The tower stands 114.5 meters (375 feet) tall, making it Britain's biggest sculpture, more than twice the height of Nelson's Column, almost six times the height of the Angel of the North, and 22 meters taller than the Statue of Liberty.

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He would have needed banknotes 300 times the height of Nelson's Column to balance the books of his empire.

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At 453ft (138m) tall - twice the height of Nelson's column - the cranes arrived at the Thames Gateway port from China.

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The cast will be performing in an arena as big as Trafalgar Square at heights of 145ft - the height of Nelson's Column.

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But when we met at the restaurant I wanted to read him something I'd written in a March column, at the height of "Linsanity, " about a 1970 Knicks-Baltimore Bullets playoff game I attended.

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