Patti Smith to ring in New Year with show on iconic Piccadilly screen

American singer-songwriter Patti Smith and her band will mark the beginning of 2021 with a moving tribute to 100 NHS and healthcare workers, who passed away this year from Covid-19, on London's iconic Piccadilly Circus screen, organisers have said.

The 10-minute performance at midnight on the giant screen will also be streamed around the world for free, a digital art platform, CIRCA said on Monday in a statement. 

The statement said the special New Year's Eve event will be streamed on the CIRCA YouTube Channel at 23:30 - 00:10GMT, urging visitors to Piccadilly Circus to wear face masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines.

Huge body of work

Patti Smith lives and works in New York City. 

She is a singer-songwriter, poet, and visual artist, known for her revolutionary merging of poetry and rock. 

In 1971, her first poetry reading at St Mark's Church would go on influence her debut album, Horses, which has been hailed as one of the top one hundred albums of all time by Rolling Stone. 

Her books include Just Kids, winner of the National Book Award in 2010, Witt, Babel, Woolgathering, The Coral Sea, and Auguries of Innocence. 

In 2005, the French Ministry of Culture awarded Smith the title of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. 

Anne Imhof's 'ONE' 

CIRCA said it will also present 'ONE' – a major new 10-minute commission by the winner of the Venice Art Biennale 2017 Anne Imhof – using footage filmed at the Tate Modern during the artist's large-scale installation and performance in 2019.

"It is an honour to show my piece on the iconic screens of Piccadilly Circus," Imhof said. 

"The opportunity to take over Europe’s largest advertising display and open a portal to hope in the final moments of 2020 is humbling. Peace, freedom, and respect for everyone in 2021."

'A great gift to London'

Created by artist Josef O'Connor, CIRCA pioneered a new model for outdoor exhibitions by inviting a different artist each month to present new ideas on the iconic Piccadilly Lights screen. 

O'Connor said: "These remarkable works by two of the world’s leading artists are a great gift to London. Piccadilly Lights, generously donated to artists by LandSec, is a wonderful new platform for their work which has assumed an even greater resonance during the pandemic."

"We are proud that CIRCA has played its part in making art more accessible to audiences across London when it is more important than ever before."