Millennium Bridge: The Bridge That Died on Screen

The Millennium Bridge is a steel pedestrian bridge across the River Thames in London that gained fame after closing two days after its June 2000 opening due to severe wobbling. On opening day, 90,000 people crossed the structure, but lateral vibrations caused by as few as 160 walkers forced its immediate closure. In March 2008, director David Yates filmed a Β£250,000 CGI collapse scene on the bridge for Harry Potter.

London Β· from the walk β€œMuggle London, Wizarding Secrets” Β· audio ~3 min Β· Generated

Millennium Bridge, London EC4V 3QB

Why did London's Millennium Bridge close two days after opening in 2000?

Look at this sleek, shimmering blade of steel stretching across the Thames. The Millennium Bridge was London's first new pedestrian bridge in over a century, and it was supposed to be a triumph... a symbol of a bold new era. Instead, it became one of the most spectacular engineering embarrassments in modern British history.......... It opened on the tenth of June, two thousand. Ninety Thousand people crossed it that day, with up to two thousand on the bridge at any one time. And then... something strange began to happen. The natural sway of people walking caused small sideways oscillations, which in turn forced everyone into step β€” increasing the amplitude and reinforcing the effect. The bridge began to Wobble. Pedestrians reported an "uncomfortable swaying motion," people were stumbling, grabbing the railings, feeling dizzy. Can you imagine? A brand new bridge... swaying beneath your feet like a living thing?......... Unexpected lateral vibration caused the bridge to be closed on the twelfth of June β€” just Two days after its grand opening. Scientists later calculated that as few as one hundred and sixty pedestrians could trigger the wobble. Despite a successful fix, the nickname "Wobbly Bridge" stuck among Londoners... and it stuck Forever.......... Now here's where the magic comes in. Director David Yates and his crew were planning the opening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. They revised the start of the film to show events described but not seen in the book. Yates thought it would give the audience a feel for what the Death Eaters were doing if they showed the Collapse of the Millennium Bridge rather than simply describe it. In J.K. Rowling's novel, it's a fictional Brockdale Bridge that falls. But the Millennium Bridge was used in place of the Brockdale Bridge in the film. The irony was delicious β€” a bridge that had Already humiliated itself by wobbling and buckling on opening day... now destroyed on screen by dark wizards.......... Filming took place at the Millennium Bridge in March two thousand eight. The production team created that dramatic collapse using impressive Cgi β€” and apparently this was the single most expensive scene filmed in the entire Harry Potter franchise, costing a whopping two hundred and fifty thousand pounds for a twenty-one second scene!......... And the film Changed this place. Locations like King's Cross Station and the Millennium Bridge became famous film spots. Harry Potter significantly boosted tourism in London β€” fans from around the world visit the city to see real-life film locations.......... But before you go, I have one more secret for you. Look Down at the bridge surface beneath your feet. Artist Ben Wilson can often be found here painting miniature works of art on discarded chewing gum. If you look closely at the grooves, you can discover up to four hundred tiny works of art. People come to Ben and tell him their stories β€” he transforms their thoughts into long-lasting marks of remembrance on meticulously worked chewing gum splats. A bridge that wobbled, a bridge that was destroyed on screen... and now, secretly, one of London's most unusual open-air galleries. The Millennium Bridge just keeps reinventing itself.

Nearby stories