When considering the UK’s international airport offerings, there really is only one name that instantly springs to mind: London Heathrow. Britain’s biggest and busiest airport has been serving as a hub for hotfooting it out of the country for 80 years now. And it’s certainly celebrating this rather monumental milestone in style.
To mark its big 80th birthday, Heathrow Airport enlisted the help of Sunday Times Bestseller (and TikTok poetry sensation), David Larbi. The acclaimed British poet has been named the airport’s very first Poet-In-Residence, and has created a poetic tribute to the transport hub that can only be seen from the skies.
The poem, named ‘Gateway to the World’, honours Heathrow’s incredible legacy; paying homage to the way in which the airport has shaped British aviation, and celebrating its role as a certified global transportation hub.
Larbi was given access to the entire airport when creating this lyrical legacy. He spoke to many of the airport’s workers and took inspiration from the stories he heard along the way. The excitement and wonder of air travel ooze from Larbi’s fittingly uplifting piece.
The poem has been painted in huge white (biodegradable and environmentally-friendly) letters onto a field just outside the airport. It’s expected to last there for a couple of weeks – and can be thoroughly enjoyed by those flying in and out of Heathrow Airport.
Nearly 3 billion passengers have passed through Heathrow’s turnstiles in the past 80 years, and over 22 million flights have left its runway since the 1946. Heathrow Airport now serves a whopping 230 destinations across over 80 countries – and I, for one, am pretty darn thrilled to have this ‘gateway to the world’ at my doorstep.
