Those who enter Leicester Square from Piccadilly come across a collection of colourful shields mounted high on a pole together with a 30 foot tall “Glockenspiel”. There are 26 shields each representing a canton of Switzerland. The Glockenspiel comprises a clock plus a set of 27 bells, together with figures of Swiss alpine character. These were both installed in 2011 as a replacement for the original Glockenspiel. The original was mounted onto the Square’s ”Swiss Centre” building in 1985 as a gift from the people of Switzerland and Lichtenstein but it had to be removed when the Swiss Centre was demolished in 2008.
Seven days a week, on the hour [ most hours- see programme in photo below] between 12:00 noon and 20:00 hours, the Glockenspiel rings out a tune while the characters rotate as though in procession up an alpine valley. Many stop in admiration and – as undoubtedly intended – give a thought to visiting Switzerland.
John's World View 