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Memorials to tragic events can be a fraught business, as the attempts to commemorate 9/11 in New York show.
With a budget approaching $1 billion, and after many arguments, it is still unbuilt. In London the Princess Diana fountain caused delays, rows and farce.
There are so many bereaved people, each with their own idea as to how their loss should be remembered, that disagreement is hard to avoid.
So it is impressive that, four years after 7/7, without rancour and at a cost of £1 million, 52 pillars should now be standing in Hyde Park.
The memorial itself is well judged by its architects Carmody Groarke. The number of pillars corresponds to the number of victims, and there is something human about their standing shape, but the correspondence between pillar and person is not pushed too far. The unique qualities of individuals are suggested by the marks and accidents of the casting process left exposed on each upright.
The silvery-grey stainless steel will be more permanent than stone and has dignity but it also catches the light and constantly changes with the movements of sun and clouds. The arrangement of the pillars, lined up in a grid, is formal, but it is offset by putting them into irregular groups corresponding with the number of victims at each of the four events of 7/7.
The location also works well — in Hyde Park but close to the bustle of Park Lane, a reminder of the ceaseless life of London that was interrupted by the bombings. It captures the fact that the attacks were attacks on this whole city. The 7/7 memorial doesn't preach or lecture. It is serious but not ponderous. If it can be criticised at all it might be said that its diplomacy is almost too finely calibrated, and it lacks the emotional impact of the very best memorials.
The walk from Hyde Park Corner to Marble Arch takes in the good, the bad and the ugly of London's monuments, from the powerful Royal Artillery Memorial to the farcical tribute to Animals in War. The 7/7 memorial takes its place close to the best of these.
