Belgium's famous Menin Gate memorial to host first Armistice Day ceremony since 6m restoration

"On Armistice Day, on 11 November each year, Belgium stops for a ceremony broadcast live from the Menin Gate in Ypres. The monument is a "memorial to the missing", lined with more than 54,0000 names of First World War soldiers from across the British empire whose bodies were never found or identified. The poet Siegfried Sassoon termed it a "sepulchre of crime"."

"But for many decades, water has been slowly seeping into the structure, demanding a years-long restoration programme by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and Bressers Architects, which has been completed in time for this year's event. The 1927 gate is among a suite of 139 monuments and cemeteries across northern France and Belgium designated a multi-location World Heritage Site in 2023. Many of them are now a century old and in need of conservation."

"The monument's Euville limestone facings have been cleaned and its red brickwork repointed. Its ironwork balustrades, meanwhile, have been removed for refinishing, then reinstalled with subtle new fixings into the adjoining columns that allow for future periodic removal. The outer wall's brick leaf was coming away after repairs following Second World War damage and has been tied back. A new visitors centre has also been opened in a former shop opposite."

On Armistice Day, 11 November, Belgium holds a live ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres, a memorial bearing more than 54,000 names of missing First World War soldiers. Decades of water ingress required a complex, years-long restoration by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and Bressers Architects, completed in time for this year's event. The 1927 gate, designed by Reginald Blomfield, sits among 139 World Heritage monuments and cemeteries now needing conservation. A 2019 inspection found the arch structurally sound but suffering cracking and weathering. The €6m project was largely CWGC-funded with contributions from member states, the Flemish government and Ypres, and the restored gate was unveiled in July.

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