London's Tower Bridge will be illuminated with LED technology for the Olympic Games

The architecture of one of the most important symbols of the city of London, Tower Bridge, will be visible at night during the next Olympic Games thanks to the installation carried out by GE Lighting and Citelum, specially designed for architectural lighting.

Tower Bridge is so integrated into the urban geography and collective subconscious of the City of London landscape that it seems it has always been there., over the river Thames. Now, GE Lighting (General Electric) and its UK partner EDF (Electricity of France) have installed a wiring system with LED technology to illuminate the bridge 240 meters long and turning it into one of the most emblematic points of the city during the celebration of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012. During the 45 days of the Games held this summer, the bridge will reflect the Olympic rings, achieving an enormous visual impact with the purpose of marking the cultural wealth of the capital of the British Empire. This will be the first time that London Bridge shows its architectural details at night.

The new bridge lighting has been installed by the French company Citelum, who has designed the lighting of monuments such as the Eiffel Tower, the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt, and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The new system is designed to improve the architectural features of the old bridge. 117 years. Multicolor LED bulbs, variable intensity, will illuminate the Gothic-style granite and stone towers of the Victorian bridge, as well as the aerial walkway and the hanging chains.

It is a system planned to be used during the next 25 years that will help reduce by 40% the amount of energy needed. The lamps provide GE LED technology, which allows several color tones which Citelum has taken advantage of to mix many of the colors of variable intensity. Las luces pueden adaptarse a una variedad de necesidades arquitectónicas, undoubtedly exalting the Victorian Gothic style architecture of the towers, and highlighting the beautiful texture of the stones throughout the bridge.

Remodeling project

Phil Marshall, presidente-CEO de GE Lighting EMEA, has explained: “The LED solution has been recommended for two reasons: firstly because it is a change to ecological lighting; The overall project will help reduce the energy consumption used to illuminate the bridge by a 40% compared to the previous system”. Marshall adds that the other main factor is “the quality of the light.”. The use of white LEDs reveals the true color of the stone and accentuates the beauty of the metal. Using our Tetra Contour solution provides flexibility in two ways: because it can be bent and adapted to the shapes and flexibility necessary to achieve the performance and energy efficiency required”.

The flexibility of the lighting design will allow the bridge to be transformed into a centerpiece for other celebrations and special events, like the celebrations that have taken place 2 al 5 June to commemorate the 60 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, and for the New Year holidays.