Residents invited to mark COVID-19 Day of Reflection at Lydiard Park

The event will take place on Sunday, 8 March 2026, from 3pm to 4pm, outside the Park’s historic 18th-century Walled Garden, beside the sculpture unveiled in 2023 to honour how Swindon united to support its most vulnerable during the pandemic.

The service will offer a moment for residents to pause, remember those who lost their lives and reflect on the extraordinary efforts and acts of kindness shown throughout that unprecedented period.

The programme will include a reading by the Mayor’s Chaplain, contributions from community leaders and a moment of quiet reflection. Attendees will also be invited to tie yellow ribbons onto the sculpture as a symbol of remembrance and hope.

The annual Day of Reflection was established following recommendations from the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration in 2023, set up to identify appropriate ways to remember those who died and to help the nation mark this pivotal chapter in recent history.

Councillor Jim Robbins, Leader of Swindon Borough Council, said: “The national COVID-19 Day of Reflection on 8 March is a chance to pause and remember the extraordinary efforts of communities across Swindon.

“It is an opportunity to pay tribute to the dedication of health and social care staff, frontline workers and researchers, as well as the countless residents who volunteered and showed incredible kindness during that time.

“The pandemic touched every family and every community differently and it is important that we continue to acknowledge that shared experience.

“Swindon continues to play its part in the Covid response with Covid vaccines still being produced in the town at Thermo Fisher Ltd.

“The service at Lydiard Park offers a moment for residents to come together in quiet reflection.”