Staff Writer Jay Prakash covers upon the recent Jude Bellingham Lookalike competition here at King’s.
At the end of January, a Jude Bellingham lookalike competition took place on Strand Campus, hosted by the KCL Mani-Pedi Society. Amidst the rising popularity of celebrity lookalike competitions around the world, King’s was the latest to jump on the trend in an event that garnered huge turnout despite ongoing midday classes.
Our university-wide competition saw five contestants step up to the podium, under the scrutinizing gaze of a life-sized Jude Bellingham cutout. There were multiple categories to prove their proximity to Bellingham, ranging from a trivia quiz on the athlete’s milestones to a demonstration of their own football skills. We got audience polls, kick-ups and first-touch competitions, with a healthy dose of booted footballs flying across the quad!
With the support of a persistent crowd, the winner was finally chosen. The closest “lookalike” of the day, Jacob (20), impressed the crowd—not just with his on-point trim, nearly identical to Bellingham’s, but also with his footballing abilities. The runners-up, happy with their podium positions, walked away with a £10 gift card of their choosing.
In “post-match interview” fashion, decked out in his champions’ prize, Jacob responded to being crowned KCL’s Bellingham lookalike: “I feel great. It’s a privilege to look like one of England’s best footballers”. Jacob describes himself as an England fan—another similarity point, if there is still a score being kept! “I’d like to thank my mum and dad for making me look this way…and [the Mani-Pedi Society] for giving me this T-shirt”. You can find our “new Jude” on Instagram at @jacob.nicholson1.
Late 2024 saw a viral explosion of the “celebrity lookalike competition” concept following the Timotheé Chalamet contest in New York City organised by YouTuber Anthony Po. With over 40 contestants, more than two-and-a-half thousand spectators were in attendance to “yay” or “nay” each contender’s likeness to Chalamet—it was later revealed the actor himself had even attended in-person.
Other popular lookalike competitions following this ranged from actors and artists (Paul Mescal – Dublin, Harry Styles – London, Zayn Malik – Brooklyn) to politicians (Jack Schlossberg – NYC) and movie characters (Boq from “Wicked” – NYC).
Jude Bellingham, 21, is the latest star to gain immense popularity following his rapid rise to the top ranks of European football. Already a household name, Bellingham began his career at Birmingham City F.C. (BCFC) and became the club’s youngest first-team player and goalscorer at just 16 years old. The midfielder received his international call-up for England at 17, and his success at both club and country level ensured a record-breaking transfer to German elite side Borussia Dortmund (BVB) in 2020. Upon Bellingham’s departure BCFC retired his no. 22 jersey as a tribute to him—a sign of his recognised success and impact.
In 2023 LaLiga giants Real Madrid secured Bellingham’s transfer from BVB for 103 million euros, making him the third-most expensive teenager in football history. In his first season at Real Madrid, Bellingham scored 23 goals across all competitions, making him the club’s top goalscorer for the 2023/24 season and earning him the title of LaLiga player of the season (19 league goals). Social media trends emerging from the 2022 World Cup saw Bellingham’s popularity skyrocket, with an influx of video edits dedicated to the footballer that amassed millions of views.
Many thanks to the KCL Mani-Pedi Society for organising and hosting the competition—you can find them at @kclmanipedi on Instagram for society updates and future events.
