Volunteers and French artist Olivier Grossetête have rebuilt Coventry Cathedral in cardboard to mark the 85th anniversary of the 11-hour Blitz that began on 14 November 1940 and destroyed the medieval city centre. The 15m-tall installation, assembled using about 25km of tape and community workshops, will be lit overnight and deliberately dismantled to symbolise sudden loss. Commemorative events included guided walking tours, a candlelit service with wartime survivors, sirens and a two-minute silence.
Coventry's Cardboard Cathedral Rebuilt to Mark 85 Years Since the Blitz
Volunteers and French artist Olivier Grossetête have rebuilt Coventry Cathedral in cardboard to mark the 85th anniversary of the 11-hour Blitz that began on 14 November 1940 and destroyed the medieval city centre. The 15m-tall installation, assembled using about 25km of tape and community workshops, will be lit overnight and deliberately dismantled to symbolise sudden loss. Commemorative events included guided walking tours, a candlelit service with wartime survivors, sirens and a two-minute silence.
05:18 PM, 11/15/2025Culture
Volunteers recreate Coventry Cathedral in cardboard to commemorate the Blitz
Volunteers and artist Olivier Grossetête have recreated Coventry Cathedral from cardboard to mark the 85th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz. During an 11-hour raid that began overnight on 14 November 1940, German bombs devastated the city centre, killing hundreds and destroying the medieval cathedral.
The temporary installation stands about 15 metres (49 ft) tall and, Mr Grossetête said, will require roughly 25 km (15.5 miles) of tape to assemble. Teams from across the UK and around the world have helped pre-build components at Drapers Hall; the full structure is being erected from the ground up in Broadgate.
The finished cardboard cathedral will be illuminated overnight and then deliberately dismantled after 15:00 GMT on Sunday to symbolise the sudden loss of the original building during the raid. The project has emphasised community participation: workshops involving local residents and visitors were a central part of the installation's creation.
"All of the project is important, not just the result," Mr Grossetête said, highlighting the value of collective effort and remembrance.
Malkit Bhambra, a Coventry resident who assisted with the pre-build, said: "Having seen the ruins in the cathedral, it's amazing to rebuild it and to mirror what happened, and to remember all the people who lost their lives during the war."
Historian Ben Mayne, who grew up in nearby Nuneaton, is offering guided walking tours that highlight acts of bravery from the Blitz, including stories of nurses and young volunteers who aided the city during and after the raids. "What stands out for me is acts of heroism throughout," he said.
Separately, a candlelit service at the cathedral drew more than 1,000 people, including survivors of the Second World War. At 18:55, sirens sounded in the cathedral ruins to mark the moment the air raid began, followed by a two-minute silence.
"Some suggest we should move on and forget the events that this night commemorates. Instead we choose to use the events of the 14th and perhaps more importantly the 15th of November as a springboard for the future," said the Very Reverend John Witcombe, dean of Coventry Cathedral.
Ken Barber, who was five at the time of the Blitz, recalled seeing buildings in the city centre ablaze and emergency crews struggling to fight the fires. "The army was trying their best with the auxiliary fire service to try and put the flames out with no water," he said.
The project combines artistic remembrance with community engagement, aiming both to honour those who suffered and to involve new generations in the act of remembering.