LONDON 2012: New pictures of Olympic Park Orbit released by ODA

By Sportsbeat staff

NEW pictures of Anish Kapoor's £19 million Orbit - which London 2012 officials hope will be the iconic centrepiece of their Olympic Park - have been released.

NEW PICTURES: The Olympic Delivery Authority have released new pictures of the Orbit, a centrepiece of the London 2012 Olympic Park (ODA)

The 114m high sculpture - which stands taller than the Statue of Liberty - was approved 'in principle' by the Olympic Delivery Authority's planning committee last night.

Newham council, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and Mayor of London Boris Johnson are also behind the project, which will be majority funded by steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.

Earlier this month, a panel from Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment claimed they had reservations about the integrity of the controversial design .

However, a 198-page briefing document given to the ODA committee confirmed that the government's architectural advisory body had since been supplied with further details.