On October 15 anti-corporate demonstrations broke out in major cities across the world in sympathy with the 'Occupy Wall Street' protests that began in New York City in September. In New York, demonstrators marched through iconic Times Square, where dozens were arrested by police; in Rome, violence erupted as some demonstrators torched cars and smashed windows.

The protests were not confined to the US and western Europe: Rallies drew crowds of various sizes in Melbourne, Taipei, Santiago, Manila, Amman, Tokyo, Cape Town, and Bucharest, among other cities.