World’s tallest and longest tunnel slide opens in London

Thrill seekers have a new place to get an adrenaline rush with the world’s tallest and longest tunnel slide opening to the public at London’s ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower on June 24.

Artist Carsten Höller -- developing on an initial proposal by Bblur Architecture -- has designed the 178 m-long (584 ft) helter skelter slide. It’s the latest intervention to the 115 meter-tall (377 ft) Orbit, conceived by Anish Kapoor for the 2012 Olympics, following an abseiling attraction completed last year.

“Since 1999, I have built a number of slides, both free-standing and attached to buildings, but never onto another artwork as in this case,” says Höller, who installed a pair of spiralling slides at the Hayward Gallery for an exhibition last summer.

“Now that the two artworks will be intertwined with each other, I see it as one of these double situations that I am so interested in.”

The Orbit Tower slide will be made up of 30 sections -- 12 of which are now complete -- and feature 12 turns, including a tight corkscrew twist. It starts at a height of 74 meters and has a top speed of 15 miles per hour, taking 40 seconds to go down.

Tickets include access to the Orbit’s viewing platform.

London isn’t the only city expecting a helter skelter either, with plans afoot for a glass slide 1,000 ft up Downtown LA’s US Bank Tower.

- CNN