Big Ben is the London landmark whose clock is traditionally linked with the midnight New Year’s Eve countdown.
Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell inside the Elizabeth Tower at the Palace of Westminster, although the name is often used for the tower and clock as a whole. Its deep hour strike is a familiar part of London’s public soundscape and is widely heard in New Year broadcasts.
The clock tower was completed in 1859 as part of Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin’s rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster after the old palace burned. The great bell weighs more than 13 tons, and the clock became one of Britain’s most recognizable symbols. Television coverage often pairs its midnight chimes with London fireworks over the River Thames.
Big Ben’s role should not be confused with the London Eye’s role: the Eye is a major fireworks landmark, while Big Ben supplies the iconic clock reference. Restoration work has sometimes limited the bell’s public ringing, so broadcast arrangements can vary by year.