When do the clocks go back? Big Ben prepares for first change in five years

The UK's astir celebrated timepiece volition beryllium enactment backmost to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) this play for the archetypal clip since 2017.

The Great Clock of Westminster, wide but unofficially known arsenic Big Ben, volition beryllium changed by parliamentary mechanics successful the aboriginal hours of Sunday.

It has been mostly soundless for 5 years, aft it was dismantled and repaired successful a renovation project.

Clocks crossed the UK volition spell backmost an hr astatine 02:00 connected Sunday, offering galore radical an other 60 minutes successful bed.

If you were expecting a spectacle of Big Ben's hands being coiled back, you volition beryllium disappointed.

That is not going to hap - instead, it volition beryllium manually paused, with lights connected the 4 timepiece faces turned off.

The lights volition travel backmost connected later, erstwhile close clip volition beryllium displayed.

"This is truthful radical looking up bash not wonderment wherefore the hands are going circular and get confused," said timepiece mechanic Alex Jeffrey.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said the clip alteration would "herald a caller beginning" for the iconic London landmark.

He hailed the squad down the scenes, which volition enactment for 24 hours to guarantee each 2,000 timepieces crossed parliament are changed successful time.

While astir of america are tucked up successful bed, they volition beryllium "clocking up 8 miles (13 km) changing our parliamentary clocks," Sir Lindsay said.

This autumn, the clocks spell backmost by 1 hr astatine 02:00 on Sunday 30 October.

The clocks are moving from British Summer Time (BST) - besides known arsenic Daylight Saving Time (DST) oregon GMT+1 - to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Well, according to BBC Bitesize, "during World War One, the German service turned the clocks guardant arsenic a mode of conserving energy. Many (but not all) European governments followed suit soon afterwards - including the UK."

The overhaul task - which saw the Big Ben doorbell silenced for each but a prime fig of occasions implicit the past 5 years - was ordered to restore, repair and conserve parts of the timepiece and operation damaged by pollution, asbestos and earthy deterioration and tear.

The Elizabeth Tower that houses that timepiece was yet escaped of its scaffolding successful April this year. At that constituent the timepiece hands were restored, truthful Londoners and visitors alike could erstwhile again look up to cheque the time.

The enactment was owed to beryllium completed successful 2021, but its decorativeness was delayed due to the fact that of the coronavirus pandemic.

Members of the nationalist volition beryllium capable to sojourn Big Ben from adjacent year.