National Covid Memorial Wall facts for kids
The National Covid Memorial Wall is a public mural painted by volunteers to commemorate victims of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Stretching a more than a third of a mile along the South Bank of the River Thames in London, opposite the Palace of Westminster, and just outside St Thomas' Hospital, the mural consists of thousands of red and pink hearts, intending to have one heart for each of the approximately 150,000 casualties of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom (at the time of the mural's commencement). The intent was for each heart to be "individually hand-painted; utterly unique, just like the loved ones we’ve lost". The mural was organized by campaign group COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, and painting first commenced in the week encompassing the end of March 2021.
Future of the mural
At present the mural is not considered finished, as the intent of volunteers is to continue to add hearts to match the UK's COVID-19 death toll, which continues to grow. Plans have been reported of using digital scanning technology to count the number of hearts currently on the wall.
While the original plan for the unauthorized mural included provision to clean the area after a period of time, some campaigners have argued that the mural should remain indefinitely as a permanent memorial. The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, had previously promised a "fitting and permanent" memorial to Covid dead after the conclusion of the pandemic.
Reactions
On 29 March 2021, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer visited the mural, which he described as a "remarkable memorial", before calling on Boris Johnson to visit the mural personally and engage with the families of the deceased.
Images for kids
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Section of the National Covid Memorial Wall, April 2021
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A section of the National Covid Memorial Wall in London
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One of the plaques identifying the National Covid Memorial Wall
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Red rose stuck to the wall with its stem within a small bag filled with water
See also
In Spanish: Muro Nacional Conmemorativo del Covid para niños
