Big Ben will bong on New Year’s Eve for Brexit and the end of 2020

Big Ben is to be reconnected in time to ring in the new year, House of Commons authorities said.

The iconic bell will also bong at 11pm on New Year’s Eve to mark the moment the UK leaves the European Union’s single market and customs union.

It will also chime at midnight to welcome 2021.

The bell, which weighs 13.7 tonnes, last rang on November 11 to mark Armistice Day.

This year Londoners have been urged to stay away from Westminster on New Year’s Eve due to coronavirus restrictions.

The bell will be tested in the days leading up to New Year’s Eve to ensure it can produce its 12 bongs when the clock strikes midnight.

New Year 2020 celebrations around the world - In pictures

1/22

One of the tests will be an hour before midnight, which coincides with the end of the Brexit transition period.

Before the pandemic, Brexiteers tried and ultimately failed to get the bell to ring in the moment the UK left the European Union on January 31.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in