105156 - National Covid Memorial Wall (Design and Build)

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) is undertaking a Market Engagement exercise under the Procurement Act 2023 to support the development of a Design & Build for the potential Tender for the long-term preservation of the National Covid Memorial Wall. The exact procurement process is yet to be defined. However, we anticipate the outcome of the process will be a physical construction project.

The site of the National Covid Memorial spans a 500-metre, Grade II-listed, 19th-century river wall along the Albert Embankment, featuring approximately 250,000 hand-painted red hearts created by bereaved families.

Site and Policy Context

The National Covid Memorial Wall is a series of approximately 250,000 hand-painted hearts on a 500-metre stretch of a Grade II-listed boundary wall along the Albert Embankment opposite the Houses of Parliament. The Wall is a visual representation of all the individuals who died in the UK from COVID-19 and is significant due to its scale, striking red colour, and the fact that it was created by bereaved families for bereaved families.

As part of the Government Response to the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration, the Government committed to work alongside the Friends of the Wall and local partners to support the long-term preservation of the National Covid Memorial Wall as a national memorial to the lives lost to COVID-19.

The Wall continues to provide a space for reflection, remembrance, and grieving for all those who lost a loved one to COVID-19 and serves as a reminder to the country of the scale of loss.