Cardboard cathedral built as city remembers Blitz

By Gbam Godwin On Nov 16, 2025

Cardboard cathedral built as city remembers Blitz.

BBC A man and two women stand arm-in-arm in front of a cardboard pyramid covered in plastic in a city square. The man, on the left, has a blue high-vis vest and a black waterproof jacket. He is wearing glasses and has short brown hair. The woman in the centre had a tie-dye navy jumper on and shoulder-length light-brown hair. To her right is a woman in a yellow high-vis jacket with a green woolly hat and tinted glasses. Other volunteers can be seen in the background and beyond that are shops and restaurants/ — Volunteers James Padvis, Debby Cuneo and Deb Peretz are helping with the build

Volunteers are celebrating the 85th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz by reconstructing the cathedral out of cardboard.

Over 11 hours overnight on November 14, 1940, German bombs rained down on the city, killing hundreds, razing its mediaeval heart, and destroying the cathedral.

Artist Olivier Grossetête stated that 25km (15.5 miles) of tape will be used for the 15m-tall (49.2ft) cardboard building, and he hoped that inclement weather would not dissuade volunteers from coming to assist.

The masterpiece will then be lit overnight and burned on Sunday after 15:00 GMT to commemorate the cathedral’s unexpected loss during the bombing.

Volunteers from all around the world have begun assembling the components of the installation, which will be created from the ground up in Broadgate on Saturday.

Mr Grossetête stated that bringing the community together through workshops was a crucial element of the process. “All of the project is important, not just the result,” he told me.

People are using cardboard to create various structures which will be part of the finished work. Many have gloves and they are working in pairs. The large room is full of stacked-up boxes.

Malkit Bhambra of Coventry said she has been helping with the pre-build at Drapers Hall since Monday.

“Having seen the ruins in the cathedral, it’s amazing to see that we can build it up again and replicate what happened and also to remember all the people who lost their lives during the war,” she told me.

A woman standing in front of a large art installation in a square made from lots of small cardboard boxes. She is wearing a yellow high-vis jacket, a navy waterproof coat, gloves and a black woolly hat. She has brown shoulder-length curly hair and is smiling broadly. Behind her, others in high-vis vests can be seen working on the structure, which is covered with a see-through plastic tarpaulin.

Historian Ben Mayne, who grew up in Nuneaton, will lead walking tours on Saturday that highlight stories of bravery during the Blitz, including those from local nurses and young volunteers.

“What stands out for me is acts of heroism throughout,” he told me.

Coventry City Council/Aaron Law A cathedral ruins lit in golden and purple light. A cross is in the centre of the picture in a ruined chancel.

Meanwhile, around 1,000 people attended a candle-lit liturgy at the cathedral on Friday, including survivors of World War II.

Sirens erupted in the cathedral’s ruins at 18:55, signalling the start of the air raid, followed by a two-minute stillness.

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The cathedral’s dean, the Very Reverend John Witcombe, told the congregation: “Some propose we go on and forget the events that this night recalls.

“Instead we choose to use the events of the 14th and perhaps more importantly the 15th of November as a springboard for the future.”

Getty Images A black-and-white image of people walking through rubble piled up inside a cathedral. The cathedral's end wall remains intact but windows have been blown out.

Ken Barber, who was five years old during the time of the Blitz, recalled seeing burning buildings in the city centre.

“The army was trying their best with the auxiliary fire service to try and put the flames out with no water,” according to him.