Olympic Park Is Where Names Will Be Made, Records Broken, New Legends Created: It Is Going to Be Centre Stage During the Summer of 2012

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The Olympic Park is where names will be made, records broken, new legends created: it is going to be centre stage during the summer of 2012 – and long after. The nine new world-class sporting venues (six of them permanent) will be a fantastic setting for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. After the Games, the Park will be transformed into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and will be the focus of the regeneration of this part of London. The new permanent venues and infrastructure will be the foundations for the continuing development of this area of east London for decades to come.

Olympic Park venues

6 7 Olympic Park

The Olympic Park is at the After the Games, the Park and broken up by rivers, elsewhere, electricity pylons heart of the London 2012 – to be renamed the Queen roads and railways. Parts were dismantled and the Olympic and Paralympic Elizabeth Olympic Park – of the area had been used rivers were dredged. Two Games. will become the largest new as a dumping ground for million tonnes of soil were urban park in the UK for industrial and domestic cleaned with 80 per cent Nine new world-class over a century, with the new waste and much of the land reused to form the new sporting venues, the Olympic sporting venues, parklands had been taken over by Park landscape. and Paralympic Village and and residential developments invasive species such as media centres, all set in becoming the focus of this Japanese knotweed, and Following the clean-up, fantastic new parklands, part of east London. polluted with contaminants the construction of the main will be a fabulous stage such as oil, tar and lead. venues and infrastructure of for the world’s athletes The area is unrecognisable the Park was achieved in less to perform at their best. from 2005, when London Work to transform the Park than three years. With the won the right to host the began in 2007. Before project completed on time 2012 Games. Seven construction could start, the and within budget, the Park years ago, the 2.5 square land had to be cleared and is a showcase for the best kilometre site was home to cleaned. Disused buildings of UK plc – great design, light industry, dominated were demolished, with engineering, construction by overhead powerlines, materials recycled or reused and project management.

8 9 Olympic Park by numbers 10,000 286,446 pages in the planning people went on free bus application for the Olympic tours of the Olympic Park 0 53m Park that was submitted by between 2007 and 2012 people lost their lives while is the height of the Olympic the ODA, one of the longest working on construction of Stadium, 3m taller than ever in Europe main venues and infrastructure Nelson’s Column for the London 2012 Games 300,000 nails were used to fi x in 46,000+ place 56km of timber to 88 people were employed form the track surface of 2.5sq km rooftop pipes bring natural on the Olympic Park and the Velodrome is the size of the Olympic light into the Copper Box Olympic and Paralympic Park – the same size as arena, reducing the need Village during the 357 football pitches for artifi cial power construction of the main venues and infrastructure, 300,000+ with the workforce peaking wetland plants have brought a at 12,000 splash of colour to parklands 4 532 surrounding Olympic and skeletons were removed individual fl oodlights in Paralympic venues from a prehistoric settlement 14 towers light up the found during excavation Olympic Stadium to meet the 180,000 work on the site of the needs of high-defi nition TV tiles line the swimming and Aquatics Centre diving pools in the Aquatics 2,000,000 Centre, with almost 600,000 tonnes of contaminated soil in the whole building was cleaned, with more than 675 80 per cent reused on the 5 bird and bat boxes are Olympic Park jumbo jets would fi t being installed to encourage wing tip to wing tip wildlife to make their home 200,000 inside the International in the Olympic Park temporary seats are Broadcast Centre being installed in the 10,000,000 fi nal transformation of the litres of water are needed Olympic Park by the London to fi ll the pools in the 4,000 2012 Organising Committee Aquatics Centre 52 new trees were planted huge electricity pylons in the Olympic Park and were dismantled to clear the Olympic and Paralympic landscape so construction Village, the fi rst by £1,004,000,000 could begin in the Her Majesty The Queen (€1.2bn/$1.5bn) of savings were made by the ODA Olympic Park in October 2009 to ensure the project remained within budget

10 11 Olympic Park map N metres

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Wa lth a m Greenway Transport Hub F o r e s t Stratford station Westﬁeld New ham High StreetWest Ham Stratford City station Stratford Olympic and International A12 Paralympic station Greenway Village Stratford Gate Gate Aquatics Centre S k t r a al t f o W r d Orbit y W a Water Circus w a n l e Polo k Orbit e y Arena Gr a w

BMX e

e Track r Basketball G Arena The Eton Street Wetlands Manor Velodrome Market Olympic Walk d

