Laser show - the finale of The Shard’s inauguration celebration

Central London will be lit up by a spectacular light and laser show on the 5th July to mark the formal inauguration of Europe’s tallest building, The Shard. A combination of 12 lasers and 30 searchlights will light up the night sky over the capital in a display that will also be streamed live on The Shard’s website and Facebook pages to mark the building’s external completion and celebrate this new landmark on the London skyline.

The show is the finale to The Shard’s inauguration celebration. It will see coloured lasers reach out from the 95-storey building on the South Bank to other major landmark buildings across the capital; including the London Eye, the Gherkin and Tower Bridge. Irvine Sellar, Chairman of Sellar Property said, “The Shard is an iconic addition to the capital’s skyline and will be one that all of London can access and enjoy. It will become as essential a part of a visit to London as going to the top of the Empire State building is for visitors on a trip to New York.” The display will be co-ordinated to two pieces of well-known classical music; Copland’sFanfare for the Common Manand the Finale from Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite which will be performed live by the London Philharmonic Orchestra(LPO). As the music reaches its crescendo, the laser show will culminate in the illumination of The Shard itself, lit from all sides by powerful searchlights rising high into the evening sky. Timothy Walker, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, said, “The London Philharmonic Orchestra, central to London’s cultural life for 80 years, is delighted to welcome its new neighbour by being part of The Shard’s opening celebrations.”

Standing tall on the capital’s South Bank, The Shard is the highest building in Europe and will form the centrepiece of the 2 million sq ft urban regeneration project known as the London Bridge Quarter. Designed by the international architect Renzo Piano, The Shard is a vertical town adjacent to the transport hub of London Bridge Station developed by Sellar Property on behalf of LBQ Limited, a partnership between majority owner the State of Qatar and Sellar Property. His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Saoud Al Thani, Governor of Qatar Central Bank and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Shard Funding Limited and London Bridge Quarter, says: “The Shard is the newest London landmark and a beacon of the city of London’s resilience and expansion, even during tough economic times. The lightshow will mark a key moment for The Shard and one that people in London – and around the world – can enjoy.”