Big Ben was unveiled after four years of renovation. Now it’s blue!

Big Ben renovation - London Airport Transfers — Big Ben renovation – London Airport Transfers

For the first time after 4 years of silence, Big Ben chimes rang at 12 noon on 31st December 2021.

The clock tower on the Houses of Parliament of Great Britain was hidden behind scaffolding and protective mesh for four years. Hundreds of professionals who worked on Big Ben repaired brickwork, replaced metalwork, repainted and polished parts in the first restoration since it was built in 1859. The project ended up costing £79.7 million.

The restorers replaced all the panels decorated with blown glass on the watch dials. The hands, numerals, and other details have been repainted in Prussian blue instead of black as it was before. The floral emblems of the four parts of the United Kingdom – a thistle, a shamrock, a bow, and a rose – have been repainted according to an original design by Charles Barry.

During the restoration, the eleven-and-a-half-tonne clock mechanism, which consists of 1000 parts, was removed from the Victorian tower to be thoroughly repaired and cleaned.

For now, 12 bells were struck for the last time using its temporary electric mechanism. The original Victorian mechanism of the world’s most famous clock, which strikes every quarter of the hour, will return to work in the spring of 2022.

The restoration, which began in August 2017, has repeatedly appeared in the spotlight of MPs. Some criticized the decision to silence the bells (their ringing disturbed the workers), others – the excess of the original estimate, which increased from £ 29 million to almost 80 million.