The five-year restoration of the Elizabeth Tower involved extensive scaffolding, 500 workers and ended up running £51m over budget. The clock's iconic dials have been restored to their original colour - Prussian blue - after experts discovered the shade under layers of black paint.

The massive renovation of the Elizabeth Tower (home to the Big Ben bell) took approximately five years, beginning in 2017 and concluding in 2022. This was the most extensive conservation project in the tower's 160-year history. During this time, the clock was dismantled piece by piece—all 1,000+ parts—for cleaning and repair. The hands were repainted to their original Victorian Prussian blue, and the ironwork was restored to prevent rust. The tower was covered in scaffolding for most of the project, which cost roughly £80 million—significantly higher than the initial £29 million estimate due to the discovery of asbestos and WWII bomb damage. The Great Bell remained mostly silent throughout the work, only tolling for major events like New Year's Eve, before finally returning to its regular chiming schedule in late 2022.