Ding Dong: Ringing in the Olympics – 27 July 2012

Work No 1197: All the bells in a country rung as quickly and as loudly as possible for three minutes hardly sounds like the snappiest name for an artwork, but it is in fact pretty self-explanatory: the Turner Prize-winning artist and musical Martin Creed saw his vision for the nation to ring thousands of bells simultaneously, from Big Ben to bicycle bells, performed this morning. The country was woken, on the day of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony, by jubilant members of the population.

GOT THE TIME: St Luke's Church's clock tower at 8:12am this morning. (IMG_9671)

No one quite knows why the time of 8:12am was chosen, but I guess the stunt was initially scheduled for 8:12pm (aka 20:12), but somebody probably told the organisers everyone would be watching the proceedings unfold whether that be in the Stadium, at home, or at big-screen sites around the UK (including in Kidwells Park, Maidenhead).

On my way into work, I watched as my church’s bell rang.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOJhIQk0fWU]

Andrew Burdett

Andrew Burdett is a twenty-something from Maidenhead in Berkshire, working for ITV News.