Kids enjoy the inflatable Stonehenge in Central park

Stonehenge comes to East Ham

Kay Atwal, Chief Reporter Thursday, August 16, 2012
8:00 AM

Groups of people at a park could have been forgiven for thinking they were in the west country as a small corner of Newham resembled Stonehenge.

All was not, however, as it seemed as they were very firmly in East Ham, Central Park to be precsie which was hosting Sacrilege, the life-sized inflatable replica of Stonehenge by the Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller.

The replica appeared in the park as part of BT London Live and gave visitors a unique opportunity to walk, bounce and enjoy playing on the gigantic historical monument.

Sacrilege has already proven popular since it first appeared in London, attracting thousands of people on its tour of locations around the capital. The tour is part of the Mayor of London’s programme of free cultural events and attractions to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “You don’t have to be a specialist in ancient British history or an acolyte of the summer solstice ritual to be aware of the unending fascination that Stonehenge continues to inspire around the world.

“Jeremy Deller’s Sacrilege is a wonderfully witty, quite literal leap into that history and a fantastic example of the irreverence that are hallmarks of our great British humour and our incomparable artists.’ Not only it is a piece of art but a free and fun attraction, which I have no doubt will be a great hit with people visiting Victoria Park Live Site especially families seeking out summer holiday entertainment.”