These Shard facts come with a date and a source each, because the tower has been described in so many numbers that it is easy to repeat the wrong one. I took them from Wikipedia and Wikidata, and where the two disagree, as they do on the height, I show both. The Shard facts and history here stop where a visit starts: if you want to go up, my guide to tickets for The Shard compares the options and prices.
Shard Facts Timeline
Year
What happened
1975
Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office block, is built on the site
1998
Irvine Sellar and his partners decide to redevelop it
2000
Sellar meets Renzo Piano in Berlin and Piano sketches a spire on the river
2003
Planning consent is announced on 19 November, after an inquiry in April and May
2007
Mace is awarded the construction contract in November
2008
Qatari investors secure a stake in January; demolition of Southwark Towers is under way
2009
Full construction begins on 16 March
2012
The steel is topped out on 30 March; the tower is inaugurated on 5 July
2013
The View from The Shard opens to the public on 1 February
2014
The Shangri-La hotel opens on 6 May; the tower wins an Emporis award
2017
The office floors are announced as fully let in October
2019
A man climbs the outside without ropes on 8 July
Shard Facts: How It Started
The Shard began as a redevelopment. In 1998 Irvine Sellar and his partners decided to replace the 1970s Southwark Towers, following a UK government white paper that encouraged tall buildings at major transport hubs, per Wikipedia. In spring 2000 Sellar flew to Berlin to meet Renzo Piano, who spoke of his contempt for conventional tall buildings, then turned over the restaurant menu and sketched a spire emerging from the Thames.
The plan was opposed by heritage bodies, and the Deputy Prime Minister ordered a planning inquiry in July 2002. Consent came on 19 November 2003, with the government saying it would only approve skyscrapers of exceptional design. The name comes from that fight: English Heritage called the building a shard of glass through the heart of historic London.
Money and Ownership: The Shard Facts Behind the Glass
Wikipedia gives some figures for the cost. In November 2007 the contractor Mace was awarded a fixed-price contract of no more than 350 million pounds, and by October 2008 the price had risen to almost 435 million pounds. In January 2008 Sellar announced it had secured funding from Qatari investors, who paid 150 million pounds for an 80% stake. Today the building is owned 95% by the State of Qatar and 5% by Sellar Property, per the same page.
Building It: Shard Facts From the Site
Construction used a method that was a first for the UK: top-down construction, where the foundations are dug while the core rises. Five cranes were used, four of them jumping up with the tower. Wikipedia reports that by March 2010 the concrete core was rising about 3 metres a day, and that during building a fox, named Romeo by staff, was found living at the top of the unfinished skyscraper and taken to an animal centre.
The steel was topped out on 30 March 2012, when a 66-metre, 500-tonne spire was winched into place, taking the steel to 308.7 m. The final 516 panes of glass were then added, completing the full height of 309.6 m. The tower was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Qatar on 5 July 2012, and practical completion followed in November.
Design and Shard Facts About Glass
Piano’s idea was a sculpture, not a box. Wikipedia says the glass is angled so that it reflects sunlight and sky and changes with the weather. The building has 11,000 panes of glass covering 56,000 square metres, equal to almost eight Wembley football pitches. It was also designed with the lessons of 11 September 2001 in mind, and its tapering shape and post-tensioned concrete give a sway tolerance of 400 millimetres. In 2014 it took first place at the Emporis Skyscraper Awards.
What Is Inside, and Which Floors You Visit
The Shard is a mixed-use tower. Wikipedia lists 26 floors of offices, three restaurants (Aqua Shard, Oblix and Hutong) on floors 31 to 33, the Shangri-La hotel on floors 34 to 52, 10 residential apartments and the highest viewing gallery in the UK. The viewing gallery and open-air observation deck are on the 72nd floor, at 244 metres. The official site describes the ticket slightly differently, as levels 68 and 69 plus the open-air level 72, in its plan your visit page, so I would treat the levels as the official wording and the 244 m as Wikipedia’s.
To see what each level offers, read my Shard map page.
Shard Facts From the Tenants
The building filled up slowly. The Shangri-La hotel was expected to open by the end of 2013 but opened on 6 May 2014. Wikipedia says Al Jazeera moved its London operations into the tower on 13 September 2014, with its first live broadcast on 10 November 2014, and that Warwick Business School opened a base there in June 2015. The office floors were announced as fully let in October 2017. Another Shard fact worth knowing is that the fourth, fifth and sixth floors host part of London Bridge Hospital.
Shard Facts That Go Beyond the Tickets
Because it is so visible, the tower attracts stunts. Wikipedia reports that a group of urban explorers reached the top of the building site in December 2011, that a team of 40 including Prince Andrew abseiled from the 87th floor on 3 September 2012 for charity, and that six Greenpeace volunteers climbed it on 11 July 2013 in a 16-hour protest. On 8 July 2019 a man climbed it without ropes and later received a six-month detention. The Greenpeace climbers and the 2019 climber were arrested or sentenced, and I mention them as history, not as something to try.
