Updates

Olympic site:

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Frans Zwart on Flickr


key
http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/pix/2009/11/olympic-park24_890x600.jpg
http://i.thisislondon.co.uk


at top left
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close-ups:

London2012.com
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some pix of Zaha Hadid's Aquatic Centre, and the Olympic Village:

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wow

Looks quite impressive already..London will host amazing games! Can´t wait to see the acquatics center built up.

The construction site is vast. Basically the Olympic Park itself is bigger than Central Park - but then theyre also adding a new CBD alongside. There will be a main transit hub (Eurostar, rail, tube and bus), plus the biggest urban mall in Western Europe (along with many open air shopping streets), and a new borough centre with 13.5 million sq. ft of offices. Also a main mosque for East London (capacity 12,000) to be added later.


some of the area plan outside the park:

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/8797/arseeeee.jpg

Compliment, a really fantastic job.

Could you update the thread frequently?

Incredible cluster. :banana:

Another nice aerial shot.

From Jani Helle on Flickr

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4251448000_a84f17ac53_b.jpg

Wow when you see it from above it really makes me think "who could be arsed to even think where the hell to start" What I'm really amazed at is the railway lines throughout the site, do you have a map of all the lines?

nice pictures! :)

Wow when you see it from above it really makes me think "who could be arsed to even think where the hell to start" What I'm really amazed at is the railway lines throughout the site, do you have a map of all the lines?

Latest London 2012 Transport Plan (Dec 09):

http://www.london2012.com/documents/oda-transport/updated-olympictransportplanpart1-1-6.pdf

See pages 20, 53, 67, 86, and 87.

(also nice use of the new pictograms :))

^^

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/4448/2012transmap.gif

Can anyone tell what was made of the London Olympic Stadium thread? I couldn't find it anywhere :dunno:

Aquatic Centre

http://i49.tinypic.com/ne7w4i.jpg

http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx222/photostuff2010/Winter%202009/aquatics-centre.jpg

During the recent snow. :yes:

Can anyone tell what was made of the London Olympic Stadium thread? I couldn't find it anywhere :dunno:

It's here:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=48631265#post48631265

:cheers2:

^^

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/4448/2012transmap.gif

Those links are amazing, is this going to be the best served games ever in terms of public transport?

http://www.london2012.com/images/media-manager/2010/1/snow-on-the-olympic-park-67170.jpg

A week or so old now I guess, but I've just found this snowy photo on the London 2012 site.

double post

double post

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(from Nik300 on Flickr)

RobH, what about the Earls Court Exhibition Center?It will be used for indoor volleyball.How its interior will look during the 2012 Olympic Games?

From Maggie Jones on Flickr

Aquatic Centre:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2784/4381434119_64922da538_b.jpg



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More updates, since this thread has fallen down the forum a bit:

Stadium:

The lighting rigs are now in place and they're ready to roll on the fabric roof and put the wrap on:

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Basketball Arena:

The sections are being pulled up one by one. This is a temporary venue. It'll be clad with panels which will be lit up for night time competition.

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Aquatic Centre:

The diving pool has been dug, the roof is in place and is being clad at the moment:

From Maggie Jones on Flickr

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From DarJoLe on SSC

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Velodrome:

The cable-net roof is in place and the roof panels are going to be dropped square by square into this structure. The structure will be watertight by the summer and the track will start to be laid in the Autumn

http://www.london2012.com/images/media-manager/2010/4/velodrome-cable-net-roof-lifted-into-place-68392.jpg

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Lords:

The configuration for archery at Lord's Cricket Ground has been confirmed.

The London 2012 organising committee (Locog) and the MCC have unveiled their plans for transforming the home of cricket into a temporary archery venue, which involve two temporary stands being built on the outfield and the pavilion potentially being opened to the general public.

The layout, which has clearly been devised with television in mind, will see archers firing against the background of the pavilion, with the targets situated on the other side of the square.


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Greenwich Park:

Planning permission was finally granted last week after local protests groups tried to get the Equestrian events moved elsewhere. Thank God they didn't succeed, this is going to be a magnificent backdrop:

j-ctri_Azko

Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre:


The starting pool of the Olympic competition course has now been completed and the venue is on track to be completed later this year.

The White Water Canoe Centre in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, is being built by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and will host the Canoe Slalom events during the Olympic Games. Before and after 2012, the venue will be owned, funded and operated by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) as a sporting and leisure facility for canoeing and white-water rafting, as well as a major competition and training venue for elite events.

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A full list of venue can of course be seen here:

http://www.london2012.com/games/venues/index.php (though Villa Park and NGA2 are no longer being used or built)

But so far as significant venue updates since this thread was last updated go, I think that's about it.

It's true that boxing will be moved to wembley arena?

