome in the city.
They unfurled a massive banner on 12 June from the bell tower of the San Giorgio Maggiore basilica with Bezos’s name crossed out.
Image: An anti-Bezos sign hung on the bell tower of the San Giorgio Maggiore basilica. Pic: Federica Toninelli
They are planning another demonstration on 28 June where they will block guests from arriving at a party by blocking the canals with boats and their bodies.
They say the protest will be peaceful.
“We want to take back our city that we are seeing constantly being privatised and taken away from us,” Federica Toninelli, an activist associated with No Space for Bezos, told Sky News.
Why are there protests?
Protesters do not have an issue with the marriage itself but with what they say is the “privatisation” and “exploitation” of the city.
Image: Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos at Donald Trump’s inauguration. Pic: Reuters
“He is basically going to treat the whole city as a private ballroom, as a private event area, as if the citizens are not there,” said Alice Bazzoli, also an activist with No Space for Bezos.
Both told Sky News that the event will close parts of the city and make it difficult for locals to get around, as well as posing environmental concerns with the use of yachts in the canals.
“This is not what Venice needs. This is not what a city that is already suffering from overtourism needs,” said Ms Toninelli.
Image: No Space For Bezos protesters gather in Venice. Pic: Federica Toninelli
The city has long struggled with high tourism numbers.
Millions come to see a World Heritage Site famous around the world for its medieval architecture, crammed into a picturesque canal network.
But this pushes up the cost of living for locals and tends to create only low-paid temporary employment.
“It’s going to bring money, yes, but weare not going to see any money,” said Ms Toninelli.
Image: St Mark’s Square filled with tourists. Pic: Reuters
The protests are also linked to wider issues around affordable housing and a dwindling local population in Venice’s historic centre.
“Do we want our city even more invaded by tourists, by oligarchs, and people who buy and privatise the city, or do we want services, jobs, health services, schools, universities? Do we want to live in the city like normal people, or sell it to the best offer?” said Ms Bazzoli.
What has the response been to the protests?
The mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, says he is “honoured” that the city is hosting the event.
“Once again Venice proves to be a world stage,” he said.
“Those 20 people who are putting up posters are clearly capitalising on [Jeff Bezos’s] image.”
The city of Venice has previously denied that the event would disrupt locals, saying water taxi services would run normally and that only 200 guests had been invited.
“Venice is used to being the stage for events and shows every week, without significant impacts,” the city said, citing G20 and G7 summits, the Architecture and Cinema Biennales, as well as private events.
They say the city has previous experience of hosting big events successfully.
Is this the first celebrity Venice wedding?
No, George and Amal Clooney famously got married there in 2014.
The actor arrived at his ceremony at the Aman Grande Canal Hotel on a boat, alongside guests including Matt Damon and model Cindy Crawford.
The city also hosted world leaders for the 2021 G20 summit, as well as the annual Venice Film Festival.
Is tourism a problem in Venice?
Image: Day-trippers take a gondola tour in July 2024. Pic: Reuters
Venice has been struggling with the impacts of overtourism – when the number of visitors to an area worsens the experience of being there for locals or other tourists.
There were around 50,000 people living in the historic city centre in 2023 when there were around 4.9 million tourist arrivals, according to the data gathering website Statista.
In 2024, it became the first city in the world to introduce a payment system for tourists, with officials carrying out random checks to make sure people beyond entry points have a QR code.
As it stands, those visiting between April and July for a day trip pay a standard fee of €5 – unless they have booked less than four days before their visit, in which case they must pay double.
The city has also put in place a size limit of 25 people for tourist groups to reduce crowds.
Where else have there been tourist protests?
Venice isn’t the only European city where locals are frustrated with tourist numbers.
Protesters in Barcelona sprayed tourists with water guns as part of demonstrations over the number of visitors.
Festival season is under way, and leading the charge: the Isle of Wight Festival – dubbed “Europe’s Woodstock” – with headliners including Sting and the Stereophonics.
Former N-Sync star Justin Timberlake – a man who’s crooned about his love of “dance, dance, dance” and has recently become a meme for his mic-centric moves on stage – is a headliner too.
Image: Justin Timberlake – and his trusty mic stand. Pic: Reuters
Meanwhile, Glastonbury Festival will see headline acts including Olivia Rodrigo, the 1975, and Charli XCX.
But along with the headline stars and hot weather, politics has also found its way into the spotlight.
Youth culture and political expression have long been part of the festival experience, with Vietnam, nuclear disarmament, Brexit and the Russian invasion of Ukraine all attracting attention over the decades.
This year, with geopolitics seemingly at a boiling point, the Israel-Hamas war has had far-reaching implications. As the Israel-Iran war follows in its wake, the conflict has prompted strong opinions on both sides.
Irish-language rap trio Kneecap‘s upcoming Glastonbury Festival set has become a flashpoint for robust debate, drawing protests from those calling for their set to be cancelled, as well as those championing their right to speak out.
More on Glastonbury
Related Topics:
The root of the contention? Kneecap band member Liam O’Hanna, 27, was charged with a terror offence earlier this year, accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
Image: Kneecap’s Liam Og O hAnnaidh leaves Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London. Pic: PA
Hezbollah was proscribed in its entirety in 2019 because the government classed it as a terrorist organisation and said its attacks on Israel were “attempts to destabilise the fragile situation in the Middle East”.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he did not think Kneecap’s planned Glastonbury Festival performance was “appropriate” and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said she thought the BBC “should not be showing” the band’s performance at the festival next weekend.
