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A tribute to mark the lives lost to coronavirus in London is due to be constructed on the site of Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced that a commemorative garden open to the public will be filled with 33 blossom trees at its centre, each tree representing one of the capital’s boroughs – symbolic of the city-wide impact of Covid-19. It is hoped that the park will give people the space to reflect on the thousands of lives lost, as well as the sacrifices made by London’s key workers.
The park’s design will include public benches designed by local artist Junior Phipps, and blossom has been chosen to decorate the garden to represent the season when London first went into lockdown. Eight different species of blossom tree will create three rings in the garden and will be forming a part of the National Trust’s spring blossom campaign that’s launching next year – the charity will aim to plant 20 million trees over the next decade.
‘This public garden of blossom trees will be a permanent reminder of the lives that have been lost, a tribute to every single key worker, and a symbol of how Londoners have stood together to help one another,’ said Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
Work on the garden – situated by the Timber Lodge café and Tumbling Bay children’s playground – will begin in early 2021.
St Paul’s Cathedral has started an online book of remembrance for the victims of coronavirus.