Big Ben rings for Armistice Day after 5 years of repairs

Nov. 11 (UPI) -- The Great Bell of Big Ben in London rang to honor Armistice Day after being mostly silent during five years of renovation.

Per tradition, the keeper of the Great Clock and his team rang the bell at 11 a.m. Friday to mark 104 years since the armistice that ended WWI.

A $95 million renovation project left the Great Bell of the Great Clock of the Palace of Westminster, as Big Ben is officially known, mostly silent since 2017.

The clock mechanism and the mechanism that strikes the Great Bell were dismantled and moved off-site to be repaired and cleaned by specialists at the Cumbria Clock Company.

The Great Bell rang to mark Brexit, on New Year's Eve, and for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, but otherwise has remained silent, wrapped in scaffolding during renovations.

The Great Bell normally rings every hour on the hour and chimes every 15 minutes, playing the notes G-sharp, F-sharp, E and B.

The ringing of the Great Bell as part of the Armistice Day commemoration was broadcast live on BBC.

Big Ben is expected to return to its regular pattern on Sunday.