(London) Big Ben, the nickname given to the enormous bell of the Elizabeth Tower of the British Parliament, will come out of its silence for the New Year, a few months before recovering its original mechanism after four years of work.
On the evening of December 31, the famous 13.7-ton bell will ring the traditional 12 strokes of midnight to mark the entry into 2022.
This will be the last time Big Ben will ring the bell using a temporary mechanism, parliamentary services said. Starting in the spring, the original mechanism, which dates from the Victorian era, will be put back into operation and Big Ben will begin to resonate as the day progresses – for the first time since restoration work began in 2017.
“It is probably the most famous clock in the world, and to have had every nut and bolt in our hands is a huge privilege,” said Ian Westworth, one of the members of the watchmaking team at the Parliament. “It will be quite moving when it’s all over, there will be sadness that the project is finished, but happiness that we have restored it and everything is back up and running. “
The Elizabeth Tower, completed in 1859, is undergoing restoration, and the British only hear Big Ben echoing on rare occasions. They will discover its four faces, hidden by scaffolding, for the first time in four years.
The fireworks display which brings together around 100,000 people every New Year in central London, on the banks of the Thames, was however canceled for the second year in a row due to the new coronavirus pandemic.