This is how the historic Magazine at De Montfort University (DMU) could look if Leicester’s bid to host an iconic piece of art is successful.
How the stunning artwork could look at The Magazine
Leicester City Council wants to bring the Weeping Window to the landmark gateway which stands at the city entrance to the university.
The stunning work, by ceramic artist Paul Cummins, captured the hearts and minds of the British public in 2014 when it first appeared at the Tower of London and attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors.
The famous moat around the Tower of London was gradually filled with 888,246 ceramic poppies, each representing a British and Commonwealth military fatality in the First World War from 1914-18.
The Weeping Window which Leicester is bidding to bring to the city involves a cascade of 5,800 poppies.
It has been touring the country for the last two years and now officials are to submit a bid to '14-18 NOW', the UK's official arts programme for the First World War centenary, in January.
If the bid is successful, Weeping Window would be in Leicester for six weeks in 2018 as part of centenary commemorations for the end of the conflict.
The bid has been submitted by the Leicestershire World War One Reference Group, headed by Vice-Lord Lieutenant Colonel Murray Colville, in partnership with DMU, Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council.
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The Magazine Gateway has been proposed as a host location because it provides the necessary height for the installation and because of its close ties with the Royal Leicestershire Regiment.
It was a First World War recruiting station and part of the regiment's barracks which were built in the 1850s.
In 1881 the Leicestershire Militia became the 3rd Battalion The Leicestershire Regiment.
Consequently The Magazine became directly associated with The Royal Leicestershire Regiment. The barracks were demolished in the 1960s to make room for the inner ring road, leaving just the Magazine Gateway intact.
World War One recruits on parade at Magazine Square in 1914
The cascade would flow out into the Magazine Square between De Montfort University and the Newarke Houses where the regimental museum is.
City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "I am pleased that we're able to put forward this proposal to host the installation at a place with such strong connections to the Royal Leicestershire Regiment.
"It would be a fitting memorial to the tens of thousands of young men from Leicestershire who lost their lives in the First World War – and an appropriate way for the city to commemorate the centenary in 2018."
Posted on Monday 19 December 2016