Prior to the construction of Aspire at the University of Nottingham , B of the Bang was Britain 's tallest sculpture at well over twice the height of the Angel of the North , which stands at 66 feet ( 20 m ) . It was designed to look like an exploding firework and 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 and was designed by Thomas Heatherwick .