A 'UNIQUE' public art installation could be installed at a popular beauty spot to commemorate ten years since the former borough of Weymouth & Portland hosted the 2012 Olympic sailing.

Weymouth Town Council is exploring options to commission a permanent artwork at the Nothe Gardens, where the ‘live site’ viewing area was held for the sailing events in 2012.

The Nothe 2012 public art project was agreed back in October. Since then preliminary advice has been sought from Dorchester-based The Arts Development Company (ADC) which is also supporting the council with another current project, the Weymouth mural trail.

Members of the town council's Services committee will now consider three options at a forthcoming meeting.

Dorset Echo: It's been a decade since we hosted the Olympuics - believe it or not!It's been a decade since we hosted the Olympuics - believe it or not!

The first option is to hold an open call to artists which would involve the council holding site visits to come up with two outline designs. The pros are the potential for a wider variety of submissions, which is "exciting and is a fair process that pays artists for their time to create the concept." It would be designed specifically for the site and will increase the quality of the environment.

The cons are that it is a longer and more costly process, which will impact on the installation timeframe.

Option two is to invite select artists; a shorter and cheaper process, costing between £10,000 to £12,000, which would make it possible for the artwork to be installed this summer. The con is narrowing the field, as only those artists invited will get an opportunity to apply.

The third option, which was put forward by councillor Luke Wakeling, is for a 'tasteful' Portland stone Olympic podium placed on a foundation slab that people can climb on and take photos. It would feature 'Weymouth' carved in large letters so that the town’s name will appear every time it is photographed and shared on social media. That option is costed at £20,000 to £22,000.

Councillors could also decide not to progress with the project at all if they are concerned about cost.

The proposals will be considered at the town council's Services committee meeting on Wednesday January 19 which will be live streamed via the Weymouth Town Council Facebook page.