Biggest Tent In the World

The planet's largest climate controlled tent, Khan Shatyr, opened in Kazakhstan in a country where the annual average temperature is just 3 degrees Celius. The huge recreational structure soars up 150m. It is now a major feature of the skyline of Central Asia's latest capital.

Wrapped with multiple layers of EFTE, a special plastic that provides an energy-efficient, climate-controlled tension structure, the tent protects the people of Kazakhstan from the extreme weather conditions of the area.

The tent's design provides an escape for a people subjected to some of the harshest climate of Central Asia's vast steppe. Temperatures in Astana, in northern Kazakhstan, regularly drop well below -30C in winter, but can reach 30C in summer.

Taking 4 years to complete, the Khan Shatyr is a 100,000 sq metre complex designed by Lord Foster. It possesses a city within a city, with restaurants and shops, water park, cinemas, botanical garden, a monorail and mini-golf course.

The opening ceremony was started with a performance by Andrea Bocelli, Italian tenor, and closed with a fireworks display. It was timed to concur with Astana day, a new holiday celebrating the nation's capital. It was attended by Nazarbayev, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, Turkish president Abdullah Gul and Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, among others. The Khan Shatyr is the latest vanity project begun by Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan's increasingly autocratic president.

Nazarbayev renamed the isolated northern city Almaty, Astana, which literally means 'capital', following the move of Kazakhstan's capital. On the tenth anniversary of the move, Nazarbayev declared the 6th July Astana Day, which just happens to be his birthday.

Pouring nearly £8bn into the city to transform it into a capital befitting Central Asia's most booming economy, Nazarbayev brought in world-famous architects like Kisho Kurokawa, who before his death in 2007 designed a new urban plan for the city and Astana's new airport.

Italian architect Manfredi Nicoletti designed a petal-shaped concert hall. The observation deck of Bayterek, a 105mtall tower in the city centre, bears a bronze book with an imprint of Nazarbayev's right hand and asks viewers to place their own hand into it and make a wish.

Authorities attempted to create a cover up, when the original bronze book with hand imprint was stolen. They had a replica quickly made of the stolen item.

Will Webster, a London-based freelance photographer who recently photographed the site said "They're essentially creating a new city, so they're playing around with new ideas. The place is odd."

Since it gained independence amid the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Nazarbayev has ruled Kazakhstan with an iron fist. His current presidential term expires in 2012, but under legal changes granted by parliament in 2007, he is permitted to serve as president indefinitely.