Big Ben's chimes were silenced in 2017 to allow for a refurbishment of the 96m (315ft) Elizabeth Tower. Costs ballooned to £80m and the project took a year longer than expected. After five years, the 13.7-tonne bell finally chimed again and was officially unveiled in January.

As of early 2026, Big Ben (the Great Bell) and the Great Clock are fully operational and ringing regularly. If you see the clock stopped or hear silence now, it is only for short-term, routine maintenance. The clock famously "stopped" for a massive 5-year conservation project that lasted from 2017 to 2022, during which the Elizabeth Tower was covered in scaffolding and the mechanism was completely dismantled and cleaned. Since the completion of that £80 million project, the bells have returned to their regular "Westminster Chimes" every 15 minutes and the deep "bong" on the hour. The only times the bells are currently silenced are for very brief mechanical checks (usually lasting a few hours) or for solemn national events where a specific period of silence is mandated by Parliament.