I think this is the most beuatiful design for and Olympic stadium, I'm dissapointed it's gonna get down sized.

Welldone Robbo

Solopop

You should visit Sydney sometime...it´s very close to Melbourne.

Solopop

You should visit Sydney sometime...it´s very close to Melbourne.

:lol:. I don't think he's ever left the Melbourne city limits.

I am looking at Olympic sports http://www.london2012.com/games/olympic-sports/index.php and i wonder how come there's no rugby among sports in ENGLAND?? If i remember correctly host nation can pick a sport that is not in regular Olympic program..

Some new pictures from the London 2012 website:

http://www.london2012.com/images/media-manager/2010/4/aquatics-centre-aerial-68342.jpg

http://www.london2012.com/images/media-manager/2010/4/olympic-park-aerial-68340.jpg

http://www.london2012.com/images/media-manager/2010/4/north-view-of-the-olympic-park-68297.jpg

I am looking at Olympic sports http://www.london2012.com/games/olympic-sports/index.php and i wonder how come there's no rugby among sports in ENGLAND?? If i remember correctly host nation can pick a sport that is not in regular Olympic program..

It cannot. If it were, it would be considered a demonstration sport, I don't think the IOC permits demonstration sports anymore.

Besides, Rugby 7's and Golf have been included for the Olympic Program for 2016, I don't think that they'll be played at 2012, even though there are existing venues for both.

I am looking at Olympic sports http://www.london2012.com/games/olym...orts/index.php and i wonder how come there's no rugby among sports in ENGLAND?? If i remember correctly host nation can pick a sport that is not in regular Olympic program..

Nope, they can't. That hasn't been the case for a while. The sports programme is entirely dictated by the IOC. Stupidly, they're introducing Rugby in Rio for 2016. Why not push that forward four years and let London host a tournament at Twickenham I don't know, but that's the IOC for you. :nuts:

^^ Too bad i like team sports. Thanks for the reply :)

btw beautiful venues and Olympic village :cheers:

^^ Too bad i like team sports. Thanks for the reply :)

btw beautiful venues and Olympic village :cheers:

I don't like the Olympic Stadium, especially the lighting. Did the lighting really need to be triangles? It could have been more daring, considering the cost to build it, even if it's to be downsized post Paralympics.

Can't wait for tickets to go on sale, where is the SSC meet going to be? Cause I'm there :)

Always wanted to attend an Olympics, getting tired of waiting for one to be close, since all the close cities, Toronto 2008, NYC 2012, and Chicago 2016 bids all failed I give up, I'm going to them instead of waiting for them to come to me. I just broke the news to my wife this morning, I said "Don't plan anything in summer 2012 because we're going to London". Ok I didn't say it like that, but we're going anyway :)

Olympic Park fly-through March 2010

9prmF994Ja4

Everything looks splendid. I hope you guys get as much jubilation from hosting in 2012 as we did in 2010. The Olympics really is a fabulous thing for any country to host. Good luck UK!

New Aerial Photos

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has today released new aerial images of construction progress on the Olympic Park showing the ‘big build’ firmly on track as the project continues in its busiest year to date.

The new aerial images, taken earlier this month, show the construction progress on the ‘big five’ venues (Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Olympic Village, Velodrome and IBC/MPC) as well as further progress on the new infrastructure and landscaping works across the Olympic Park that will help create the UK’s largest urban park for over a century. The new images follow the latest figures released by the ODA last week which show there are nearly 10,000 people currently working on the Olympic Park and Olympic Village.

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(thanks to DarJoLe for uploading all these onto Flickr)

AMAZING!

Grandstand views of Olympic Stadium as it begins to take final shape

Work on the Olympic Stadium is nearing completion - as these exclusive images reveal.

The Evening Standard was given unprecedented access to the £533 million venue to see how it will operate during the 2012 Games.

Much of the activity is focused on the grandstand - or west stand - which will be a VIP haven, warm-up area for athletes and main operational hub.

In the 3,000-capacity middle tier, reserved mainly for dignitaries and special guests, pitchside hospitality boxes and a 400-seat restaurant overlooking the river Lea are already taking shape. "VIP meals" will be prepared offsite and served from two kitchens.

The royal box will be in this enclosure, where tickets for top events will command four-figure sums.

To the right of the hospitality boxes, the operational nerve centre will be home to the emergency services.

The ground level of this stand will be a hive of behind-the-scenes action. Shower areas and lavatories have been fitted and tiled, with other rooms dedicated to doping control and athlete registration. There is a multi-faith room, a relaxation room for resting competitors and an air-conditioned 82-metre indoor warm-up track for athletes to use shortly before they are called into the stadium.

A media enclave in the south-west corner of the venue comprises a press conference room and a workroom for 1,000 journalists.

