Mayor of London Boris Johnson opens The View from The Shard

Fri, Feb 01, 2013 11:16 CET

For images contact: theviewfromtheshard@kallaway.com; 020 7221 7883

Mayor of London Boris Johnson opens The View from The Shard - the new premium attraction at the pinnacle of The Shard, Western Europe’s tallest building, developed by Sellar Property in association with LBQ Ltd
Over 130,000 tickets sold before opening, exceeding targets
Opening day and weekend sold out
The View from The Shard is the highest vantage point from any building in Western Europe and is set to become a first stop destination for visitors to London providing spectacular 40 mile (64km) 360 degree views of the city and a unique encounter with The Shard
Attraction to provide a significant boost to local economy, creating almost 100 new jobs, including 20 apprenticeships for young unemployed people from Southwark and Lambeth and an estimated one million visitors to the area during the first year of opening
Opening preceded by a star studded party including guests such as Pixie Lott, Simon Callow, Example, Annie Mac, Alex Zane, Michel Roux Jr and Terry Wogan
The View from The Shard is the first public space to open in The Shard, the heart of London Bridge Quarter (LBQ)- a £2bn inclusive new development which will act as a catalyst for the wider regeneration of the area, delivering increased investment, apprenticeships and thousands of jobs

London – 1 February 2013 The Mayor of London Boris Johnson officially opened The View from The Shard - the premium attraction at the pinnacle of The Shard, developed by Sellar property in association with LBQ Ltd, at 0900hrs today, Friday 1 February 2013.

The first guests to the attraction were greeted 244m (800ft) above London in the viewing galleries of The View from The Shard by Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London; Irvine Sellar, Chairman of Sellar Property and developer of The Shard and London Bridge Quarter and Renzo Piano, architect of LBQ.

Guests gathered on Level 72, which is partially open to the elements, and the highest vantage point in Western Europe, to see The London Mayor formally launch The View from The Shard with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The first 200 visitors to the attraction were also given a commemorative opening day photographic print of The Shard.

The View from The Shard is the only place it is possible to see all of London at once. The 244m (800ft) high attraction provides 360 degree, 64km (40 mile) views across the capital and is set to become the starting point for visitors and tourists to London. The viewing gallery is home to remarkable digital telescopes that are being used in Europe for the first time. These 12 ‘Tell:scopes’ enable guests to see London by day, night and sunrise as well as providing information on over 250 landmarks in 10 languages. Over 130,000 tickets to the attraction have already been sold, exceeding targets. The attraction is queue and crowd free with guests choosing a time and date to visit that suits them best. Tickets have been sold across the first four months of opening – with Valentine’s Day, 14 February, being particularly popular.

The View from The Shard has announced 96 new jobs for local people, including 20 apprenticeships. Almost half of those employed are from Southwark and over a quarter from Lewisham and Lambeth. In addition, over one million guests are estimated to visit the attraction during its first year of opening, significantly increasing visitors to the area and boosting the local economy.

The View from The Shard is the first part of The Shard to open. The building is the heart of the £2bn London Bridge Quarter development which will act as a catalyst for the wider regeneration of the area, delivering increased investment, apprenticeships and thousands of new jobs.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "This stunning new visitor attraction is a fantastic addition to London's tourist offer. From these dizzy heights the greatest city on earth, from historic to modern, is spread out below in all its magnificent glory and visitors will be mesmerised by this experience.

"I am confident that The Shard and the huge London Bridge Quarter development will change the face of this important part of our city attracting new businesses and creating thousands of jobs in the coming years."

Anders Nyberg, Chief Executive of The View from The Shard, said: “We are proud to be opening a unique experience – the only place it is possible to see all of London, all at once, from the pinnacle of Western Europe’s tallest building. The View from The Shard enables people to appreciate London like never before and will become a first stop in the city for visitors and tourists to this great city. We are delighted with our ticket sales, our team and are hugely confident for the years ahead.”

Irvine Sellar, Chairman of Sellar Property and developer of The Shard said: “The Shard has been designed to be a building in the heart of London that is open to all to visit and enjoy and The View from The Shard is a fundamental part of this. There is no doubt that The View from The Shard will be one of the leading attractions in London, complemented by the restaurants – Aqua and Oblix - bars and the Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard, which will all open later this year. It is an integral part of our vision that The Shard and London Bridge Quarter will form a unique and inclusive area at the heart of a community that has a long history and huge potential for growth.”

The View from The Shard opening party took place the night before [31 January 2013]. Famous people from across the Capital and beyond where treated to a ‘Fabulous London’ themed event featuring an exclusive set by Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac and a speech by Simon Callow. Guests included Pixie Lott, Example, Alex Zane, Michel Roux Jr, Terry Wogan, Jeremy Vine, Ben Fogle, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Dan Snow, Ken Livingstone, Rachel Whiteread, Peter Ackroyd and Yinka Shonibare [Pictures available].

The View from The Shard - Tickets and visiting

Tickets are pre-booked, timed and dated, providing a queue and crowd free premium experience with no time limit in the attraction. Tickets can also be given as gifts via The View from The Shard Gift Certificates which enable the recipient to choose when they would like to visit. Tickets cost £24.95 for adults and £18.95 for children. The View will be open from 09.00am to 10.00pm daily to enable guests to experience the city by day or night. [Booking details below].