Stadium o Park Live R Warm-up East p venue e r L e a o R i v o k L l k a l n o r W Londonon Wa yway M a River Lon nd a n o W t Lawns E Park Live A12 World a i West Britannia Square r o t Row c i

Eton Manor Ea CopperCopper r Energy stway Warm-up Box Gate Riverbank venue Box Centre Arena ute Victoria Eton Manor ss Ro Gate o Transport Hub International To wer Cr ast Broadcast E Centre H a mle t s

Main Press Hac k n N Centre Hackney metres

Entrance and exit Olympic sport

Spectator zone Paralympic sport

Entrance area Park Live

Competition venues London Underground

Warm-up venue National Rail

Non-sports venue London Overground

Back of house Docklands Light Railway

Venue facts Olympic Games The Centre contains a 50m More than 180,000 tiles Diving, Swimming, competition pool, 25m line the pools; Paralympic Synchronised Swimming, competition diving pool swimmer Liz Johnson laid Modern Pentathlon and 50m warm-up pool. the last tile in April 2011. (swimming element) Its 3,000-tonne wave-like Archaeological investigations Paralympic Games steel roof is 160m long before construction discovered Swimming and up to 80m wide. an Iron Age settlement, including an ancient burial After the Games The roof rests on just two site with four skeletons. Pools open for use by the concrete supports at one community, schools and end of the building and After the Games, a créche, elite athletes; reopens in a supporting wall at the family-friendly training spring 2014 other – a longer single span facilities, cafe and new than Heathrow Terminal 5. public plaza will be Capacity added, and the venue’s 17,500 (reduced to 2,500 To reduce the amount of two temporary seating after the Games) mains water used, pool wings removed. water will be used to fl ush Construction the venue’s toilets. July 2008 – July 2011

14 15 Basketball Arena Venue facts Olympic sports The Arena is one of the It is 35m tall – the same Basketball (early rounds), largest temporary venues height as a 10-storey building. Handball (fi nals) ever built for any Olympic It was one of the quickest and Paralympic Games. Paralympic Games Olympic Park venues to Wheelchair Basketball, The 1,000-tonne steel be constructed, with its Wheelchair Rugby frame is covered in 20,000 giant frame erected in less square metres of recyclable than three months during After the Games PVC fabric. spring 2010. Dismantled with elements reused elsewhere It will be one of the most The seating of the arena heavily-used venues within is black and orange to Capacity the Olympic Park, with represent the colours of 12,000 (Olympics) competition events taking a basketball. 10,000 (Paralympics) place almost every day. Construction To comfortably accommodate October 2009 – July 2011 the basketball players, all the venue’s doorways are an above average 2.4m high.

16 17 BMX Track

Venue facts Olympic Games The new BMX Track Construction was completed Cycling – BMX is located next to the in time for the third round Velodrome in the north of the UCI BMX Supercross After the Games of the Olympic Park. World Cup, a test event Temporary seating will for the London 2012 be removed and the track The fast and challenging BMX competition. reconfi gured to make it course starts with an suitable for riders of all 8m-high ramp. After the Games, it will ages and abilities form part of the Lee Valley Around 14,000 cubic metres VeloPark, along with Capacity of soil were used to build the the Velodrome and a new 6,000 Track, enough to fi ll three one-mile road cycle circuit 50m swimming pools. Construction and mountain bike courses March 2011 – This soil was excavated – to be owned and managed September 2011 from elsewhere on the by Lee Valley Regional Olympic Park site, Park Authority. cleaned, then reused to create the fi nal track.

18 19 Copper Box Venue facts Olympic Games The Copper Box is 115,000 The top half of the venue is Handball (early rounds), cubic metres in size – larger clad in 3,000sq m of copper Modern Pentathlon than the Royal Festival Hall with a high recycled content, (fencing element) on London’s South Bank. which will develop a rich natural colour as it ages. Paralympic Games Retractable seating can Goalball change the size of the fi eld ‘RUN’, a gigantic sculpture of play to suit different sports by artist Monica Bonvicini – After the Games during and after the Games. part of the London 2012 ‘Art Multi-use arena for in the Park’ programme – has community use, athlete It is the fi rst UK sports venue been built outside the venue. training and events; to be naturally lit – 88 rooftop reopening summer 2013 light pipes will achieve annual energy savings of Capacity up to 40 per cent. 6,500 (7,500 for events using the fi eld of play after the Games) Construction July 2009 – May 2011

