The View from The Shard (VTS), a new visitor experience located at the top of Europe's tallest building in London, will open to the public on 1 February.

Details of the attraction's design were revealed for the first time today (25 October) by Anders Nyberg, VTS chief executive.

The tall attraction will take people on a journey to 244m (800ft) above London, almost twice as high as any other viewing point in the city.

A series of colourful tongue-in-cheek illustrations of famous Londoners in playful juxtapositions will greet visitors at the entrance to The View from The Shard. Here Margaret Thatcher and Karl Max are pictured out for a ride together on a tandem bicycle; Vidal Sassoon and Vivienne Westwood are giving King Charles I a makeover; and George Orwell is installing CCTV cameras.

From the ground floor, guests depart in two high-speed lifts that take just 30 seconds to reach the viewing platforms.

On their journey skywards they will be accompanied by a soaring anthem from the London Symphony Orchestra, building anticipation of being able to enjoy 64km (40 mile), 360-degree views over the capital and beyond.

Twelve digital 'Tell:scopes' - digital telescopes with large touchscreens - have been installed at the viewing platforms. Fully interactive, they are able to identify famous landmarks and places of significant interest in the user's sight line and provide information about them in 10 languages.

TVS chief executive, Anders Nyberg, said: "The View from The Shard is the only pla e you can experience all of London all at once and the attraction will draw people into the story of London, its history, people and places like never before.

"The unrivalled panoramic views of London will be brought to life through cutting edge technology to provide a truly unique experience of one of the world's greatest cities. We look forward to revealing more details about the attraction before we open."