Meet the Olympic Bell, a colossal creation weighing 22 long tons 18 cwt 3 qr 13 lb, ranked as Europe's second heaviest. Though the Whitechapel Bell Foundry was commissioned to make it, the hefty task of casting was outsourced to Royal Eijsbouts of the Netherlands. A colossus of bronze, it stands an imposing 3.34 metres in diameter and towers 2 metres high. The bell was installed and tested in the stadium at midnight on 1 June 2012.
Inscribed with 'London 2012' and a quote from The Tempest, it took the second position, with the Petersglocke in Cologne Cathedral leading the way. After gracing the Olympic Games, it was moved to the Olympic Park to make way for the Olympic cauldron, and was eventually moved back to a supporting structure just outside the Olympic Stadium in May 2016.
The bell is not currently rung due to concerns that doing so would disturb nearby residents, making it possibly the largest ornamental bell in the world.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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