B of the Bang, Steel sculpture in Beswick, England.
B of the Bang was a steel tower in Beswick, northeast Manchester, made of a central core with radiating metal spikes. The spikes pointed in all directions and formed a shape that looked like a frozen explosion.
The tower was completed in 2005 to honor the Commonwealth Games held in the city three years earlier. Structural problems led to its removal in 2009.
The name came from British sprinter Linford Christie's description of starting races at the moment of the gunshot. Locals quickly adopted the tower as a landmark visible from the main road into the city.
The tower no longer exists and was fully dismantled due to safety concerns. Visitors looking for information can find signs and documentation in the area about this former landmark.
Inside one of the spikes was a time capsule holding children's drawings and poems. The capsule was meant to be opened around the year 2300, but no one knows what happened to it after the tower came down.
Location: Beswick
Inception: 2005
Creator: Thomas Heatherwick
GPS coordinates: 53.48194,-2.19611
Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:28
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