Reuters reports that a new attraction may soon appear in London. The London Tunnels company plans to open the tunnels to the public by 2027, where residents of the British capital hid from bombing during World War II. If the project is implemented, the extensive network of underground passages will become the city's largest attraction.
The tunnels are 1.6 km long. They are located in the center of London under the old Holborn Street. These shelters began to be dug manually in late 1940, when the city was subjected to daily bombings as part of Operation Blitz. However, they were never used to protect the population. While construction was underway, Londoners took refuge from air raids in the subway.
In 1944, the tunnels were used as the headquarters of the British intelligence service. In the 1950s and 1960s, a telephone exchange operated underground. There was a bar and a canteen for its employees in the tunnels, which have been partially preserved to this day.
The tunnels now represent an entire underground city with labyrinths of old generators, pipes and rusty bolts. The director of The London Tunnels plans to turn the tunnels into a "Blitz memorial" that can simultaneously function as a museum, exhibition and entertainment space. The project to create a new attraction was approved by the authorities last year.
The company plans to attract about three million visitors annually, which is comparable to the popularity of the famous London Eye Ferris wheel.
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