Giant Trafalgar Square taken down because of strong windds

The giant menorah erected in Trafalgar Square to mark Chanukah has had to be dismantled owing to strong winds over the weekend, forcing a change of plans to mark the Festival of Lights, City Hall has said.

The 10 metre-high menorah, which has become an annual fixture of London’s Chanukah festivities since 2007, could not be reinstalled in time for the first night of Chanukah on Wednesday “despite all efforts being made by all parties”, according to the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC).

In a statement, the JLC said it was “proud” to work alongside the Mayor of London each year to ensure the menorah “stands proudly” in the square.

This year, however, high wind speeds will “exceed the maximum permitted for the structure so the Chanukah had to be removed to ensure the safety of those in and around Trafalgar Square.”

The words “Happy Chanukah” will instead be projected on to Nelson’s Column in the square this year and a smaller menorah, standing 3.7 metres high, will be put up to mark the beginning of the eight-day holiday, which begins on Christmas Day.

London mayor Sadiq Khan welcomed the holiday amid “difficult times” in the Middle East, according to the BBC, and condemned the unprecedented levels of antisemitism recorded across the capital in the last 15 months.

The Community Security Trust (CST) recorded 1,978 antisemitic incidents across the UK in the first half of 2024, the highest total ever reported in the first six months of any year. This is compared to 964 incidents recorded by CST in the first six months of 2023.

Khan said: "I stand with our Jewish communities today and all days to say that antisemitism has absolutely no place in our city."

Russell Langer, the JLC’s director of public affairs, previously told the JC that having a large menorah “in Trafalgar Square, the heart of London, the capital of the country, next to the Christmas tree, is a symbol of how Jews in Britain are proud to show their religion and proud to celebrate in public.”

Alongside the mayor of London and the JLC, the menorah is sponsored by the London Jewish Forum and Chabad UK.