UK's global Holocaust Memorial competition now accepting Expressions of Interest

Britain may soon have its own national memorial dedicated to Holocaust victims and survivors. Prime Minister Theresa May recently announced the official launch of the United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial international competition, which was initially conceived by the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation. The winning team will design the new Holocaust Memorial and a below-ground public Learning Centre located beside Parliament in London's Victoria Tower Gardens. Plans for the memorial competition were first revealed by former Prime Minister David Cameron this past January.

“It is right that we have agreed this National Memorial, next to Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens,” Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement. “This will ensure that there will be opportunities for young people and others to learn the lessons of the Holocaust and the appalling atrocities that took place.”

Read on for more.

Teams must first submit initial expressions of interest by October 17, 2016 at 2 p.m. Shortlisted teams will then be asked to submit designs for the National Memorial and the Learning Centre for jury evaluation. Finalist entries will be exhibited in central London starting next January, and will also be available online so that anyone can provide feedback. Finally, the winning team is expected to be announced in summer 2017. The UK government has put aside £50 million as its contribution toward the project.

“[The project] will shape how our children, and our children’s children find out about what happened during the Shoah and understand the importance of joining together to ensure it never happens again,” Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis stated. Competitors will need to “create a sacred space for reflection, but also a place for learning in which people can take real meaning from history.”

Read more about the competition in the link below.