Fresh twist on the 2012 Olympics

The 376ft twisting red tower next to London’s Olympic Stadium is both “awkward” and “beautiful”, its designer said as it was unveiled yesterday.

Turner Prize-winning artist Anish Kapoor, who created the ArcelorMittal Orbit with structural designer Cecil Balmond, also said the entrance fee of £15 for adults and £7 for children during the Games should come down after the Olympics.

He wants a “more democratic” price, saying those figures are “a hell of a lot of money”.

Andrew Altman, chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, which is in charge of securing the future of the Olympic Park, said a lower post-Games pricing system was being figured out.

Mr Kapoor described his creation as beautiful but added: “I think it is awkward. It has its elbows sticking out. In a way, it refuses any singular capture. It refuses to be an emblem. It is unsettling, and I think that is part of this thing of beauty.”

Visitors will be able to look down to the showpiece stadium from the latest landmark.

The twisting tangle of steel, which looks as if it is going to fall over, is not only the tallest sculpture in the UK but also 72ft taller than the Statue of Liberty.

The tower, dubbed “the Hubble Bubble” by London mayor Boris Johnson because of its resemblance to a shisha pipe, is intended to help make the Olympic Park a must-see attraction long after the 2012 Games.