A-pealing.
To mark the first official day of the London 2012 Games, thousands of bells will ring out across the land this Friday 27 July.
Most impressively, Big Ben will chime continuously for three minutes, the first time it has broken its regular sequence since the funeral of George VI in 1952.
The aural spectacle, called simply All The Bells, is the conception of artist Martin Creed, and forms perhaps the noisiest part of the London 2012 Festival. It’s hoped the stunt will break the word record for simultaneous bell ringing, with people joining in all across the country.
The mass tintinnabulation takes place between 8.12am and 8.15am on Friday, and anyone can join in with bike bells, door bells, or anything else with a chime or bong.
Here’s an artist’s impression of what Big Ben will sound like.
BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG.
Image via the London 2012 Festival web site.
