The Tower of London will be flooded with tens of thousands of blood-red poppies later this year, marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
More than five million people came to see Paul Cummins and Tom Piper's Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red instalment of over 888,000 ceramic poppies, which filled the Tower's moat in 2014. For the latest display — which runs from 6 May-11 November 2025 — almost 30,000 of the original poppies will be loaned from the Imperial War Museums' collection, and arranged to resemble a 'wound' at the heart of the Tower, from which the poppies will form a crater, with ripples flowing outwards.
The Tower of London itself sustained bomb damage during the Second World War, and one of its Beefeaters, Samuel Reeves — as well as a resident, Lily Frances Lunn — died when it took a direct hit.
Unlike 2014's display, this one is within the walls of the Tower of London (for which there's a hefty entrance fee), although a small section of the display will be visible to the public for free.
Says Tom Piper, who is again overseeing the installation: "The scale and impact of the 2014 installation could never be repeated, but we learned on the subsequent national tour of the Wave and Weeping Window.
"We hope that this new display will provide an opportunity to reflect on the impact of war not just on military personnel, but Londoners and people across the country. Once again, it will be installed in a place which is an enduring symbol of strength and survival, which has stood, wounded but resilient throughout London's turbulent history."
Poppies at the Tower of London, 6 May-11 November 2025
