Tower of London poppies: Tens of thousands of people flock to see installation in its final days
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Version 0 of 1. Tens of thousands of people flocked to the Tower of London today to catch the final days of an installation commemorating the First World War, which has seen the monument's lawn gradually fill with poppies. The incredible response to 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ also saw a boost in visitors to the Tower itself, with people queuing in unusually high temperatures for several hours outside the iconic building. A spokesman for the palace has since urged people not to visit the Tower until after half-term, or to visit outside of opening hours before 10am, according to the Evening Standard. 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 newspaper. And police officers were drafted in to direct pedestrians to the palace from Tower Hill Underground Station, which closed due to overcrowding. The installation will be completed on Armistice Day, when the 888,246th ceramic flower will be planted into the lawn by a volunteer. Each poppy symbolises the life of a solider from Britain or the Commonwealth lost in WWI – emphasising the tragic loss of life the conflict caused. The flowers, which each took three days to make and cost artist Paul Cummins a finger, have all been sold for charity and will be plucked from the ground and sent to buyers when the exhibit closes. The sale is expected to raise £11.2 million for charities which serve British veterans, including Help for Heroes and The Royal British Legion. |