Emdad Rahman: We admired the ArcelorMittal Orbit at London 2012 during
the Paralympic Games and at the time thought of how great it’d be to one day
climb and survey the surroundings from a vantage point on the UK’s tallest
sculpture. My recent trip sure didn’t disappoint. Upon taking the lift to the
second floor we were treated to breath taking views of up to 20 miles across
London’s famous skyline and the iconic sporting venues of Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park.
In 2009, a design competition was held to create an iconic landmark that
would become the centrepiece of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and commemorate
the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The winning concept was a
creative collaboration between world-renowned artist Sir Anish Kapoor and
structural engineer Cecil Balmond.
During a chance meeting with Lakshmi Mittal, chairman and CEO of
ArcelorMittal the world’s largest steel company, the former Mayor of London,
Boris Johnson, secured his support to provide the steel necessary to create the
sculpture. Construction began in November 2010 with the structure reaching its
full height of 114.5m by November 2011. The ArcelorMittal Orbit was revealed to
the public on 11 May 2012 and around 130,000 people visited the sold-out
attraction during the Games.
Following a period of closure after the Games, the ArcelorMittal Orbit
fully reopened to the public on Saturday 5 April 2014 when the Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park once again welcomed guests.
In July 2015, planning permission was granted to add a slide to the
ArcelorMittal Orbit. Anish Kapoor invited German artist Carsten Höller, well
known for his slide installations, to create it. Work began on The Slide in
early 2016 with the first piece being lifted into place in April of that year.
The final piece was lifted into place in early June 2016 and The Slide opened
to the public on 24 June 2016. The opening weekend sold out in advance of the
attraction opening.
To explore London’s extraordinary skyline visitors must ascend 114.5m
into the clouds to the top of the ArcelorMittal Orbit before experiencing the
city’s landmarks from the outside observation walkway suspended 80m above the
ground.
There’s a lot to see from the ArcelorMittal Orbit’s two viewing
platforms from St Paul’s Cathedral, the O2 and Wembley to a birds eye view of
the iconic London 2012 venues. You can even get up close to London’s landmarks
with innovative and interactive touchscreens that allow you to zoom into the
view and learn more about the city.
The ArcelorMittal Orbit perfectly combines awe-inspiring city views with
fun and contemporary art. Visitors can interact with the sculpture itself,
experience the thrill of The Slide designed by Carsten Höller, flip the horizon
in Anish Kapoor’s two huge concave mirrors and enjoy the gentle descent of the
455 steps that wind their way around the sculpture and immerse you in a
recorded collection of distinctive London sounds such as church bells and local
markets.
The ArcelorMittal Orbit is the UK’s tallest sculpture, 22m taller than
the Statue of Liberty and six times taller than the Angel of the North. The
upper viewing gallery is 80m high and the lower is 76m high. The staircase is
made completely from recycled steel and takes about 12 minutes to walk down.
The sculpture is made from 2,000 tonnes of steel, made by leading steel company
ArcelorMittal, which is the equivalent weight of 1,136 London Black Cabs. It
took just over two years to build and contains over 35,000 bolts.
The Slide is the world's tallest and longest tunnel slide at 178m long
and 76m high. In the exhilarating trip, riders slide on a specially designed
mat and hit speeds of up to 15 miles per hour. Visitors are also able see out
through polycarbonate 'windows' for some of The Slide.
It’s not for the feint-hearted and you are advised to grip tightly as
you descend like a bullet through a myriad of twists, turns and drops of the
world’s tallest and longest tunnel slide as it weaves its way through the
iconic red steel frame of the UK’s tallest sculpture. To be precise it’s an
exhilarating 34 second descent down the 178m long slide as brave souls meander
through light and dark sections at speeds of up to 15mph as The Slide loops its
way around the ArcelorMittal Orbit 12 times taking visitors through gentle
curves, thrilling drops and a tight corkscrew named ‘the bettfeder’ – bedspring
in German.
The Slide is a unique collaboration between two of the world’s most
renowned contemporary artists.
With breath-taking views of London, the world’s longest and tallest
tunnel slide and the UK’s highest freefall abseil, the ArcelorMittal Orbit is a
viewing experience like no other.
No comments:
Post a Comment