27 June 2011
Plans unveiled to put Tower Bridge at the heart of London’s
2012 celebrations
Plans to put Tower Bridge at the heart of 2012 celebrations have
been revealed today (27 June) include the temporary installation of
giant Olympic Rings and the Paralympic Agitos during the Games
period.
The news comes following a deal announced recently by the Mayor
of London between City Hall, City of London Corporation and London
2012 Sustainability partners, EDF and GE to install a
state-of-the-art energy-efficient lighting system on Tower Bridge.
As well as helping to cut carbon and reduce energy costs, the
project will enhance this global icon's architectural features at
night. It will provide a permanent lighting legacy for one of
London’s most loved icons, but also enable Tower Bridge – which is
owned by the City’s Bridge House Estates - to play a unique and
starring role when the curtain rises next year on the city’s
once-in-a-lifetime Olympic and Paralympic celebrations.
Details contained in planning documents submitted today show
proposals for Tower Bridge to feature Olympic rings and Paralympic
Agitos during the 45 days of the Games, in a similar way to those
already installed at St Pancras station. The new flexible lighting
system would able enable beautiful evening lighting displays during
Games time, for example, the use of gold, silver and bronze
lighting effects to mark sporting medal successes.
The project is now seeking to obtain the necessary planning
consents and work could start by September and be completed by
spring 2012, in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is
also hoped the new look will be ready in time for the Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: ‘I
want London to sparkle with special moments during the Olympic and
Paralympic Games and thanks to this funding deal, Tower Bridge is
set to play a starring role in these once-in-a-lifetime
celebrations. The Games are also a unique opportunity for London to
secure its position for another generation as the best big city in
the world and these plans will secure a fantastic legacy for one of
the capital’s best loved landmarks.’
Stuart Fraser, Policy Chairman of the City of
London, said: ‘Tower Bridge needs new lighting and this
proposal - made possible through appropriate sponsorship
recognition for Olympic partners EDF and GE during the Games - will
help improve London’s global image – not just in 2012 – but for the
next 25 years.'
Mark Elborne, President and CEO of GE in the
UK, said: ‘As a sponsor and sustainability partner for
London 2012, we are delighted about the prospect of being involved
in this project to apply our lighting technology to create a
sustainable and flexible legacy for Tower Bridge.'
EDF Energy, the UK subsidiary of EDF and a leading electricity
supplier in London, will also become the lighting electricity
supplier for Tower Bridge and will match every unit of electricity
that it supplies to Tower Bridge with power generated from low
carbon sources.
Vincent de Rivaz, Chief Executive at EDF
Energy, said: ‘As the first sustainability partner of
London 2012, we are delighted to help reduce the carbon footprint
of an iconic London landmark ahead of the Games. EDF Energy is
aiming to use its involvement with the Olympic and Paralympic Games
to help people think about the ways they use energy. We hope that
the new energy efficient lighting, combined with the temporary
installation of the Olympic Rings and Paralympic Agitos, will make
Tower Bridge a standout symbol of sustainability, encouraging
visitors and residents to live a lower carbon lifestyle.’
Ends
Notes to Editors:
-
Download full details of the proposed project
here (PDF, 5mb)
- Planning permission is being sought from Southwark council and
Tower Hamlets Council.
- This exciting investment into Tower Bridge to create a 25 year
lighting legacy is set to be funded with no cost to the taxpayer
following a deal between the Mayor, City of London and London 2012
Sustainability partners, GE and EDF. The funding package has been
possible due to the unique opportunity for sponsorship recognition
during the Games.
- Currently Tower Bridge has traditional, static flood-lighting
which can flatten the architecture. The use of energy efficient LED
technology will reduce the energy consumption of the existing
lighting system by an estimated 40 per cent on today’s usage. The
City of London Corporation will contribute £400,000 towards the
works from its ancient Bridge House Estate fund that pays for the
five City bridges and the works will be done by lighting artists
Citelum, whose global experience in working with historical iconic
sites includes the Eiffel Tower, the Zheng Yang Men gate in Beijing
and the Abbey of Jumièges in France.
- Tower Bridge, as one of the five City bridges, is provided and
maintained at no cost to the taxpayer by the Bridge House Estates.
This ancient fund, whose sole trustee is the City of London
Corporation, was set up from tolls collected on the first London
Bridge. In addition to maintaining the bridges, its City Bridge
Trust grant-giving arm makes grants of ₤15m a year to charitable
projects benefiting Londoners. The City of London Corporation is
the elected body which looks after the Square Mile business and
financial district. As part of this role it supports the UK-based
financial services industry, provides local authority services and
policing for the Square Mile, and provides a number of special
services and facilities for wider London and the wider UK,
including the Barbican arts centre, Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest
and the Port Health Authority.
- GE has been operating in the UK since the 1930s. Today its
18,000 employees serve the energy, oil & gas, healthcare,
aerospace, financial and media industries. It has a strong and
continuing commitment to the UK economy, having invested £13bn in
its British businesses since 2001. GE’s 2009 UK revenues were £4bn.
From its 60 major locations, including 25 world-class manufacturing
and R&D facilities, GE delivers high-tech innovative solutions
to the global marketplace. Locations include London, Aberdeen,
Amersham, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Leicester, Nailsea and
Southampton.
- The EDF Group, one of the leaders in the energy market in
Europe, is an integrated energy company active in all businesses:
generation, transmission, distribution, energy supply and trading.
The Group is the leading electricity producer in Europe and has
around 170,000 employees. The Group generated consolidated sales of
€65.2 billion in 2010, of which 44.5% outside France. EDF is listed
on the Paris Stock Exchange and is a member of the CAC 40 index.
EDF is the official energy utilities partner and sustainability
partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. EDF Energy
is part of EDF Group and employs around 15,000 people at locations
across the UK. It is one of the UK’s largest energy companies and
the largest producer of low-carbon electricity, producing around
one-fifth of the nation's electricity from its nuclear, coal and
gas power stations, as well as combined heat and power plants and
wind farms. The company supplies gas and electricity to more than
5.5 million business and residential customers and is the biggest
supplier of electricity by volume in the UK. Through Our
Sustainability Commitments, EDF Energy has launched one of the
biggest environmental and social programmes of any British energy
company. The company is helping its customers and others use energy
more sustainably through products and initiatives such as Team
Green Britain, smart meters and electric vehicle
research.
For City of London Corporation and Tower Bridge queries, please
call Greg Williams (07889 167 205).