BIG BEN BACK IN ACTION

After five years of being restored, Big Ben will soon be back in action.

In 2017, the clock’s 1 000 moving parts that had to be renovated and that meant the clocks had to be silenced for five years. The restoration involved cleaning and repainting each of the five bells’ hammers and arms. The bells themselves stayed in place, according to News24.

Big Ben is officially known as the Great Clock that towers above Britain’s Houses of Parliament. While Big Ben sounds the hour every hour, the four smaller bells around it sound the quarter-hour.

The timing for Big Ben to commence work again was chosen very carefully. On 11 November 1918 the guns fell silent and the end of World War I was official. The Sunday following 11 November is known as Remembrance Sunday, a day to commemorate those who have fallen during the war.

Sunday 13 November marked the first time that the clock resumed normal service again.

Even though Big Ben was out of action, there were a few occasions that Big Ben and his partners have run since the refurbishment began back in 2017: On New Year’s Eve, when Britain left the European Union in 2021, and during the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September.

Image credit: The Statesman