Commuters struggling with Monday, January 23 morning blues were delighted as a gigantic glowing sunrise transformed Trafalgar Square.
The two-and-a-half ton work of art was erected to replicate dawn at 6.51.
The "sun" flooded the square with four million lumens of light – the equivalent of 60,000 bulbs. It was created to produce summer sunshine at one of the darkest times of the year and passers-by were encouraged to relax in deck chairs.
Property developer Niall Ingham, 25, from Battersea, said: "It's fantastic. January is the most depressing month and this has really worked to cheer me up." Maxine Green, 29, an artist from Norbury, added: "I want to take it home with me and have it to wake me up in the morning. I knew this was happening today so I came here in my swimwear to pretend it was a summer's day."
The installation, which took six months to create, was designed by artists' collective Greyworld who were commissioned by Tropicana as part of its Brighter Mornings campaign. It is 30,000 times bigger than a football, according to London Evening Standard daily newspaper.
