 The representation of the Union Flag used as an arena centrepiece was designed by Damien Hirst to celebrate the " anarchy and diversity of British pop art , and by extension the energy and multiplicity of contemporary British culture " . Hirst had been approached in November 2011 and agreed to do the design ; he called his artwork Beautiful Union Jack Celebratory Patriotic Olympic Explosion in an Electric Storm Painting . 176 photographs made up one centimetre of the stadium artwork with graphic designers having spent three months creating super @-@ high @-@ resolution images before printing . 
