When 2 Indians designed the largest public art for 2012 London Olympics

Apart from sporting endeavours and feats, the Olympics are also famous for promoting tourism and sights of the country it is being hosted in. The 2012 London Olympics saw the construction of a 114.5-metre tall monument called The Orbit as part of its preparation for the Olympics it was ironically designed and funded by two famous Indians, both of whom are well respected in their fields.

Lakshmi Mittal (Source: Accelormittal)

Anish Kapoor, who happens to be a very famous award winning artist (also having structures such as Cloudgate in Chicago, Marysas in the Modern Gallery in London and etc), and Lakshmi Mittal, who is one of the world’s biggest steel magnates. Apart from being made for the Olympics, The ‘Orbit’ is also Great Britain’s largest piece of public art on display. The structure represents the great depths and advancements of architecture which has combined engineering and sculpting to cater to multiple needs and requirements of todays world.

Anish Kapoor (Source: Prospect Magazine)

This ‘Orbit’ operated as a walkway and a viewpoint for tourists in the former Olympic village. It also doubles up as the world’s longest and the tallest slide for people to ride down. The artwork is now called Arcelor Mittal Orbit and is situated in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. The approximate cost of this was 22.7 million pounds and it took a total of 2 years to complete. It is mostly made of Steel(2000 tonnes was used) mostly for the design and to enhance the coiling structure of the structure. It can handle a total of 700 visitors every hour.

The current British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was then the Mayor of London and he famously stated that “this is the right thing, in games time and beyond”. The monument continues to attract visitors who flock to the former Olympic village and the site to relax and soak in the sun. It also doubles up as the worlds longest and the tallest slide for people to ride down. It truly is a man made masterpiece.