To mark the 10 year anniversary of the London 7/7 terrorist attacks, HuffPost UK is running Beyond The Bombings, a special series of interviews, blogs, in-depth features and exclusive research reflecting on how Britain has changed since.
“A momentous day” was how then Prime Minister Tony Blair described July 6, 2005.
London had triumphed over Paris to win the right to host the 2012 summer Olympic Games, after three unsuccessful bids. A key platform of its bid was multiculturalism.
Lord Coe, who presented the pitch, described the win as “the most fantastic opportunity to do everything we ever dreamed of in British sport”. The Queen sent her “warmest congratulations” to all involved and Britain celebrated the golden moment.
Crowds in Trafalgar Square react to the news that London had been awarded the 2012 Olympic Games
History was made again the following day on a Thursday morning commute. At 8.49am Britain suffered its first ever suicide attack and the worst bombing since the Second World War.
Fifty-two people died. Nearly 800 were injured.
The wreckage of the double-decker bus after it was bombed near Tavistock Square
The city stopped. Phone networks jammed and public transport networks shut down. Forever after the day was known simply as 7/7.
On July 8 police held a press conference confirming the detonation sites and the death toll, but little else. The bombings had caught everyone off guard.
The Union Flag flew at half-mast... but London stood tall and carried on.
Carriage by carriage, commuters returned to the Tubes in the following days. London had been wounded, but not beaten. Further attacks were feared but Londoners were not paralysed by fear, or overcome with hatred.
The Queen speaks to bombing survivor Bruce Tait at Royal London Hospital
“Those who perpetrate these brutal acts against innocent people should know that they will not change our way of life," the Queen said following a visit to the Royal London Hospital.
The Prince of Wales added: “What I can never get over is the incredible resilience of the British people who have set us all a fantastic example of how to react to these tragedies.”
Here's how London returned to work in the wake of tragedy...
7/7: The aftermath
MORE BEYOND THE BOMBINGS:
- EXCLUSIVE: More Than Half Of Britons Now See Muslims As A Threat
- Remembering Each Victim Of the 7/7 Bombings
- Gill Hicks, Inspirational 7/7 Bombings Survivor, Reveals Why She'll Never Give Up Fighting Extremism
- The Ex-Guardian Journalist Who Accidentally Fuelled 7/7 Conspiracy Theories
- Grief And Kindness In 'A Song For Jenny' On BBC
How was Britain impacted by the 7/7 bombings? Join the @HuffPostUK conversation on Twitter with #BeyondTheBombings
ON THE BLOG:
- Dame Tessa Jowell On How the Bombings Showed Our Country Is The Model of Resilience
- The Church Rector: 'Jesus Was Walking The Streets Of Holborn That Day'
- Miriam's Vision: We All Have the Potential to Replace Hatred With Compassion
- 7/7 - When My Routine Turned Into a Nightmare
- How the Terror Came to My Doorstep
- How I Escaped With My Life Through Sheer Luck On July 7
- Introducing Beyond the Bombings
- Caroline Feraday: That Night I Hosted the LBC Radio Phone-In