Last night saw the official opening of ‘The Shard‘, London’s newest skyscraper and Europe’s tallest, at 309.6 metres high precisely.
The ceremony was marked by swathes of colour illuminating the building, while sweeping searchlights and green lasers reached out to touch other central London landmarks. It was all quite impressive but perhaps not quite impressive enough – there was no breathtaking firework display for example, surely something a building over 300 metres high is built for! When it was clear that a lightshow was all that was on offer, the thousands that had thronged the balconies and bridges near the tower quickly melted away. Perhaps they’ll all be back when the Shard’s floors 68 to 72 open as the observation decks in February 2013, although at £24.95 for an adult I would suggest that they only visit on days when the weather promises to be clear – friends who work in Canary Wharf tell me that in winter its not that unusual to find yourself above the cloud layer on the upper floors of the skyscrapers there…
When it opens next year the Shard will also feature a 5 star hotel, office space (none of which is leased yet) and, on the upper floors directly below the observation decks, huge penthouse apartments which will, no doubt, be as big as the egos of the merchant bankers and Russian oligarchs who will live in them…
You can see the remainder of the colours that The Shard was bathed in last night here.
About Pete Stean