Image: Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Somerset. Pic: PA
Although “removed” from playing at Scottish music festival TRNSMT next month due to “safety concerns”, Kneecap have remained on the Glastonbury bill, prompting the question: Is the stage a place for political opinion?
‘If we think we’re separate from world events, we’re kidding ourselves’
Faithless star Sister Bliss, who performed at the first of the re-instated Isle of Wight Festivals and is performing again this year, tells Sky News: “If we think that we’re separate from world events, we’re absolutely kidding ourselves. Our lives are tied intrinsically to everybody else’s on the planet.
“You can have certain people that express that in a way that is perhaps a tad crass, but I love that lyrically – especially on our records, in songs that we’ve made over the last 30 years – I feel that you can combine the personal and political in a way that’s not tub-thumping or simplistic. These issues are very nuanced that are going on in the world right now.”
Image: Sister Bliss of Faithless. Pic: Callum Baker
Speaking to Sky News at the Isle of Wight Festival, Clean Bandit star Grace Chatto says artists are right to use the stage to amplify their voice.
“It is such a great place for political speech, like when Jeremy Corbyn spoke at Glastonbury – it was the most attended thing of the whole event, and it just brought such a feeling of unity and hope in that field on that day”.
The 39-year-old cellist adds: “Then recently, Kneecap and Massive Attack have just been so important, I think, and amazing.”
Earlier this month, Massive Attack, who have previously been critical of Israel, included footage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and his family as part of a video montage at one of their concerts.
Image: (R-L) Grace Chatto and Jack Patterson of Clean Bandit. Pic: @photosbychloeh
‘I’ve got loads of friends who are absolute idiots politically’
Fresh from the Isle of Wight Main Stage, Mae Mullertells Sky News: “With what’s happening in Gaza, I know that’s been a very prominent theme with people saying, ‘Should we speak out about it or not?’ But that’s not political, it’s a human rights issue.
“It’s important for us to use our voice, because not everybody can. If we feel strongly about something, and we can stand behind it, I think [the stage is] definitely a place to do it.”
Image: Mae Muller. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett
Muller, who represented the UK at last year’s Eurovision Song Competition – which became a highly politicised event despite the attempts of the organisers to keep it from the stage – continues: “Art is inherently political, and you can’t really escape it. And we shouldn’t want to escape it. It can be two things at once. [Politics] and fun can coexist.“
Meanwhile, Razorlight front-man Johnny Borrell, ahead of his Main Stage performance, tells Sky News: “Why not say what you believe in? Why does everyone get so precious?
“You can disagree with people. I’ve got loads of friends who are absolute idiots politically – they think the earth is flat. I like them as people, but I completely disagree with them in politics”.
Image: Johnny Borrell. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett
Borrell adds: “We don’t have a problem with disagreeing, but if everyone’s tapping away [mimes typing on a phone] and they’re like, ‘No, I’m really angry, I’m going to tap back,’ that’s a different thing. That’s what’s changed recently.”
A ‘disruptor’ festival, showing the world that anything is possible’
Regardless of the polarised times, Isle of Wight Festival promoter John Giddings, 72, says the Isle of Wight Festival experience should be a break from activism rather than a call to arms.
The 72-year-old, who represents artists ranging from Blondie to Phil Collins, told Sky News: “We’re purely about music and entertainment, and we are to switch off from politics for three or four days. We’re in the business of entertaining people, not preaching to people. And I don’t understand why people attempt to. That’s a different forum.”
Image: Isle of Wight Festival promotor, John Giddings. Pic: PA
Giddings, who relaunched the iconic festival after it was outlawed by authorities in 1970, fearing the crowds and rowdy behaviour could detract from the island, may be keen to avoid political controversy, but he’s keen to break the mould in other areas.
Following a long line of stars before him, including Bob Dylon, Jimi Hendrix and Joni Mitchell, singer Emmanuel Kelly has become the first physically differently-abled artist to perform on the Isle of Wight Festival’s Main Stage.
The 31-year-old former X Factor star, who supported Coldplay on their Music Of The Spheres tour last year, says as far as accessibility is concerned, the Isle of Wight Festival is a trailblazer.
Image: Emmanuel Kelly. Pic: James Millington Photography
Kelly tells Sky News: “Somebody that’s different is on the stage and is able to show the world that anything’s possible.”
Echoing the festival’s early rebel roots, he credits it with being a “disruptor”, adding, “They make the extra effort to teach the others around the world to make the extra effort as well… It’s important and it’s happening and I’m excited for it.”
In response to Sir Keir’s call for Kneecap to be removed from the line up at Glastonbury next weekend, and whether the performance would be available on any BBC platforms if it goes ahead, a BBC spokesperson said: “As the broadcast partner, the BBC will be bringing audiences extensive music coverage from Glastonbury, with artists booked by the festival organisers.
“Whilst the BBC doesn’t ban artists, our plans will ensure that our programming will meet our editorial guidelines. Decisions about our output will be made in the lead up to the festival.”
The Isle of Wight Festival runs until Sunday 22 June, with the Glastonbury Festival kicking off on 25 June.
