Pictures: The Shard opens with laser show

A combination of 12 lasers and 30 searchlights lit up the sky over the capital at around 10.15pm in a display that was streamed live on The Shard’s website and Facebook pages.

The show was co-ordinated to two pieces of well-known classical music: Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and the Finale from Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite performed live by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

The lasers reached out to other major landmark buildings across the capital including the London Eye, the Gherkin and Tower Bridge.   

As the music reached its crescendo, the laser show culminatated in the illumination of The Shard itself, lit from all sides by powerful searchlights.

The event marked the physical completion of the exterior of the building, but not all spectators were content with the display.

Some of the feedback on Twitter described it as "underwhelming" and a "huge disappointment".

Tickets to The View from The Shard – the visitor attraction at the pinnacle of the building opening 1 February 2013 – went on sale this morning.

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