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Princess Diana inspires the reuse of the Sydney siege sea of flowers

Princess Diana and her memorial have served as the inspiration for the NSW Government who will follow the same route in utilising the thousands of floral tributes that have flooded in instead of disposing of them.

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The thousands of flowers that have been laid out to commemorate the victims of the siege that took place in Sydney’s Martin Place this week will reportedly be composted and used to fertilise a future memorial site for the victims.

The NSW authorities have been consulting with the City of London for guidance on how they dealt with the thousands of floral tributes that flooded in for Princess Diana after her death in 1997.

The government is also consulting with authorities in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States, who also experienced a similar public outpouring of grief in the wake of the last year’s marathon bombing attack.

NSW Premier Mike Baird said: “The NSW Government is in contact with authorities in London and Boston regarding flowers, tributes notes and condolence books to ensure we are operating on prior international best practice.”

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The sea of flowers that inundated Kensington Palace and Buckingham palace in the days after Princess Diana’s death is a moving image that still lingers 17 years later.

The sea of floral that have inundated Martin Place, Sydney in the wake of the siege tragedy

In the wake of the horrifying siege that took place in Martin Place, Sydney, Australians have followed the same route as they flock to the site of the siege to lay flowers to commemorate the victims, 38-year-old barrister and mother of three Katrina Dawson and 34-year-old cafe manager Tori Johnson.

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It fitting that the moving floral tributes, which aren’t designed to last, would be used in the same way as those that were laid out for Diana.

Premier Baird’s comments about the flowers follow the #savethenotes campaign, championed by Lisa Wilkinson. The TODAY host took to Twitter posting: “The #savethenotes idea is 2 have all messages attached 2 #sydneysiege flowers collected nxt week & put into bound books 4 affected families”.

The City of Sydney council then also took to Twitter  to show their support, advising everyone that they will be saving all of the notes.

Kensington Palace inundated with florals in the wake of Princess Diana’s death in 1997.

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