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 one-third mile (five hundred metres) along the South Bank of the River Thames, opposite the Palace of Westminster,[2] and just outside St Thomas' Hospital, the mural consists of thousands of red and pink hearts, intending to have one heart for each of the approximately 150,000 casualties of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom at the time of the mural's commencement.[3] The intent was for each heart to be "individually hand-painted; utterly unique, just like the loved ones we’ve lost".[4] The mural was organized by campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, with the help of the campaign group Led By Donkeys, and painting first commenced in the week encompassing the end of March 2021.[4][5]

Section of the National Covid Memorial Wall, April 2021

Reactions

On 29 March 2021, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer visited the mural, which he described as a "remarkable memorial", before calling on Boris Johnson to visit the mural personally and engage with the families of the deceased.[3] Johnson later visited the wall for "quiet reflection" without meeting bereaved families, which a co-founder of the group said was "a late evening visit under cover of darkness ... a cynical and insincere move that is deeply hurtful".[6][7]

Future of the mural

As of April 2021, the mural was not considered finished, as volunteers intended to continue to add hearts to match the UK's COVID-19 death toll.[8] In April, plans were reported of using digital scanning technology to count the number of hearts on the wall.[9]

While the original plan for the unauthorised mural included provision to clean the area after a period of time,[3] some campaigners have argued that the mural should remain indefinitely as a permanent memorial.[8][2] The 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]

  • A section of the National Covid Memorial Wall in London
  • A panoramic shot of the National Covid Memorial Wall
  • One of the plaques identifying the National Covid Memorial Wall
  • Red rose sticked to the wall with its stem within a small bag filled with water

See also

References
  1. "Walk the National Covid Memorial Wall". National Covid Memorial Wall. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  2. Emma Birchley (8 April 2021). "COVID-19: Huge London memorial wall marks scale of UK's coronavirus deaths – as families ensure loved ones don't 'disappear'". Sky News. Sky News. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  3. Manpreet Kaur Sachdeva (30 March 2021). "COVID-19: Bereaved families paint mural of almost 150,000 red hearts to represent victims". Sky News. Sky News. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  4. "Covid bereaved begin work on memorial wall opposite Westminster". the Guardian. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  5. Lynskey, Dorian (18 July 2021). "Wall of love: the incredible story behind the national Covid memorial". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  6. "Johnson visited Covid Memorial Wall 'under the cover of darkness'". Express and Star. 29 April 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  7. Grylls, George (30 April 2021). "Boris Johnson visited pandemic memorial wall without meeting bereaved". The Times. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  8. "Covid memorial wall has 'got to stay', say bereaved families". ITV News. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  9. Whelan, Sean (31 March 2021). "London memorial wall remembers Covid-19 victims". Retrieved 12 April 2021.

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