ArcelorMittal is a sponsor for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company has given the city of London a new landmark which will remain long after the games have come and gone. The landmark is part art and part architecture and is called the ArcelorMittal Orbit.

The Orbit is a 114.5-metre (336 feet) sculpture designed by artists Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond and stands at the heart of the new Olympic Park. The Orbit has a viewing platform where one can see a panoramic view of up to 20 miles, including the entire Olympic Park and London’s skyline beyond. At 114.5 metres, the ArcelorMittal Orbit is the UK’s tallest sculpture and stands 22 metres taller (approximately 72 feet) than New York City’s Statue of Liberty.

Lakshmi N. Mittal, chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal said, “It gives me great pride to see the ArcelorMittal Orbit standing not only as a completed work of public art but as a physical symbol of the Olympic spirit. It makes me very proud that ArcelorMittal plants from across the world contributed to this showcase of the strength and versatility of steel.”

There has been over £11bn invested in the Olympics area over the last four years. ArcelorMittal report, “Construction of the ArcelorMittal Orbit took 18 months and required 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.”

Source: ArcelorMittal