National Covid Memorial Wall

The National Covid Memorial Wall is a 500-metre-long mural covered in 245,000+ individually painted hearts, each representing a life lost to COVID-19 in the UK.

Started in March 2021, this public mural is maintained by a volunteer organisation, the Friends of the Wall. Every Friday the group gathers to maintain the hundreds of thousands of hearts that stretch across the wall between Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Bridge. Behind the wall is the St Thomas’ Hospital complex, one of the biggest hospitals in London.

Each individual heart represents a person who died in the UK with COVID-19 on their death certificate, and the group continues to add hearts to mark people who have recently died due to COVID-19.

Lovingly maintained, the wall is a vivid reminder of the dramatic loss of life that was suffered in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. The wall continues to be a powerful place of remembrance for bereaved families who are invited to leave messages for their loved ones in the hearts and to find comfort in their grief alongside others who share similar experiences.

Notably, the wall faces the terraces of the Houses of Parliament that sit directly opposite across the river, acting as a potent reminder to members of parliament about the potentially devastating impacts of pandemics.

Although originally created spontaneously, the wall's enduring status has been supported by the local council, as well as by members of government.

Leave a dedication

If you have lost a loved one to COVID-19 in the UK, visitors to the Wall are welcome to add their own dedication within an empty heart. It is asked that only one heart is taken for a dedication, as each heart represents one UK life lost.

Those who are unable to visit the wall in person, can request the Friends of the Wall to add a dedication for them.  Volunteers will photograph the dedication and record the location so that you can visit it at a future point when able to do so. Find out more about how to leave a dedication and how to support the ongoing work of the volunteer Friends of the Wall group here.

* For step-free access, head towards the London Eye, then keep the river on your right and use the underpass under Westminster Bridge Road.