and that is what they ve been repainted in. this restoration project was originally budgeted at £29 million. the total bill is now set to exceed 80 million. as you peel off the layers of this building, you find more and more that needs to be done. when we re taking out one piece of stain, adjacent stains often needed to be replaced. it s one of those things, until you can get up close to it, it s very difficult to see the scope of repair. the pandemic also brought work to a halt for several months, so the tower s been covered up for longer than expected. it s sad that i can t see it, you know just, we re here for one night and then. big ben s, like, covered. yeah, it s covered. we ve been here for two years. we haven t seen it open. it looks ugly, doesn t it? yeah, no, we need it back. i mean, already, you can kind of see the restoration. with the clock mechanism out of action, a computerised system has meant that, on special occasions, big ben has still been struck. we re standing
and that is what they ve been repainted in. this restoration project was originally budgeted at £29 million. the total bill is now set to exceed 80 million. as you peel off the layers of this building, you find more and more that needs to be done. when we re taking out one piece of stain, adjacent stains often needed to be replaced. it s one of those things, until you can get up close to it, it s very difficult to see the scope of repair. the pandemic also brought work to a halt for several months, so the tower s been covered up for longer than expected. it s sad that i can t see it, you know just, we re here for one night and then. big ben s, like, covered. yeah, it s covered. we ve been here for two years. we haven t seen it open. it looks lovely, doesn t it? it looks ugly, doesn t it? yeah, no, we need it back. i mean, already, you can kind of see the restoration. with the clock mechanism out of action, a computerised system has meant that, on special occasions, big ben has still
up to its original colour. one of the most striking things you notice is the colour of the clock faces. for many years, the minute demarcations, the numbers and the clock hands were painted black. but during the refurbishment, as many layers of paint were stripped away, it became clear that they were originally this shade of blue it s called prussian blue and that is what they ve been repainted in. this restoration project was originally budgeted at £29 million. the total bill is now set to exceed 80 million. as you peel off the layers of this building, you find more and more that needs to be done. when we re taking out one piece of stain, adjacent stains often needed to be replaced. it s one of those things, until you can get up close to it, it s very difficult to see the scope of repair. the pandemic also brought work to a halt for several months, so the tower s been covered up for longer than expected. it s sad that i can t see it, you know just, we re here for one night and