LONDON
A chance meeting in a coatroom at the World Economic Forum has led to plans for Britain's largest sculpture to be built next to the Olympic Stadium in an effort to attract visitors after the 2012 London Games.
London Mayor Boris Johnson had what he described as a 45-second conversation with Lakshmi Mittal in which he pressed the steel magnate to provide the materials for the construction of a huge tower.
Mittal agreed to provide the steel as part of a $24 million contribution to the $29 million project. The ArcelorMittal Orbit, as the new structure will be known, was presented Wednesday as resembling an upturned trombone surrounded by twisting walkways.
The 377-foot structure will stand between the Olympic Stadium and Aquatic Center.
"After 18 months of construction on the site, we knew we didn't have any cash but we would need a prodigious quantity of steel," Johnson said. "I was wracking my brains to think of anyone I knew who had large quantities of steel.
"In Davos, in the cloakroom, who should I bump into but Lakshmi Mittal. We'd never been introduced before. It wasn't a 60-second conversation, it was a 45-second conversation. I framed the idea, which took about 40 seconds and he immediately, immediately said 'I'll give you the steel.'"
Mittal, rated the world's fifth richest man by Forbes with an estimated wealth of $28.7 billion, said he had a slightly different recollection of the meeting.
"He spoke for the full 45 seconds," Mittal said of the garrulous mayor. "I didn't have a chance to say yes or no.
"I was fascinated to know more, especially when he said he wanted it to be built out of steel. I live in London and I think it is a wonderful city."
The structure will be more than twice the height of London's iconic Nelson's Column and 72 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. Visitors will be able to ascend the structure via two elevators or the walkway to view the Olympic Park and central London, 7.8 miles to the west.
"We decided we needed to give that site something extra, something to distinguish the east London skyline and something to arouse the curiosity of Londoners and visitors alike," Johnson said. "Our ambition was to turn the Stratford site into a destination, a must-see item on the tourist itinerary."
The tower features a viewing platform and restaurant near the top. The mayor's London Development Agency expects to recoup its $4.7 million contribution by renting the space to corporate sponsors -- although International Olympic Committee rules will restrict its use during the games.
London-based artist Anish Kapoor, a previous winner of the prestigious Turner Prize, and partner Cecil Balmond won a competition to design the tower that will be dominated by a looping lattice of tubular steel.
Kapoor is known for large-scale installations like "Marsyas" -- a giant blood-red PVC membrane that was displayed at London's Tate Modern in 2002 -- and "The Bean," a stainless steel sculpture in Chicago's Millennium Park.
The structure should be completed by mid-2011 and the restaurant finished by November that year.
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