National Covid Memorial Wall, (directly opposite the Houses of Parliament), Albert Embankmemt Lambeth Palace Rd London SE1 7EH. Free entry

Details

Accessibility

"Step-free access - head towards the London Eye, then keep the river on your right & use the underpass under Westminster Bridge Road "

Brief description

https://www.nationalcovidmemorialwall.org/

"Created in 2021, the National Covid Memorial Wall in London is a visual representation of the UK's catastrophic loss to Covid-19.  It is a unique memorial to those lost from Covid-19 in the UK, having been created by bereaved families for bereaved families.  It is now maintained by a small group of volunteers, known as ‘The Friends of the Wall’.

The Wall stretches for 500 metres alongside the River Thames, directly opposite the Houses of Parliament. There are more than 240,000 individually hand-painted red hearts, each representing a person who died in the UK with Covid-19 as a direct cause of death.

Many of the hearts on the Wall have been personalised with individual messages written either by the bereaved or by the volunteers who are there every week, maintaining this unique memorial. The original hearts were drawn with art pens, which have faded with the London weather, so each heart on the entire Wall has been repainted with long-lasting masonry paint by the Friends of the Wall team.  They continue to add new hearts for those who are still dying from the Covid-19 virus."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Covid_Memorial_Wall

"The National Covid Memorial Wall in London is a public mural painted by volunteers to commemorate victims of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[1] Started in March 2021 and stretching more than a third of a mile (500 metres) along the South Bank of the River Thames, opposite the Palace of Westminster,[2] the mural consists of approximately 245,000 red and pink hearts, one for each of the casualties of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom who died with COVID-19 on their death certificate.[3] The intent was for each heart to be "individually hand-painted; utterly unique, just like the loved ones we’ve lost".[4]"

"Volunteers continue to add hearts to match the UK's COVID-19 death toll.[11]

While the original plan for the unauthorised mural included provision to clean the area after a period of time,[3] campaigners have argued that the mural should remain indefinitely as a permanent memorial.[11][2] The former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, had previously promised a "fitting and permanent" memorial to those who died from COVID-19 after the conclusion of the pandemic.[4] In March of 2023, the Commission for Covid Commemoration (headed by Baroness Nicky Morgan) recommended to the government that the wall be made a permanent memorial. Discussions have begun between the Friends of the Wall (the bereaved volunteers who maintain the wall),[12] the DCMS, St. Thomas’ Hospital, and the local planning authority to explore how to work together to ensure this unique memorial can be preserved."

Address

The National Covid Memorial Wall

Albert Embankmemt

Lambeth Palace Rd

London SE1 7EH

Email

Contact the volunteers by email: - covidmemorialwall@gmail.com

Phone

Website

https://www.nationalcovidmemorialwall.org/

Directions

"The Wall is on Albert Embankment, on the South Bank of the River Thames, opposite the Houses of Parliament

The closest Underground stations are either Westminster or Waterloo

Postcode: SE1 7EH

W3W: ///fades.racks.acid"

Opening Times

Always check with the venue directly for up-to-date information including opening times and admission charges as they may be subject to change

Transport

The closest Underground stations are either Westminster or Waterloo

Amenities