During the pandemic, the tourism sector has declined considerably and has affected iconic places for the london city tourism. This is the case of the Cathedral of San Pablo. Cathedral could close its doors permanently, since its main income depend on tourists who buy their tickets, and due to the health crisis, visits have dropped drastically.
St Paul’s Cathedral faces its worst financial crisis in almost 300 years, after the cathedral was forced to close during the 2020 lockdowns, which caused its income to drop by 90%, according to the BBC. Maintenance and operating costs amount to 8 million pounds a year. However, despite not being enough to cover the costs, the cathedral receives 3 million pounds from the British Government’s culture recovery fund.
The building’s reverend and dean, David Ison, commented in an interview for the BBC that important decisions had to be made. In addition to the annual expenses, the surveyor of the cathedral’s structure, Oliver Caroe, notes that the building is “rotting”. “To this day, my team has to patch, seal the gaps and place buckets of water under the roof, as there are cracks and leaks. We also have to cover the plastic objects. This can’t be held for much longer“Says Caroe.
The cathedral is located at the highest point in London: Ludgate Hill. The building stands at the center of British religious and architectural history since it was founded centuries ago. The structure, the architect’s work Christopher Wren, has remained intact for almost 400 years.
Monument for the victims of covid in the Cathedral of San Pablo
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson supported the campaign for the building a monument in the cathedral pTo commemorate the deaths caused by COVID-19. “Like many, I was deeply moved when I visited the memorial wall in front of Parliament, and I wholeheartedly support the plan for the construction of a monument in St. Paul’s Cathedral, which will provide a suitable place of reflection in the heart of our capitaHim, ”Johnson pointed out. For this project, it was carried out an initiative to raise 2.3 million pounds to be able to carry it out. The memorial structure has been designed by Oliver Caroe, who lost his mother to Covid-19 last year.
The monument is expected to provide a quiet place for visitors to remember loved ones. The cathedral has awarded a book so that families and friends can register names of those who died from the pandemic. The space will be open to people of all faiths.
–
