19 Jul 2002 - 01 Jan 2003
The Diana fountain - winning design team to be announced on 31 July
Hyde Park

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has agreed to break the deadlock in the selection process to choose the design team for the fountain in Hyde Park to commemorate the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. This follows extensive deliberations by the independent committee, under the chairmanship of Rosa Monckton, established in December 2000 to select a design team. The committee was unable to make a final recommendation as to the winning team, referring two to the Secretary of State.

Tessa Jowell will now consider the Committee's assessments of the finalists, and decide on the winner, basing her decision on the views of the committee members. She will make a single recommendation to Chancellor Gordon Brown on 31 July, and make this public. Work to design and construct the fountain will begin immediately after this.

Tessa Jowell said:

"I am incredibly grateful to Rosa Monckton's energetic and dedicated leadership of this difficult process and to her committee who have done a tremendous job reducing the original pool of 60 bidders to two. Sadly, after much deliberation, they were unable to come to a final decision as to the winner. I have great sympathy with them B the quality of bids has been extremely high.

"The committee asked me to find an appropriate way forward in the face of their impasse. As the Minister responsible for the project, I will be considering their views and, based on these, recommending a winner.

"It is now time to deliver a fitting memorial to the life of Diana."

Editor's notes:
1. The committee to choose a design team for the Diana Fountain was chaired by Rosa Monckton, and also comprised Richard Cork, Edward Jones, James Lingwood, Sandra Percival, William Weston, Kim Wilkie and Giles Worsley.

2. The committee assessed each of the shortlisted design teams against five criteria: design quality, flair and innovation, impact upon the historic landscape and local ecology, relevance to Diana, and the quality of the key personnel and their ability to deliver.

Further information:
http://www.culture.gov.uk.