/ 26 June 2012

Big Ben to be renamed after Queen Elizabeth

The landmark Big Ben tower adjoining the Houses of Parliament will be renamed "Elizabeth Tower" to mark Queen Elizabeth's 60th year on the throne.
Britain's economy will lose about £22 billion ($29 billion, 24 billion euros) this year on the coronavirus-induced collapse of global travel, which could imperil three million jobs, an industry body forecast Wednesday.
The announcement, made by a parliamentary official on Tuesday, followed four days of celebrations earlier this month to mark the 86-year-old queen’s Diamond Jubilee, only the second to be celebrated by a British monarch.
 
“The House of Commons [Parliament] commission welcomed the proposal to rename the clock tower Elizabeth Tower in recognition of Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and will arrange for this decision to be implemented in an appropriate manner in due course,” a House of Commons spokesperson said.
 
The ornate, 96m high neo-Gothic tower features four gilded clockfaces, and was completed in 1859. The tower took its name Big Ben from the giant bell inside, which chimes the famous bongs heard around London’s Whitehall government district.
 
“I think it is a fitting tribute to the Queen and the service she has given to our country in this jubilee year,” Prime Minister David Cameron’s spokesperson quoted the prime minister as saying. – Reuters