The stelae are grouped in four linked clusters that reflect the four locations of the bombings at Tavistock Square, Edgware Road, King's Cross and Aldgate East tube stations.

The columns are anonymous, but each is inscribed with the date, place and time of the relevant bombing; a separate plaque lists the names of those killed.

The memorial was designed by a team including architects Carmody Groarke, engineers Arup, and landscape architects Colvin and Moggridge (see Brenda Colvin), advised by sculptor Antony Gormley, in consultation with representatives from the families of the victims, and also representatives from the Royal Parks and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

[9] The proposed design was approved in November 2008,[10] and the completed memorial was unveiled on the fourth anniversary of the attacks on 7 July 2009, at a ceremony attended by family members and relations of the victims and Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, and other political leaders and representatives from the emergency services.

In the 2014 incident slogans such as "4 Innocent Muslims", "Blair Lied Thousands Died" and "J7 Truth" were stencilled in red and black on the memorial, and were removed shortly after being discovered by the park's manager.