ArcelorMittal and the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games: A history of innovative collaboration that shows the endless possibilities of designing with steel

Our relationship with the world’s most iconic sporting events started in 2010 when we were confirmed as a sponsor of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. From the start, we wanted our involvement to differ from a typical sponsorship. Instead, we set out to create a transformational piece of art that would be recognized as an iconic symbol for  London 2012 and a landmark that would endure beyond the Games. We also wanted to do something that challenged perceptions of what is possible with steel, demonstrating its versatility, functionality and beauty as a construction material.

The outcome was the ArcelorMittal Orbit, a striking 114-metre-tall steel sculpture designed by artist Sir Anish Kapoor and designer and engineer Cecil Balmond, that stood as a centrepiece on the Stratford site where the Games took place. Hosting over 100,000 visitors during the Games 

and millions since, and with the world’s longest tunnel slide added in 2016, the Orbit stands today as a memory of an incredible Olympic Games. 

ArcelorMittal Orbit, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford

It also set a high benchmark for us, helping to frame the discussions we have had with Paris 2024 about our involvement. The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games has high ambitions to deliver an event that is ‘more responsible, more sustainable, more united and more inclusive’ than any previous Games.

This – alongside the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect, and Paralympic values of determination, equality, inspiration and courage – resonated strongly with us. The values set the foundation for the Olympic movement’s ambition to promote sport, culture and education to help build a better world – an ambition that is close to our purpose, to create smarter steels for people and planet.

In March 2023 we therefore announced we had become an official partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and set to work on something we hoped would equal, or even surpass, our efforts for the London 2012 Games, and that once again demonstrated the versatility and beauty of steel, as well as its sustainability.