Mittal will pay for a monumental sculpture for the London Olympics

London - London plans to construct a monumental structure for the 2012 Olympic Games that would rival the Eiffel Tower in Paris. According to British press, the £15 million (over 440 million crowns) construction of the monument will be financed by Britain's richest man, Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.
    The structure is to be located in the Olympic Stadium area, which is being built in East London. An expert committee is selecting from the proposals of five artists, among whom are reportedly Turner Prize winner Anish Kapoor and Antony Gormley, known for his famous monumental sculpture Angel of the North in Newcastle.
    So far, one preliminary design by Paul Fryer has been leaked to British newspapers. It features a 120-metre tall steel sculpture resembling a high-voltage power pole. The design includes observation terraces at several levels, the structure will be illuminated at night, and electricity will be provided by solar panels.
    A spokesman for London Mayor Boris Johnson confirmed that "the mayor would like there to be stunning, ambitious art of world-class level in the Olympic Park". The Times quoted a source close to Johnson, who stated that the mayor "would like to build something ambitious, like the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty".
    Johnson also managed to persuade Lakshmi Mittal to provide £15 million for the project. "He enjoys living in London and would like to give something back to the city," said an unnamed friend of Mittal to The Times. Lakshmi Mittal's fortune, which includes steel mills in the Czech Republic, is estimated by The Times at £10.8 billion (almost 320 billion crowns).