Elizabeth line giant digital advertising screen plans criticised

Plans to install huge wraparound video adverts in Elizabeth line stations have raised fears that commuters will be “bombarded with ads”.

Transport for London’s (TfL) advertising partner Global said it wants to introduce “world-first immersive formats” such as digital screens covering the walls and ceilings of the line’s underground walkways.

City Hall’s Green Party said the “digital wraps” could spoil the “beautiful, calming” design of the Elizabeth line, stations, which recently won the Stirling Prize for Architecture

TfL said they were in early development and will be tested and assessed before they are introduced.

Caroline Russell, a Green member of the London Assembly, said the planned “sensory-heavy” wraparound screens raised “serious concerns for neurodiverse Londoners”.

“The Elizabeth Line stations are designed to be beautiful, calming environments through which many thousands of people pass every hour.

“While advertising generates revenue that’s reinvested back into the transport system, TfL is a public service – it shouldn’t be so underfunded that Londoners are bombarded with ads just to keep the network afloat.”

A TfL spokesperson said: “A full Equality Impact Assessment will also be carried out to ensure that the needs of all customers are fully considered.”

In addition to its plans for the Elizabeth line, Global has said it wants to transform the 160m long moving walkway at Waterloo Tube station into a “multi-sensory experience” featuring eight large digital screens, “combining sound, 3D visuals, scent and motion”.

Across the wider Underground network, the advertising giant wants install more than 1,000 standard-sized digital screens “designed to immerse, inspire and move Londoners like never before”.

Global said its plans were “underpinned by sustainability – from solar-powered screen assembly to carbon-neutral materials and modular screens that can be repaired easily”.

Chris Forrester, managing director of commercial said: “Londoners have always looked to the Tube to tell them what’s going on, what’s new, and where they need to be.

“The corridors and carriages of the London Underground aren’t just ad space – they’re a part of the very fabric of London life and a creative canvas for advertisers”.