The Stonehenge Winter Solstice event will be streamed around the world this year.
The epic event usually brings thousands of people to the ancient site every year to watch the midwinter sunrise and set over the standing stones. However, thanks to Covid-19, this year’s celebration will be very different. In true 2020 style, the winter solstice will be live-streamed from Stonehenge next week.
English Heritage are asking people not to venture to the site this year and visit virtually instead. “Owing to the pandemic, and in the interests of public health, there will be no Winter Solstice gathering at Stonehenge this year. The Winter Solstice sunrise will instead be live-streamed from the stones on the morning of December 21. It will be easy and free to watch on the English Heritage social media channels’.
So, it’s not all doom and gloom though, like the English winter. And for us, those few people on the other side of the world, it’s another extraordinary experience we can take part in just without having to forgo our summer.
The winter solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. It also happens to be the start of astronomical winter — or summer, for us down under. Nevertheless, Stonehenge has been the place to go to celebrate the occasion for centuries. Watching the sun rise behind the Heel Stone and capturing the rays of sunlight gathering in the centre is nothing short of magical, we’re told. For those of us that had plans to travel to England this year, or anyone keen on seeing Stonehenge at some time in their life, this is great news.
You can tune into the live stream via the English Heritage’s social media channels next week. Footage will be streamed from Stonehenge from sunset on December 20 (4:01pm GMT) and sunrise on December 21 (8:09am GMT).
For us in Sydney, that means the sunset live-stream will take place at 2:31am on December 21, which might be too late or too early for some. However, the sunrise event will take place from 6:39pm on the same day, which is a great time to kick back and watch this extraordinary experience. Soon, we’ll be able to say we’ve watched the sunset at Stonehenge without ever having needed to experience the freezing cold of England’s winter.