Outside, the PVC roof that will cover two thirds of spectators is half way to completion, with the daredevil project carried out by the Olympic site's own "spidermen". Employed by German firm Seele, the abseilers and climbers fund their hobby by erecting tensile fabric roofs.

In the stadium "bowl", diggers are levelling the field of play and drains and ducts are being excavated before the turf is laid. The 400-metre running track will be installed to exacting standards - with a tolerance of one millimetre in every metre. It will be one of the last projects before the stadium's completion next summer, when the first of a series of test events will begin.

Olympic Delivery Authority project manager Ian Crockford said construction work was in the "home straight". He added: "We are three quarters of the way through the build. We're getting the roof finished, the seats are arriving very shortly and all the lights are up. Inside we are painting and tiling. Then we test the air conditioning and pipeworks and do a final test."

The stadium has been designed to be reduced from 80,000 to 25,000 seats after the Games. However, it could be converted to a 50,000-seat venue if West Ham football club succeed in their bid to take over the venue.

Mr Crockford said whoever used it would find a fantastic atmosphere. "We got the crowd as close as we could to the field of play. We've developed something unique to build a permanent legacy."

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Build it and they will come: the view from the top of the west stand of the Olympic Stadium as diggers level the playing field. The west stand will host the royal box and a 400-seat restaurant.

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Grand entry: walking out from the west stand to the site of the start of the 100m track

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In the net: "spidermen" are suspended high above the stands as they work on the roof

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At the heart of things: the indoor warm-up track underneath the west stand

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Best seats in the house: the 3,000-seat royal and VIP area takes shape in the west stand middle tier

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Behind the scenes: showers and changing areas are already fitted and tiled

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23839885-standards-exclusive-views-of-olympic-stadium-as-it-begins-to-take-final-shape.do

by Andy Wilkes.

Aquatic Centre

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Handball Arena

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Basketball Arena

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originally posted by DarJoLe.

^^ Basketball arena on the right, velodrome on the left. :D

I see landscaping going in. Counting down the days until tickets go on sale.

^^ Basketball arena on the right, velodrome on the left. :D

Is the Basketball arena a temporary venue?

Is the Basketball arena a temporary venue?

Yes it is.

:cheers:

Athletes' Village new homes and community facilities take shape


04 Jun 2010
london 2012.com

New images released by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) today show the new homes and community facilities taking shape in the Athletes’ Village, two years since construction work began.

The Athletes’ Village, which lies adjacent to the Olympic Park, will accommodate athletes and officials during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. After the Games the Village will deliver the legacy of 2,818 new homes for east London, of which 1,379 will be affordable, owned and managed by Triathlon Homes. The new homes will be built across 11 residential plots and will be joined by new parks and open spaces.

Construction work started on the Athletes’ Village in June 2008 and three-quarters of the residential plots in the Village are now structurally complete. The structure of the world-class new education campus being built in the Village, Chobham Academy, is coming out of the ground with the second floor of the four-storey building now structurally complete. Earthworks are also now underway on the site of the state-of-the-art new Polyclinic in the Village that will provide healthcare facilities for existing local communities and the new residents that will live in the Village after 2012.

ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: 'Two years on from the start of construction on the Athletes’ Village and the project is firmly on track with the legacy of quality new homes for Londoners taking shape. Together with the new homes we are building, the progress being made on Chobham Academy and the Polyclinic site also shows the education and healthcare legacy we are delivering at the heart of the Village plans.'

Seb Coe, Chair of London 2012 Organising Committee, said: 'Delivering a first-class Athletes’ Village is an essential part of the support we will provide for athletes to ensure they can focus on giving the performance of a lifetime at the London 2012 Games. The Village will be one of the key features of the Olympic Park and the new homes and community facilities being built will be another part of the powerful legacy the Games will leave the local area.'

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: 'With these images we are starting to see just what the Athletes’ Village will look like in 2012. The top-quality accommodation that will be home to athletes will also become a cornerstone of the East London community long after the Games are over, providing iconic new housing for thousands of people.'

The 11 residential plots in the Athletes’ Village are each made up of 6–8 buildings, built in a rectangular layout around a traditional courtyard area. After 2012, the Village will leave a lasting legacy and a new community in east London including:
New Homes for Londoners

* 2,818 new homes in legacy including 1,379 affordable homes
* Family housing with nearly 1,000 three and four bed homes

New parklands, courtyards and open space

* Courtyard areas with gardens, play areas and open space
* More than 10 hectares of new parks and open space
* New public squares, tree-lined streets, and landscaped courtyards

A world-class education campus

* Chobham Academy, with 1,800 places for students aged 3-19
* Nursery, primary and secondary schools, including a sixth-form with adult learning facilities
* Day Care Facilities for children from 0-5 years old, located on the school site, and fully integrated into the nursery and lower school
* A sports facility for the Academy and the community

A state-of-the-art Polyclinic

* Community facilities and healthcare facilities co-located in a four storey 5,000 sq m building with car parking and cycle spaces
* Full range of primary healthcare services run by NHS Newham including multiple GP surgeries, outpatient activity, physiotherapy services, a children’s clinic and diagnostic facilities including X-ray and ultrasound
* Other healthcare facilities including dentistry, optometry and ancillary services

The structures of all 11 residential plots in the Village will be completed later in the summer, with the external cladding works well underway and the internal fit-out of the buildings starting. The Athletes’ Village is due for completion in early 2012.

