Official UK procurement notice
105156 - National Covid Memorial Wall (Design and Build)
Authority: Department for Culture, Media & Sport (Central government)
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) is undertaking a Market Engagement exercise under the Procurement Act 2023 to support the development of a Design & Build for the potential Tender for the long-term preservation of the National Covid Memorial Wall. The exact procurement process is yet to be defined.
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) is undertaking a Market Engagement exercise under the Procurement Act 2023 to support the development of a Design & Build for the potential Tender for the long-term preservation of the National Covid Memorial Wall. The exact procurement process is yet to be defined. However, we anticipate the outcome of the process will be a physical construction project.
The site of the National Covid Memorial spans a 500-metre, Grade II-listed, 19th-century river wall along the Albert Embankment, featuring approximately 250,000 hand-painted red hearts created by bereaved families.
Site and Policy Context
The National Covid Memorial Wall is a series of approximately 250,000 hand-painted hearts on a 500-metre stretch of a Grade II-listed boundary wall along the Albert Embankment opposite the Houses of Parliament. The Wall is a visual representation of all the individuals who died in the UK from COVID-19 and is significant due to its scale, striking red colour, and the fact that it was created by bereaved families for bereaved families.
As part of the Government Response to the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration, the Government committed to work alongside the Friends of the Wall and local partners to support the long-term preservation of the National Covid Memorial Wall as a national memorial to the lives lost to COVID-19.
The Wall continues to provide a space for reflection, remembrance, and grieving for all those who lost a loved one to COVID-19 and serves as a reminder to the country of the scale of loss.
CPV: Architectural and related services · Museum services and preservation services of historical sites and buildings · Parts of structures · Restructuring work · Structural engineering consultancy services · Works for complete or part construction and civil engineering work
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Planned
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How Department for Culture, Media & Sport buys Structures and parts of structures (CPV 4421), and who usually turns up
Department for Culture, Media & Sport’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Structures and parts of structures (CPV 4421) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
i
How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in Greater London.
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 21 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid7%
2–366%
4–614%
7+14%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate44%
Within ±2%36%
Above estimate20%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 4421Estimate not published
i
How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 25 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid4%
2–332%
4–644%
7+20%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
No comparable awards for this lot yet.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Works
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 2 Nov 2026, 14:21 GMT
- Last source update
- 2 Nov 2026, 14:21 GMT
- Authority reference
105156- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-103775- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0795acFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
2 Nov 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 3 dates- Planning notice published16h ago2 Nov 2026, 14:21 GMT
- Today3 Nov 2026
- Market engagementin 17 days20 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Purpose & Overview
DCMS is conducting preliminary market engagement under the Procurement Act 2023 to test feasibility, supply-chain capacity, and commercial delivery options for the long-term preservation of the National Covid Memorial Wall along the Albert Embankment, London.
- Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) Requirement
Due to the inclusion of sensitive project context, heritage considerations, and draft technical parameters, participation in this market engagement exercise including access to the Supplier Webinar and the Market Engagement Questionnaire is strictly conditional upon returning a signed Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
To participate:
a) Register your interest for the project within 'Find Opportunities' in Atamis, then navigate to 'My Proposals and Quotes' and download the standard NDA template available within the project documentation.
b) Have the document executed by an authorised signatory of your organisation.
c) Submit the signed NDA via the Atamis messaging function.
d) Upon receipt and verification of your NDA, DCMS will issue the Market Engagement Questionnaire and the webinar registration form.
- Commercial and Technical Webinar
The Commercial & Technical Supplier Webinar will be held on Tuesday 24th November, 10:00-11:30. This is a virtual briefing session hosted by DCMS Commercial and project leads for interested suppliers. This session will likely cover the context of the memorial and its importance, site constraints along the Albert Embankment, structural parameters, stakeholder engagement, and procurement mechanics.
Interested suppliers must submit their NDA no later than Friday 20th November at 4pm to receive the joining instructions.
- Atamis
You can find the NDA available in the DCMS procurement portal, please upload a completed copy via the procurement portal messaging system. To access the DCMS procurement portal follow the information below:
The information and/or documents for this opportunity are available on the Atamis e-sourcing portal: dcms.my.site.com ↗ You must register on this site to respond.
Register your interest for the project within 'Find Opportunities' in Atamis, then navigate to 'My Proposals and Quotes' and download the standard NDA template available within the project documentation.
If you are already registered you will not need to register again, simply use your existing username and password. Please note there is a password reminder link on the homepage.
If you experience any technical difficulties please contact the Atamis eSourcing Helpdesk at support@atamis.co.uk
- Additional Information
Important information
This notice is issued solely for preliminary market engagement and does not constitute an invitation to tender or a commitment by DCMS to undertake the procurement.
Nothing contained within this document or questionnaire or webinar constitutes a decision, commitment, or preferred policy option by HM Government. Any physical concepts, formats, unit sizes, or materials referenced are illustrative examples used solely to test supply-chain capacity, structural safety, long-term maintenance costs, and practical deliverability within public resources. No final procurement decisions have been taken.
Participation is voluntary and will not be a condition of participating in any subsequent procurement. Suppliers will not receive unfair advantage as a result of taking part.
DCMS may change or refine all aspects of the proposed procurement as set out in this notice, including its scope, procurement procedure, programme, contractual arrangements and requirements following market engagement, further consideration and internal approvals.
Relevant information arising from engagement will be managed appropriately to support transparency, fair treatment and effective competition. DCMS will not reimburse suppliers for costs incurred in participating.
Any subsequent procurement opportunity will be advertised separately through the appropriate statutory tender notice.
- Contract startsin 148 days1 Apr 2027
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published2 Nov 2026, 14:21 GMTUK2
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender