Sadiq Khan came eye to eye with a replica of himself on Tuesday as Madame Tussauds unveiled a waxwork of the mayor in recognition of his historic re-election.
Mr Khan said it was “very flattering” to have been approached by the museum about a year ago.
His statue, which took six to eight months to complete, will go on display from Wednesday at the venue in Baker Street in the wake of him becoming the first London mayor to win a third term.
He told the Standard: “When tourists come to Madame Tussauds, they will be able to see some amazing people, and they can see somebody from a humble background who has become mayor of this great city.”
The statue, which has a wax head and fibre glass and resin body, will appear in the museum’s “culture capital” zone. It has been clad in the suit and shoes that Mr Khan wore when he was first elected in 2016. The head was hand-sculpted.
He visited the Madame Tussauds studio in Ealing to enable a team of about 20 sculpture artists to take about 400 photographs. “Then a number of months later you go back and, lo and behold, they have got a version of you,” he said. “I’m told they spent six months working on my hair. I spend six minutes.
“It delivers a better speech than I do, and he’s got a better sense of humour. I was slightly concerned my wife may take him home rather than me.”
Mr Khan’s statue will appear alongside Stormzy, Anthony Joshua and Sir David Attenborough.
“I’d give it 10 out of 10, but more importantly the team at Madame Tussauds 10 out of 10,” he said, at a photo-shoot on the London Eye. “They usually work on Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Brad Pitt, so it must be quite tough for them to work with something like me. They’ve pulled it off.”
Ken Livingstone was the first London mayor to make it to Madame Tussauds but his waxwork was removed after he was defeated by Boris Johnson in 2008. Mr Johnson’s waxwork is understood to be on display in the gift shop.
Jo Kinsey, regional studio manager for Madame Tussauds, said: “Sadiq will stay on display as long as we would like him to stay on display. As long as the guests are happy, then Sadiq will stay in our lovely culture area.
“I think it’s a really lovely, warm smile. What we find is that with figures that are smiling, guests really do love to come over to them.”
