London to Get Bombing Victims Memorial

LONDON – A permanent memorial to the victims of the 2005 bombings of three London subway trains and a bus will be built in Hyde Park, the government said Thursday.

The 350-acre park – already home to a memorial to Princess Diana – had been chosen because of its “prominence, history and central London location,” said Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell.

Four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters and wounded 700 during the morning rush hour on July 7, 2005.

The government had initially planned to build a monument to mark the attacks at Tavistock Square – where one of the blasts ripped apart a double-decker bus, killing 13 passengers.

A fund of $1.95 million has been set aside to pay for the memorial.

Jowell called the bombings “the worst terrorist atrocity London has ever seen.”

“A permanent memorial will provide a dignified and tranquil space for their friends and families – and the country – to remember them,” she said.

The government invited designers and landscape architects to submit proposals for the site, in the park’s Lovers’ Walk.

A group of representing the victims’ families said it would ensure “a suitable and fitting memorial is created to honor the lives of our loved ones.”