20 21 Eton Manor

Venue facts Olympic Games Eton Manor is the only After the site had been Aquatics training new permanent London cleared, it was used as 2012 Paralympic venue. the temporary home for Paralympic Games a ‘digger school’, at which Wheelchair Tennis, It features four indoor people were trained in Aquatics training and six outdoor striking operating construction blue competition courts After the Games machinery with many of for Wheelchair Tennis. Transformed into facilities for them going on to get jobs the local community, including During the Games, there on the Olympic Park. a tennis centre with four indoor will be three 50m temporary Eton Manor is the site of two and six outdoor courts, hockey training swimming pools, memorials to members of the centre that will host 2015 and smaller pools for Old Boys’ Club who died in European Championships, synchronised swimmers the two World Wars. These and space for 10 fi ve-a-side and Water Polo players. memorials – used by the football pitches Eton Manor is built on the Club every Remembrance Capacity site of the Eton Manor Old Day – were stored safely 6,500 Boys’ Club, a local sports during building work, club established in the and will be restored and Construction early 1900s. returned after the Games. July 2009 – May 2011 22 23 Olympic Stadium Venue facts Olympic Games The Olympic Stadium is There are more than 700 Opening and Closing located on an ‘island’ site, rooms within the Stadium, Ceremonies, Athletics (except surrounded by waterways with a 60m warm-up track, Marathons and Race Walks) on three sides. eight changing rooms and four prayer rooms. Paralympic Games Spectators will reach the Opening and Closing venue using fi ve bridges The top ring of the Stadium Ceremonies, Athletics that link the site to the was built using surplus gas (except Marathons) surrounding area. supply pipes – an example of London 2012’s efforts to After the Games Its innovative fl exible design ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’. Becomes a multi-use venue, has a lower tier with a hosting sport, cultural and capacity of 25,000, and an To meet high-defi nition TV community events, including upper tier holding a further standards, the Stadium is lit being the new national 55,000 spectators. After the by 532 individual fl oodlights centre for athletics and the Games the Olympic Stadium housed in 14 towers, each venue for the 2017 IAAF will have a capacity of 28m high. World Championships 60,000 for legacy use. Capacity 80,000 Construction March 2008 – March 2011

24 25 Riverbank Arena

Venue facts Olympic Games London 2012 is the fi rst There are temporary seating Hockey Olympic Games where stands on three sides of the Hockey pitches are not the competition pitch; the Paralympic Games green. Pink is used for the fourth side is open, offering 5-a-side Football, area surrounding the pitch spectators a view across the 7-a-side Football and blue for the fi eld of play. Olympic Park and London. After the Games The blue pitches will provide The Riverbank Arena Temporary seating high levels of contrast with will also be used to host stands dismantled the white ball and white both Paralympic Football lines for players, offi cials, Capacity competitions. The warm-up spectators, photographers 16,000 pitch will host the 5-a-side and broadcasters. The pitch event, the main pitch the run-off areas will be pink, 7-a-side competition. providing a striking and dynamic look to the venue. The complex includes two pitches, one for competition and one for warm-up.

26 27 Velodrome Venue facts Olympic Games Olympic gold medal-winning The Velodrome won the Cycling – Track cyclist Sir Chris Hoy joined Architecture Award at the venue’s design panel to the Design Museum’s Paralympic Games help ensure the best possible 2012 Awards. Cycling – Track conditions for participants The track is made from After the Games in the events at the venue. 56km of sustainably sourced Along with a reconfi gured During the Games, the Siberian pine, and was fi xed BMX Track and new temperature at track level in place using more than facilities for road cycling will be 28ºC to optimise 300,000 nails. and mountain biking, forms athletes’ performances. the new Lee Valley VeloPark The venue’s outer for use by community and It is naturally ventilated, cladding uses 5,000sq m elite athletes eliminating the need for of sustainably sourced air conditioning. western red cedar. Capacity 6,000 The roof collects rainwater that will help to reduce mains Construction water usage by more than March 2009 – February 2011 70 per cent.

28 29 Water Polo Arena

Venue facts Olympic Games The Arena, which has a Its silver skin is made from Water Polo 37m competition pool and environmentally-friendly a smaller training pool, is PVC that can be recycled. After the Games the fi rst dedicated Water Taken down after the Games The Arena’s infl atable Polo venue to be built for with elements of the venue sloping roof is designed an Olympic Games. expected to be reused to provide extra insulation or relocated elsewhere The venue’s sloping design and reduce condensation. means the referee’s raised Capacity table does not obscure the 5,000 view of spectators, who Construction sit on the opposite side January 2011 – May 2012 of the pool. Many parts of the venue, such as the temporary seating, have been hired so they can easily be returned and reused after the Games.

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