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High rise: a spectacular new bird’s eye view of London is now available to visitors.

Image: The View from The Shard

A major new landmark building on the London skyline – on the south bank of the River Thames – hosts the capital’s latest must-see visitor attraction: The View from The Shard.

The elegant tower was designed by master architect Renzo Piano. At a height of 310 metres

(1,016 feet) it will be a dynamic symbol of London, recognisable throughout the world. Known simply as The Shard, it earned its name from an early description by the architect as looking as “a shard of glass”.

The Shard is the tallest building in western Europe and contains the highest viewing galleries in London – on the 69th to 72nd floors – that opened to the public on 1 February 2013 and form the only place from which it is possible to see the whole of the

United Kingdom capital.

The Shard is owned by LBQ Limited, comprising the State of Qatar (the majority shareholder) and

Sellar Property Group, with non-equity funding by

Qatar National Bank.

The State of Qatar has a strong commitment to invest and build in the UK as part of Qatar’s 2030 Vision, the country’s strategy to achieving a sustainable diversified economy. The Shard forms part of this portfolio.

His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Saoud Al Thani is governor of Qatar Central Bank and chairman of the board of directors of Shard Funding Limited and London Bridge Quarter. He said: “The Shard is the newest London landmark and a beacon of the city of London’s resilience and expansion, even during tough economic times. It is a symbol of Qatar’s belief and commitment to London both today and in the future.

“We have a long heritage and continued commitment to invest and build in the UK for a long term and The Shard highlights this close relationship,” he added.

Located in the historic London Bridge quarter in the heart of London, The Shard sits centrally between the West End, Westminster, the South Bank, the City (financial quarter) and Canary Wharf.

The Shard (http://www.the-shard.com) will become a vertical city with high-quality offices, international restaurants, the five-star Shangri-La hotel and spa, exclusive residences that include the

highest homes in Europe, a swimming pool on level

52, as well as the visitor attraction, The View from

The Shard that will provide exhilarating 360-degree sights for about 64km (40 miles) across London and beyond.

Landmarks visible include to the east, the Olympic Stadium, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf and the Thames Barrier. In the west, St Paul’s Cathedral, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace; to the south, Battersea

Power Station and The Oval cricket ground; and to the north, Wembley Stadium and Alexandra Palace.

The Shard contains 11,000 glass panels over an area equivalent to 8 football pitches and has 306

flights of staircases and 44 lifts.

The man responsible for the development and operation of The View from The Shard, the new visitor experience, is Anders Nyberg, highly experienced in this field with more than 20 years in visitor attraction management, and expertise in launching public viewing galleries in tall buildings.

He was previously a director at the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, where he helped develop and operate its successful viewing attraction, At The Top (from 2009–2010).

From 2005–2008, he was director of operations of one of the world’s most visited observatories, The Skydeck at the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in Chicago that attracted more than one million visitors a year.

After tickets went on sale, thousands of people have snapped up them up to experience the unique views over London from 244 metres (800 feet) above the city.

Mr Nyberg, chief executive officer of The View from The Shard, said: “The opportunity to enjoy The

View from The Shard is anticipated to be one of the most in-demand tickets of 2013. We were delighted to have sold out our first day of opening and anticipate that sales will remain high.”

“It is interesting to see special dates and certain times of day proving most popular – such as 14 February [Valentine’s Day] and sunrise and sunset times. Watching the sun rise or set over London is a remarkable experience from 244m above the city.”

By Dick Meredith