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The View from The Shard – Press information

Kallaway PR
William Kallaway / Nazneen Nawaz
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7221 7883 / email theviewfromtheshard@kallaway.com

The View from The Shard
Ruth Howlett, Head of PR: +44 (0)20 3102 3973 / ruth.howlett@shardlondonbridge.com

Images: http://bit.ly/Xi4UVG

The View from The Shard on social media

Twitter @shardview Hashtag #shardview
Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/theviewfromtheshard
Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/shardview

General Shard and London Bridge Quarter

Baron Phillips, Baron Phillips Associates: 020 7920 3161 / 07767 444193, baron@bphillips.demon.co.uk

Press Office: 0844 875 1507 / theshardpressoffice@webershandwick.com

The View from The Shard – Visitor journey

From the entrance at Joiner Street, guests begin their exploration of the UK’s capital. Over 140 famous Londoners in playful juxtapositions including The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge pictured as Pearly King and Queen; London Mayor, Boris Johnson, shining the shoes of his rival, Ken Livingstone; and Kate Moss marrying King Henry VIII, greet guests and provide a unique, tongue in cheek, insight to famous Londoners. Around the gallery, animated maps and video screens set the historic context of The Shard’s London Bridge location – the oldest crossing point over the Thames - around which the city has expanded. Through a series of short films, guests are given glimpses of London’s diverse communities and famous streets and places across the capital.

Guests depart the ground floor in ‘kaleidoscopic’ lifts using video screens and mirrors to create the effect of soaring through iconic ceilings and roofs of London. As they ascend towards the pinnacle of The Shard so they pass through the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, the Rubens ceiling at the Banqueting House in Whitehall, the spiral staircase at Monument, and the British Museum’s Great Court glass roof. In total, guests will travel in four separate lifts (taking two lifts up to reach Level 68 and two back down to Level 1), each lift travelling at six metres per second, making the total lift journey time from Level 00 to level 68 around 60 seconds. Visitors will transfer lifts at Level 33 through an all-enveloping graffiti word map of London. Guests follow an image of the River Thames curving along the floor and see the capital mapped geographically around them in 200 sentences scrawled on the walls and floor, each describing a different part of the city. A specially composed orchestral and choral soundtrack performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and The Joyful Company of Singers – one of Europe’s foremost chamber choirs – will accompany visitors as they journey through the attraction.

Guests arrive at the ‘cloudscape’ on level 68 and immediately head upwards to the triple-height, light-filled, main viewing gallery at Level 69 where breath-taking, 360 degree views for up to 40 miles (64km) over the capital are revealed. The city of London is brought to life on 12, free to use, ‘Tell:scopes’ – ultra high-tech digital telescopes that are being used in Europe for the first time - enabling guests to explore the city around them in real time, as well as offering alternative (pre-recorded) day and night-time views. Fully interactive, they are able to identify 250 famous landmarks and places of significant interest and offer information about them in 10 languages.

For the most profound experience, guests can go higher to the viewing gallery at Level 72 (800ft/244m), the highest habitable level of the building. Level 72 is partially open-air and exposed to the elements and is the highest vantage point in Western Europe. Guests are surrounded by the giant shards of glass that form the top of The Shard and can fully experience the sounds and atmosphere of the city below.

Examples of landmarks visible from the viewing galleries at Levels 69 and 72:

North: Wembley Stadium and Alexandra Palace.
East: The Olympic Stadium, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf and the Thames Barrier
South: Battersea Power Station and The Oval cricket ground
West: St Paul’s, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace.

The entire attraction is wi-fi enabled, providing guests with the opportunity to share their views with friends around the world. Guests can also choose to have their picture taken in front of a green screen, to have their image imposed onto a choice of day or night views and purchase this as a souvenir photograph at the end of the trip. The Sky Boutique – London’s highest gift shop – sells a wide range of merchandise including prints of the view over London by Stephen Wiltshire, the acclaimed British artist synonymous with drawing some of the world’s greatest cityscapes from memory and the first artist to capture London from the View from The Shard through to a cuddly toy of ‘Romeo the Fox’ – based on the fox that shot to fame after it was found living in The Shard during the building’s construction.

Location, ticket booking and public contact information

The View from The Shard is located at Joiner Street, SE1 9QU, London and is open from 0900 – 2200hrs daily (closed on 25 December).
Public information email info@theviewfromtheshard.com
The nearest tube/rail station is London Bridge. The attraction is located on bus routes 43, 48, 141, 149, 521.
Tickets and gift certificates to the attraction cost £24.95 for adults and £18.95 for children if booked online or via the customer box office. Tickets enable guests to choose the time and date of their visit. Gift Certificates enable the recipient to choose when they visit.
Tickets and Gift Certificates can be bought from www.theviewfromtheshard.com, at the box office in the attraction’s entrance or via the telephone booking system: +44 (0)844 499 7111 (a handling fee applies for telephone bookings only).
Disabled guests are offered a concessionary rate with free access for a registered carer. These tickets can currently only be booked over the phone.
A limited number of ‘walk up’ tickets may be available each day at the attraction. Tickets purchased on the day are priced at £29.95 for adults and £23.95 for children to join the next available timed entry (every 30 minutes) or £100 for immediate access.

About the Shard and London Bridge Quarter
The Shard is the iconic new building at the heart of the London Bridge Quarter - the £2bn regeneration project being developed by Sellar Property in association with LBQ Ltd. The Shard is a vertical town comprising offices, restaurants, the five star Shangri-La hotel, residences, retail and the View From The Shard visitor attraction.

London Bridge Quarter is a catalyst for a wider regeneration of the area In addition to delivering top quality offices in The Shard and The Place, together with restaurants, bars, and a hotel and the development is attracting tourists to a diverse and culturally rich neighborhood. LBQ is also facilitating a dramatic improvement in the transport infrastructure with major investment in London Bridge Station and a completed new bus station.

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