THE shortlist of artists who will compete to create the “Angel of the South” landmark in Kent has been announced.

Eurostar and its partners London & Continental Railways and Land Securities today revealed the names of five critically acclaimed artists who will battle it out to design the £2million Ebbsfleet Landmark at the new international train station.

Whoever wins the coveted contract will be tasked with creating a public work of art twice as high as Antony Gormley’s famous Angel of the North, and will help to put Ebbsfleet International firmly on the world map.

The five shortlisted artists are French artist Daniel Buren, Turner Prize winners Richard Deacon, Mark Wallinger and Rachel Whiteread, and sculptor Christopher Le Brun.

The artist will work on their designs for the landmark over the next three months and the winner will be selected by a selection panel.

Whatever the chosen design of the new British landmark, the structure will stand more than 40 metres high on a hill by the A2 and is intended to be visible from land, sea and air.

The work will be part of a larger regeneration project for Ebbsfleet Valley.

Essex-born Rachel Whiteread, who was the first woman to win the Turner Prize in 1993, said: "It has been a long time since I have been so excited about a project.

"Having grown up close to the area, I find the landscape of this part of Kent familiar, fascinating and inspiring.

"Properly-funded commissions of this scale and ambition are rare."