Covid: Special kites flown in Bristol for people who died

The event took place on the Clifton Downs in Bristol

Kites with the faces of people who died during the coronavirus pandemic were flown in a special event in Bristol over the weekend.

Dozens of people took part in the memorial project by artist Luke Jerram on the Clifton Downs on Saturday - which was the fourth anniversary of the first UK lockdown.

At the start of 2024, people were asked to contribute photographs of someone they had lost during the pandemic who they wanted to remember.

Family and friends used black and white portraits sewn on to around 20 colourful kites.

Around 20 kites were in flight

Black and white portraits were sewn onto the kites

More than 230,000 people have died from the coronavirus disease in the UK since February 2020.

Stephanie Cooper, whose dad died from a cancer battle during the pandemic, said: "When he died we could not have a wake, we could not have celebrated him in the way we would have done.

"This is the first opportunity to come together as a family to fly him in the air, and celebrate who he is and who he was."

Teresa's dad died in November 2020, she said they could not celebrate his life when the country was under "really strict restrictions".

"His life would have needed a lot of celebrating as that is what he would have wanted, and we were unable to do it," she said.

"So it is nice to come here and have a bit of a laugh because he would have enjoyed that."

Luke Jerram organised the project on the Clifton Downs

Family and friends gathered to remember their lost loved ones

The project, called Ascension, was created by Stroud-born Mr Jerram to commemorate the anniversary in a creative way.

He said: "The idea just came to me really that we could commemorate that with kites with imagery of people on them.

"There is something quite poetic about kites in the way they connect the earth to the sky, and also the idea of seeing people flying in the heavens.

"It seemed to make sense and I am really glad the way this art project has worked out."

Ian Garrett, whose father died in the first wave of pandemic, said: "Although it is a sombre occasion there has been a lot of laughter and joy in marking this occasion too."

Mr Jerram has a long history of creating much talked about art, including placing a giant water slide on Park Street in the centre of Bristol in 2014.

Holly Johnson releases a kite with a picture of her father Dave Johnson