prior to the construction of aspire at the university of nottingham, "b of the bang" was britain's tallest sculpture. it stood at twice the height of the angel of the north. angel of the north is tall. it was designed to look like an exploding firework. it was taller and leaned at a greater angle than the leaning tower of pisa. it was commissioned by new east manchester limited to commemorate the 2002 commonwealth games. the design was selected by a panel consisting of both local residents and art experts via a competition in 2002. the sculpture was designed by thomas heatherwick.