Hailed by The Times newspaper as the ‘unlikely star of the London Olympic Games’, the ArcelorMittal Orbit has been one of the most popular attractions in the Olympic Park. Highlights during the Olympic and Paralympic Games included:

• The ArcelorMittal Orbit was sold out throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games, welcoming more than 5,000 visitors a day, with total visitor numbers exceeding 130,000 during the Games. Ticket holders were able to admire panoramic views of London and the Olympic Park from two viewing platforms at 76 and 80 metres high, as well as enjoying an amazing artistic and sensory experience.
• In addition to providing the public with an unforgettable view of London’s skyline, the ArcelorMittal Orbit was also visited by royalty, heads of state, celebrities and athletes. Following her acting debut at the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony, Her Majesty the Queen enjoyed the view from the top of the Orbit accompanied by Prince Phillip, Princess Anne, Lord Coe, Boris Johnson, Anish Kapoor, Cecil Balmond and the chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, Lakshmi N. Mittal.
• The ArcelorMittal Orbit played a key role in the London Paralympic Games opening ceremony, when former Royal Marine Joe Townsend brought the Olympic flame into the Olympic Stadium via a zip line from the top of the Orbit.
• The ArcelorMittal Orbit was the location chosen by three amorous men to propose to their girlfriends: all three proposals were successful.

“This has been one of the most successful and unforgettable Olympic and Paralympic Games ever and for ArcelorMittal to have been a part of it is something that we are all extremely proud of – it has been a great symbol of what steel can achieve,” commented Lakshmi Mittal. “The ArcelorMittal Orbit has surpassed all expectations that I had and I am looking forward to the role it will play in the legacy plans for East London.”

Designed by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond and funded by ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steel and mining company, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, standing at 114.5m, is the UK’s tallest sculpture and will now become a centrepiece in the future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Now that the Games are officially over, the ArcelorMittal Orbit will be handed over to the London Legacy Development Corporation who will run the ArcelorMittal Orbit as a visitor attraction, once the park reopens after a period of transformation, with ticketed viewing from the observation decks and a compelling venue for private functions. The ArcelorMittal Orbit will be able to accommodate around 5,000 visitors a day, with the potential to attract around one million people during its first year of operation. It will have the capacity to accommodate between 400 – 600 visitors per hour, including full wheelchair access.

As a tier two sponsor of London 2012 and official steel supporter of the Games, ArcelorMittal committed funding of up to £19.6m of the £22.7m cost of the ArcelorMittal Orbit, with the outstanding £3.1 million provided by the London Development Authority. It has been estimated that the resulting visitor attraction will generate up to £10m of revenue each year and create up to 50 new jobs following the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Construction of the ArcelorMittal Orbit took less than two years and used 560 metres of tubular red steel to form the sculpture’s lattice superstructure. The result is a bold statement of public art that is both permanent and sustainable, with close to 60% of the 2,000 tonnes of steel used in the sculpture being drawn from recycled sources, underlining steel’s status as the world’s most recyclable material. Steel was chosen for the ArcelorMittal Orbit because of its unique properties including strength, modular structure and advantages of weight and speed of construction.