Sir Terry Wogan Raises Tower Bridge
Published: 15 December 2009
Sir Terry Wogan raised Tower Bridge and received the Freedom of
the City of London today (Monday 14 December) to mark his final
week as the presenter of Wake Up to Wogan, on BBC Radio 2.
Sir Terry was invited by the City of London Corporation, which
owns Tower Bridge, to raise the two 1100-tonne bascules this
morning at 11.15am to allow the Thames Sailing Barge, S.B. Will, to
pass underneath the Bridge and along the river Thames.
During the bridge lift, Sir Terry made a series of announcements
over the Bridge’s tannoy system to warn road traffic, pedestrians
and technical staff about its imminent closure and reopening.
After the bridge lift, he and his guests were driven to Mansion
House, where Sir Terry was given the Freedom of the City of London
by Chris Bilsland, the Chamberlain of London. His two sponsors were
Lord Mayor Nick Anstee and Stuart Fraser, City of London Policy
Chairman. Afterwards, the Lord Mayor and the Chamberlain hosted a
private lunch at Mansion House for Sir Terry and his guests.