Big Ben will resume its hourly chimes early next year as the restoration of Parliament's Elizabeth Tower nears completion. The project, originally scheduled to finish this year, was delayed by the pandemic.
The costs have escalated to at least £80 million. The famous London landmark has been largely silent since 2017, except for significant occasions such as Brexit and Remembrance Day.
The Great Clock, including the 13.7-tonne Great Bell, has been dismantled and repaired. The current restoration marks the longest silence in the bell's history since it first sounded in 1859.
Key milestones are expected over the next 12 months, with the restored clock mechanism installation starting this summer. UK Parliament authorities confirmed that the clock hands, restored to their original Victorian colour scheme, will be added to the dials, and the mechanism will return to the tower later this year.
Early next year, the bells, including Big Ben, will be reconnected to the original Victorian mechanism and ring out across Westminster. The protective gantry will then be removed, with the site fully cleared by summer next year.
