Here’s something you don’t see every day — a man climbed up Big Ben’s Elizabeth Tower in London, causing a major scene that lasted more than 16 hours. It all started early Saturday morning, March 8, when the man scaled the famous tower at the Houses of Parliament around 7:24 a.m., according to Westminster Police.
He stayed up there the entire day and well past midnight, finally agreeing to come down early Sunday, March 9. The BBC reported that when he finally stepped off the building, he was arrested right away.
The climber, whose name hasn’t been released yet, appeared to be staging some kind of protest. Dressed all in black and barefoot, he waved two Palestinian flags — one of which he tied around part of the tower. He settled on a ledge several yards above the ground and refused to leave, even when emergency crews tried to talk him down.
Throughout the day, he told negotiators that he would only come down on his “own terms” and warned that if anyone tried to approach him, he’d climb even higher.
The standoff caused a lot of disruption in the area. Traffic around the Palace of Westminster came to a complete standstill, and authorities had to close Bridge Street and Westminster Bridge in both directions. Tours of the Houses of Parliament were also canceled for the day.
Emergency services, including the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service, were on hand to help manage the situation. After hours of careful negotiation and the use of a crane, the man finally agreed to step into a cherry picker and was safely brought down.
Once he reached the ground, police immediately took him into custody. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Westminster Police said the incident took so long because they had to ensure the safety of everyone involved — including their officers, the man, and the general public.
By the time everything wrapped up, roads were reopened, and life around Big Ben slowly went back to normal. But it’s safe to say that this was a day Londoners won’t forget anytime soon.
