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My day starts just like yours.

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(Laughter)

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When I wake up in the morning,

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I check my phone

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and then I have a cup of coffee.

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But then my day truly starts.

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It may not be like yours because
I live my life as an artwork.

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Picture yourself in a giant jewelry box

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with all the beautiful things
that you have ever seen in your life.

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Then imagine that your body is a canvas.

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And on that canvas,

12
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you have a mission to create a masterpiece

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using the contents of your giant jewelry box.

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Once you've created your masterpiece,

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you might think, "Wow, I created that.

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This is who I am today."

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Then you would pick up your housekeys,

18
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walk out the door into the real world,

19
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maybe take public transport
to the center of the town.

20
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Possibly walk along the streets
or even go shopping.

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That's my life every day.

22
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When I walk out the door,

23
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these artworks are me.

24
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I am art.

25
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I've lived as art my entire adult life.

26
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Living as art is how I became myself.

27
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I was brought up in a small village
called Fillongley in England,

28
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and it was last mentioned
in the "Domesday Book,"

29
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so that's the mentality.

30
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(Laughter)

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I was raised by my grandparents,

32
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and they were antiques dealers.

33
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So I grew up surrounded
by history and beautiful things.

34
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I had the most amazing dress-up box.

35
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So as you can imagine,

36
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it started then.

37
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I moved to London when I was 17
to become a model.

38
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And then I went to study photography.

39
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I wasn't really happy
with myself at the time,

40
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so I was always looking for escapism.

41
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I studied the works of David LaChappelle
and Steven Arnold,

42
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photographers who both curated
and created worlds

43
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that were mindblowing to me.

44
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So I decided one day to crossover
from the superficial fashion world

45
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to the superficial art world.

46
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(Laughter)

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I decided to live my life as a work of art.

48
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I spend hours, sometimes months,
making things.

49
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My go-to tool is a safety pin,

50
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like this --

51
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they're never big enough.

52
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And I use my fabrics time and time again,

53
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so I recycle everything that I use.

54
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When I get dressed I'm guided
by color, texture and shape.

55
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I rarely have a theme.

56
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I find beautiful objects
from all over the world

57
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and I curate them into 3D tapestries
over a base layer

58
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that covers my whole body shape...

59
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because I'm not very happy with my body.

60
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(Laughter)

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I ask myself, "Should I take
something off

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or should I put something on?"

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100 pieces maybe,

64
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and sometiems I do that.

65
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I promise you it's not too uncomfortable --

66
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well, just a little --

67
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(Laughter)

68
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I might have a safety pin
poking me sometimes

69
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when I'm having a conversation with you,

70
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so I'll kind of go off --

71
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(Laughter)

72
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It usually takes me about
20 minutes to get ready,

73
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which nobody every believes.

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It's true --

75
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sometimes.

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So is my version of a t-shirt and jeans.

77
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(Laughter)

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When I get dressed
I build like an architect.

79
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I carefully place things
until I feel they belong.

80
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Then I get a lot of my ideas
from lucid dreaming.

81
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I actually go to sleep to come up
with my ideas,

82
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and I've taught myself to wake up
to write them down.

83
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I wear things until they fall apart,

84
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and then I give them a new life.

85
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The gold outfit for example
is the outfit that I wore

86
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to the Houses of Parliament in London.

87
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It's made of armor, sequins and broken jewelry,

88
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and I was the first person
to wear armor to Parliament

89
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since Oliver Cromwell banned it
in the 17th century.

90
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Things don't need to be expensive
to be beautiful.

91
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Try making outfits out of bin liners
or trash you found out on the street.

92
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You never know,

93
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they might end up on the pages of Vogue.

94
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There's over 6,000 pieces in my collection,

95
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ranging from 2,000-year-old Roman rings
to ancient Buddhist artifacts.

96
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I believe in sharing what I do
and what I have with others,

97
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so I decided to create an art exhibition,

98
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which is currently traveling
to museums around the world.

99
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It contains and army of me --

100
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life-size scultptures as you can see behind me,

101
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they're here --

102
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they are my life, really.

103
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They're 3D tapestries of my existence
as living as art.

104
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They contain plastic crystals mixred with diamonds,

105
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beer cans and world silks all in one look.

106
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I like the fact that the viewer
can never make the assumption

107
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of what's real and what's fake.

108
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I find it important to explore and share
cultures through my works.

109
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I use clothing as a means to investigate

110
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and appreciate people from all
over the world.

111
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Sometimes people think I'm a performer
or a drag queen.

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I'm not.

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Although my life appears
to be a performance,

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it's not.

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It's very real.

116
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People respond to me as they would
any other type of artwork.

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Many people are fascinated and engaged.

118
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Some people walk around me,
staring, shy at first.

119
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Then they come up to me and they say
they love or absolutely hate what I do.

120
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I sometimes respond and other times
I let the art talk for itself.

121
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The most annoying thing in the world
is when people want to touch the artwork.

122
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Then I understand.

123
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But like a lot of contemporary art,

124
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many people are dismissive.

125
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Some people are critical,

126
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others are abusive.

127
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I think it comes from
the fear of the different --

128
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the unknown.

129
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There are so many reactions to what I do,

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and I've just learnt not
to take them personally.

131
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I've never lived
as Daniel Lismore the person.

132
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I've lived as Daniel Lismore the artwork.

133
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And I've faced every obstacle as an artwork.

134
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It can be hard.

135
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Especially if your wardrobe takes up
a 40-foot container,

136
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three storage units

137
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and 30 boxes from IKEA --

138
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(Laughter)

139
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and sometimes it can be very difficult
getting into cars,

140
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and sometimes --

141
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well, this morning I didn't fit
through my bathroom door,

142
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so that was a problem.

143
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(Laughter)

144
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What does it mean to be yourself?

145
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People say it all the time,

146
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but what does it truly mean?

147
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And why does it matter?

148
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How does life change when you choose
to be unapolegetically yourself?

149
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I've had to face struggles and triumphs
whilst living my life as art.

150
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I've been put on private jets

151
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and flown around the world.

152
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My work's been displayed
in prestigous musuems

153
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and I've had the opportunity --

154
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that's my grandparents by the way --

155
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by the people that raised me --

156
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and there I am --

157
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(Applause)

158
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So I've been put on private jets,

159
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flown around the world

160
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and it's not been that easy

161
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because at times I've been homeless,

162
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I've been spat at,

163
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I've been abused, sometimes daily,

164
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bullied by entire life,

165
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rejected by countless individuals,

166
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and I've been stabbed.

167
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But what hurt the most was being put
on the "Worst Dressed" list.

168
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(Laughter)

169
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It can be hard being yourself,

170
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but I've found it's the best way.

171
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There's the "Worst Dressed."

172
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(Laughter)

173
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
As the quote goes, "Everyone else
is already taken,"

174
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I've come to realize confidence
is a concept you can choose.

175
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I've come to realize that authenticity
is necessary and it's powerful.

176
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I've tried to spend time
being like other people.

177
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It didn't work.

178
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It's a lot of hard work,

179
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not being yourself.

180
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I have a few questions for you all.

181
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Who are you?

182
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How many versions of you are there?

183
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And I have one final question:

184
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are you using them all
to your advantage?

185
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In reality, everyone is capable
of creating their own masterpiece.

186
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You should try it some time.

187
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It's quite fun.

188
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Thank you.

189
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Applause and cheers)