Smiles, laughter, flags flying, a three-minute cacophony of tinkles, dings & dongs, ringtones, bicycle bells, woks, toy bells, silver bells, alarm clocks and egg-timers along with TV cameras, bemused sound engineers and commuters threading their way through (and joining in): we had a great time on the Millennium Bridge yesterday.
Thank you everyone for participating!
The London Evening Standard reported 150 people ringing bells for the Olympic Truce and Millennium Development Goals with the London Peace Network yesterday. We were part of Martin Creed’s Work No 1197, All The Bells.
Hearing about the event through the Olympic Truce Facebook group (now 11 thousand strong with members across the globe), Kostas Hatzis came over from the Netherlands, wearing his national Greek costume.
Willi Lemke, UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, addressed and encouraged us and Toaha Qureshi MBE read inspiring salutations from the International Olympic Truce Centre.
We are honoured that Dr Constantinos Filis, the Director of the IOTC, has invited supporters of the Olympic Truce to meet him while he is in London.
Afterwards, we wondered if the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, would like a bell that was rung on the Bridge. This would demonstrate the commitment of Londoners from many different communities to turning the ideal of the Olympic Truce into a living reality.
Geetha Maheshwaran kindly donated one of the bells which she and her son had rung on the bridge and which came from the Shree Ghanapathy Temple.
Watch the film and see what happened.
Did you make the director’s cut (thank you PL Robertson for filming us)? Do you have your own photos to add? Send them in.
London Peace Network 
Fantastic stuff – what an amazing sound, and amazing group people!
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An inspiring event, briliantly organized. Glad to hear Ban appreciated his bell, let’s hope it inspires him too.
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He has an unenviable task and I hope the gift of the bell reminds him of the desires of many different grassroots communities for peace.
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Thank you for organizing such a wonderful morning! It was the first time I’d been on the Millennium Bridge, even though I’ve lived in London all my life, and on such a beautiful morning too! The joy of ringing those bells together was seen on the faces of all who took part. And the conversations after this shared experience were truly inspiring and thought provoking.
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I agree, it was good to enjoy the company of so many others – and for a good cause. London is such a difficult place to get people together! But this seemed to work – and I liked the smiles, too.
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Well done for getting the film made and posting it so quickly. I spotted myself a few times
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Well done, pulling us all together and taking it through right to the UN Secretary-General. It was a great success and a joy to take part.
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Thank you David for bringing a wealth of experience, your UNA colleagues, the Olympic Truce flag and the wonderful badges which you can see everyone wearing.
From the Olympic Truce Facebook page, it’s clear that many more people around the world were with us in spirit.
I hope Ban Ki-moon remembers the hopes (and the support) of many across the globe as he goes about his work. Building strong relationships between the decision makers and grassroots communities is vital.
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Loved it. Couldn’t be there myself but rang my bell from my front doorstep in solidarity – and got a few odd looks from passers-by! Great you were able to make the film. Good to see such a joyful diverse crowd including lots of young people.
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We were there with our bell and windchime and UN flag. It was a wonderful event; unfotunately we have not seen any reports in the press.
We also participated, representing the first 51 countries which formed the UN in May 1945, commemorating the first meeting of the UN at the Central Methodist Hall and Presentation of Ambassadors’ Letters in Support of the Olympic Truce.. David did a brilliant job- thank you David.
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