New stretch target
Sparkle and Shine!
With £15,000, we can make the illuminations even more spectacular! We'll be speaking to our lighting designer about adding additional effects such as projections, additional colours and more laser effects.
For one very special night in Spring 2021, help us to illuminate the Clifton Suspension Bridge with vibrant colour!
by Clifton Suspension Bridge Visitor Centre in Leigh Woods, England, United Kingdom
Sparkle and Shine!
With £15,000, we can make the illuminations even more spectacular! We'll be speaking to our lighting designer about adding additional effects such as projections, additional colours and more laser effects.
When the Visitor Services team at Clifton Suspension Bridge were asked if we'd like to hold a Crowdfunder as part of the #SupportOurMuseums campaign, we thought we ought to take the opportunity to do something a little bit different that would lift the spirits of everyone in Bristol. With your help, we plan to spread joy across the city by illuminating the bridge in Spring 2021 with a colour chosen by you, our supporters.
We're used to hosting tours of the bridge, giving talks and lectures and providing educational activities for schools - and although we often participate in city-wide events like Walkfest, Doors Open Day and Harbour Festival, illuminating the bridge safely and ensuring that everyone can enjoy the spectacle in a Covid-secure way will be an exciting challenge for our small team!
Our intention is to create a special moment to surprise and delight the people of Bristol. Although we light the bridge every evening with our signature white LEDs, we very rarely have the opportunity to light the bridge in colour. The 156-year-old bridge is a Grade I listed building with a roadway which must remain safe for cyclists and motor vehicles. Planning and delivering illuminations is a complex undertaking which requires bringing in specialist lighting equipment.
We can only achieve this with your support - and for the first time ever we'd like you to help us decide which hue to choose! By selecting your favourite colour option when you pledge, you'll be creating another incredible and memorable moment in the history of the bridge and helping us to keep showing the world why Clifton Suspension Bridge is such a special landmark!
Greening the Bridge in March 2020. Image © Tourism Ireland
Illuminations have always played a significant role in the enjoyment of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. As part of the opening ceremony on 8th December 1864, the bridge was illuminated using state of the art electric lighting, limelight and magnesium lighting. (Unfortunately, the wind was very strong and repeatedly extinguished the magnesium flares to the disappointment of the crowds.)
Illuminations marking the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Image © Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust
The bridge was subsequently illuminated with electric lights on its chains (and also sometimes with fireworks) for the following occasions:
In 1967 a more permanent lighting system was installed on the bridge, but due to cost it was only lit during the summer months and on special occasions including Christmas and Easter. There was great difficulty with theft of the bulbs!
By 1979-1980 a new lighting scheme had been installed, and the bridge was festooned with 4,200 25w filament lamps. This system presented difficult health and safety issues when trying to replace lamps on the rods and chains.
The illuminations seen here in the 1960s draped the hangers of the Bridge and are remembered fondly by many. Image © Mike Crozier
By 1991 the system had reached the end of its useful life and was replaced by tiny incandescent lamps contained that traced the outline of the bridge towers, chains, rods, abutments and the tollhouses. That system suffered problems of corrosion, lamp failure and pecking by birds. The current permanent illuminations were installed in 2005/06, providing an award-winning energy-efficient display.
Museums change lives. They increase our sense of wellbeing, help us feel proud of where we have come from, inspire, challenge and stimulate us, and make us feel healthier. They help us understand the past and face the challenges of the future. And they need the support of communities now more than ever.
Like many galleries and museums, our Visitor Centre was hit financially by the coronavirus crisis. Although we have been able to reopen, we lost 6 months of business over the summer and missed out on welcoming 60,000 visitors to our exhibition. Tours, talks and school visits were cancelled, our volunteer shifts were cancelled, and we had to invest in new furniture and equipment in order to open our doors once again.
By supporting this project, as well as illuminating the bridge you will also be helping to keep our Visitor Services team active so that we can continue researching and sharing the history of our bridge, sharing incredible images from our archive collection, telling the stories of the men who 'walked the chains' and inspiring the next generation of problem solvers through our education programme. Thank you.
Visitors at the Bridge
As a charity, the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust receives no local or national government funding. All of the money raised from tolls must go directly to maintaining and preserving the historic Bridge to the highest standards, whilst our Visitor Centre and public programmes are funded entirely by your donations, ticket sales and sales from the Visitor Centre shop.
Select any reward offered and you'll be asked to vote on the colour of the bridge illuminations when you make a pledge. You can tell us more about your choice in the comments if you would like, whether that's because you'd like to see the bridge lit in your favourite hue, or because the colour represents a cause you are passionate about. We can't see how anyone has voted until the Crowdfunder has closed, so we will be just as excited as you to find out which colour has been chosen!
In addition to this,
For further questions or comments about the project, please email [email protected].
This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.