The Shard also appears in film. Wikipedia says it was added to London’s skyline in Children of Men in 2006 with a scale model and CGI, before it existed, and it features in Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019.
14 Shard Facts With Sources
The Shard is 309.6 metres (1,016 ft) high (Wikipedia); Wikidata gives 306 m (Wikidata).
It has 95 storeys, of which 72 are habitable (Wikipedia).
It is the tallest building in the United Kingdom and Western Europe (Wikipedia).
It replaced the 24-storey Southwark Towers, built in 1975 (Wikipedia).
Planning consent was announced on 19 November 2003 (Wikipedia).
Full construction began on 16 March 2009 (Wikipedia).
It was topped out on 30 March 2012 with a 66 m, 500-tonne spire (Wikipedia).
It was inaugurated on 5 July 2012, and the observation deck opened on 1 February 2013 (Wikipedia).
The observation deck on the 72nd floor is at 244 metres (Wikipedia).
It has 11,000 panes of glass covering 56,000 square metres (Wikipedia).
Its sway tolerance is 400 millimetres (Wikipedia).
It is owned 95% by the State of Qatar and 5% by Sellar Property (Wikipedia).
It is the second-tallest free-standing structure in the UK, after the 330 m Emley Moor tower (Wikipedia).
Go Up With the Shard Facts in Mind
For a first visit I would book the plain entry ticket at $36, which is also the most reviewed Shard ticket, with 4.5 stars from 10,389 reviews. It gives the view without a guide, and the facts above are enough background.
The View from The Shard
The View from The Shard
★4.5 (10,389 reviews)
24-hour ticket
Free cancellation
My pick: My pick: the plain entry to The View from The Shard, 4.5 from 10,389 reviews.
What you get, where you meet, what reviewers say
Included
✓ Ticket to the attraction
Not included / not suitable
✕ Souvenir photograph - available for purchase, for an additional cost
Meeting point: Address: London Bridge, London. The entrance to the attraction is on Joiner Street, next to the London Bridge Underground station. 32 London Bridge St, London SE1 9SG, UK
Duration: 1 day
Cancellation: Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
“I really enjoyed the day excellent views very clean my only complaint was there was no prices on some of the items for sale in the shop” – GetYourGuide review
If you want a guide who explains the city around the tower, the Top 30 Sights walking tour with Shard entry at $113 runs about 7 hours.
Top Sights Tours LLC.
Top 30 Sights Walking Tour and The Shard Entry
★4.4 (27 reviews)
7 hours
Free cancellation
My pick: The guided pick: a long London sights walk with Shard entry, 4.4 from 27 reviews.
What you get, where you meet, what reviewers say
Included
✓ Entrance ticket to The Shard
✓ Walking tour of the top 30 sights in London
Not included / not suitable
✕ Transport
✕ Snacks & drinks
Meeting point: We meet outside the Ritz Hotel (W1J 9BR). Next to two red telephone boxes. Nearest underground station is Green Park.
Once you have booked, we will send you a confirmation email with all the details of how, where, and who to meet on the day of your tour. 150 Piccadilly, St. James's, London W1J 9BR, UK
Languages: English
Duration: 7 hours
Cancellation: Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
“Benedikt our guide was wonderful.He was funny and informative at the same time. Thanks for the great experience Ben” – GetYourGuide review
Check the Shard opening hours for your date, then book through the full list of Shard tickets once you have chosen. The home page lists the other attractions I compare.
Frequently asked questions
How tall is The Shard?+
Wikipedia gives 309.6 metres (1,016 feet) at its highest point and 308.5 m at the highest point of the steelwork, though another passage of the same article gives 308.7 m for the steel. Wikidata lists 306 m, so the sources differ by a few metres. It has 95 storeys, 72 of them habitable.
When was The Shard built?+
Full construction began on 16 March 2009, per Wikipedia. The steel was topped out on 30 March 2012 and the tower was inaugurated on 5 July 2012. Practical completion came in November 2012, and The View from The Shard opened to the public on 1 February 2013.
Who owns The Shard?+
Wikipedia says it is jointly owned by Sellar Property (5%) and the State of Qatar (95%). It was developed by Sellar Property Group on behalf of LBQ Ltd. Qatari investors first took a stake in January 2008, and the State of Qatar consolidated its ownership in 2009.
Who designed The Shard?+
The Italian architect Renzo Piano, per Wikipedia and Wikidata. He sketched the idea of a spire-like sculpture emerging from the Thames at a lunch with the developer Irvine Sellar in Berlin in spring 2000. He drew on the railway lines by the site, Canaletto's London spires and the masts of sailing ships.
Why is it called The Shard?+
English Heritage criticised the plan as a shard of glass through the heart of historic London, according to Wikipedia, and the name stuck. It was formerly called London Bridge Tower.
Is The Shard the tallest building in Europe?+
Not now. Wikipedia says it is the tallest building in the United Kingdom and in Western Europe and the seventh-tallest in Europe. It was the tallest completed building in Europe on 30 March 2012 but was overtaken in November 2012 by the 339-metre Mercury City Tower in Moscow.
