Tower of London poppies: Public urged to delay visit as installation enters final eleven days
Historic Royal Palaces, which manages the site, has asked people to delay their visit until after half-term to avoid the crowds
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The public are being urged to delay visiting the Tower of London’s poppy memorial because the site is becoming overcrowded.
Officials from the Historic Royal Palaces, who manage the exhibition, are asking individuals to consider coming next weekend or during the week when half-term has ended.
The Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation, which was created by artist Paul Cummins, will be completed in 11 days. Since the start of the memorial work, poppies have been individually added to the ‘sea’ with each flower representing a lost British life. The final poppy will be planted on Armistice Day.
Earlier today the Historic Royal Palaces Twitter account posted: “We’re advising people to postpone their visit to the Tower until after half term if possible, or to visit earlier in the day, before 10am, or later in the day, after 6pm.”
Tower Hill tube station – the nearest underground link to the poppies – was closed today for scheduled engineering works, a Transport for London spokesperson claimed to The Independent “everything was fine” and that replacement bus services were coping with the “slightly larger” crowds.
Meanwhile, queues to see the Crown Jewels kept at the Tower were an hour long.
To cope with the surge in visitor numbers this week, the Tower introduced crowd control barriers and brought in extra staff, a spokeswoman for the palace told the Evening Standard.
Yesterday police officers were drafted in to direct pedestrians to the palace from Tower Hill Underground Station, which was closed due to overcrowding.
The installation has not been without controversy. Yesterday, Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones wrote a piece suggesting the memorial was an “empty” spectacle that encouraged an “inward-looking mood” allowing Ukip to thrive.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments