London Mayor Boris Johnson, joined by architect Renzo Piano, cut a ribbon to the viewing platform, which is positioned 243m up the skyscraper, reports the BBC.

At the observation deck, called The View from The Shard, visitors are promised a spectacular 40-mile panoramic view of the capital if it’s a clear day – although today’s drizzle means today’s views of London won’t be at their finest.

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James Episcopou proposed his girlfriend to Laura Taylor at the View from the Shard this morning 

The Shard stands at 310m tall and is part of a £2bn redevelopment of the London Bridge area. The building has office space, apartments, restaurants and a 200-room Shangri-La hotel which is due to open in the summer.

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The view from the 68th floor on a clear day 

Visitors can look through special telescopes called ‘Tell: scopes’ which show a real image of the surroundings as well as what a clear-day view would be as well as a sunset view and a night view.

Ticket prices are £24.95 for adults and £18.95 for children.

Don’t want to fork out? Take a look at The Guardian’s augmented reality panorama here

Images via Getty