2023-12-31 11:03:12
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It is one of the most famous sounds in the world. It will be a hundred years at midnight on New Year’s Eve that the “Bong” of Big Ben, in London, will resonate to announce the new year.
France Télévisions – Culture Editorial
Published on 12/31/2023 12:03
Reading time: 2 min The bell of Big Ben, in London, December 31, 2023. (ISABEL INFANTES / AFP)
For a hundred years now, the iconic sound of Big Ben, which rings out at midnight sharp to announce the New Year, has been broadcast live on the BBC, being heard well beyond London. On December 31, 1923, as midnight approached, BBC engineer AG Dryland climbed onto a roof opposite the British Parliament with a microphone to record Big Ben to mark the change to 1924.
Enthusiastic
Since then, the “bong” has been broadcast live. It will sound during the night from Sunday to Monday at midnight sharp on Radio 4, BBC radio. This deep, serious sound is broadcast twice a day on Radio 4, at 6 p.m. and midnight, and also at 10 p.m. on Sundays.
While London celebrates New Year’s Eve, Andrew Strangeway, a watch mechanic, will be at the top of the Elizabeth Tower, which measures 96 meters and houses Big Ben and four other bells. Along with his two watchmaking colleagues, the 37-year-old will carry out last-minute checks to ensure the clock is “correct to within a few fractions of a second“.
Fourteen tons
Big Ben sits at the top of the Elizabeth Tower – the new name given to the “Clock Tower” in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II – which was built in the 1840s.
The bell weighs nearly 14 tons. Before the renovation, watchmakers checked the accuracy of the time with telephones. Now the clock is calibrated by GPS thanks to the National Physical Laboratory. But the method for adjusting the time remains very traditional: old coins are used to add or remove weight from the gigantic springs of the clock, allowing a second to be gained or lost.
“It’s a fantastic job“, says Mr. Strangeway enthusiastically. When he walks through London, he cannot help but look up at Big Ben, and congratulate himself that “yes, it still works“.
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