At 114.5 metres, the ArcelorMittal Orbit is the tallest sculpture in Britain, a looping lattice of red steel rising above the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, east London. It was created for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games as a permanent landmark for the new park. The work was designed by the artist Anish Kapoor with the structural engineer Cecil Balmond, and largely funded by the steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, whose company gave the tower its name and supplied much of the steel. Its tangle of curving tubular members deliberately resists a single, settled outline. Two enclosed viewing platforms near the top give wide views across London, taking in the Olympic Park, the City and Canary Wharf on a clear day. Visitors reach them by lift and can descend by stairs that wind down through the structure. In 2016 the tower gained a second attraction when a tunnel slide designed by the artist Carsten Holler was wrapped around it. Billed as the longest and tallest tunnel slide in the world, it carries riders down through a series of loops in well under a minute. The combination of an abstract artwork, an observation tower and a thrill ride is unusual, and it reflects the project's aim of drawing visitors back to the park long after the Games had ended. Set among the venues built for 2012, including the main stadium and the aquatics centre, the Orbit anchors the southern part of the park and is visible from across the surrounding area. Its form has divided opinion since it was unveiled, praised by some as a bold piece of public art and dismissed by others as ungainly, a debate that has only added to its prominence. The park around it, reclaimed from former industrial land, has become a year-round destination for sport, leisure and events, with the Orbit as its most conspicuous feature.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London, United Kingdom

Website: https://www.arcelormittalorbit.com