Triathlon Homes (a joint venture company established by First Base and housing associations Southern Housing Group and East Thames Group) has purchased 1,379 of the new homes in the Athletes’ Village which will become available as affordable housing after 2012. The aim is to create affordable, high quality homes for local people which are intrinsic to the regeneration of the area and to ensure a successful legacy for Stratford and the wider east London community after the Games.

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http://www.london2012.com/press/media-releases/2010/06/athletes-village-new-homes-and-community-facilities-take.php

Architects draw up plans to adapt ExCeL centre for Olympics

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Allies & Morrison, Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands and Populous have drawn up plans to adapt London’s ExCeL conference centre into a venue for the 2012 Olympics.

The team’s proposals – which are expected to be approved by Newham Council this evening – include a main entry plaza with 1,000sq m of tents and canopies, in an open area of around 8,000 sq m.

The centre itself will be divided into five arenas suitable for seven Olympic and six Paralympic sports, including table tennis and judo, with extra facilities including training facilities built around it.

There will also be back-of-house facilities including warm-up areas and a broadcast compound.

The inclusive design will include water fountains for guide dogs. The entire development will be surrounded by a temporary security fence.

Up to 40,000 spectators are expected to visit the centre daily during the games.

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/architects-draw-up-plans-to-adapt-excel-centre-for-olympics/5000729.article

They make it sound like rocket science.

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London 2012 Main Press Centre on track as windows fitted to 30,000sq m building

16 Jun 2010
london2012.com

The concrete structure enabling journalists from around the world to provide round-the-clock news coverage during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is complete.

New pictures released today by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) show how the 29,000sq m Main Press Centre (MPC), which will cater for 5,600 journalists, is moving steadily towards its finish date in summer 2011, with a number of windows already in place on three sides.

It is the first time in an Olympic Games that the print facility will be based next to its broadcast counterpart – the 55,000sq m International Broadcast Centre (IBC).

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: 'The Main Press Centre will provide ample space and quality provision for regional, national and international journalists and staff. Work is gathering pace as we enter our busiest construction phase.

'This is the first time press and broadcasters will be based in the same area and marks a significant effort to make the best use of space within the Olympic Park. The buildings are designed to be converted into business facilities after the Games to serve the community for years to come.'

The IBC/MPC will provide a base for over 20,000 reporters, photographers, broadcasters and support staff across more than 80,000sq m. A catering village will serve an expected 50,000 meals every 24 hours and a 200m high street will have a hairdressing salon, post office, general store, bank, ATMs and a bar. There will also be a temporary Main Press Conference room between the IBC and MPC that will cater for up to 700 journalists at a time.

After the Games the facilities will create significant and much-needed business space in Hackney, with the potential to generate new employment opportunities.

The MPC will offer state-of-the-art utilities, power and digital connectivity. It is based over five floors of office space designed to be converted in legacy mode for either single or multiple tenants.

Designers have ensured the building is able to be easily converted for legacy use after the Games. Innovations designed to meet demanding green building standards in legacy include a 2,500sq m ‘brown roof’ of gravel and moss to encourage invertebrates. This matches an aim to collect 60 percent of non-drinking water across the Olympic Park, which can then be reused in a number of ways, such as for flushing toilets.

Facilities available in the MPC during Games time will include:

* Five conference rooms for 1,140 people, 50 broadcast cameras, around 100 photographers and nine translation booths.
* A photographers’ workroom with space for approximately 300 photographers.
* A press workroom with around 800 workstations.
* More than 150 private office spaces (for up to 100 staff) for agencies and newspaper organisations from around the world to rent.
* A dedicated internet café, TV room, results distribution centre, help desks and support functions.

A firm from Host Borough Greenwich constructed the MPC foundations, while the concrete frame was constructed by a company based in Teddington, Surrey. Another Surrey business won the contract for the external cladding, which has now started to be installed.

Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: 'These images demonstrate the progress we are making in delivering the best facilities for the 20,000 members of the world’s broadcasters, press and photographers in the summer of 2012.

'Billions of people around the world rely on the international media to relay the stories of human endeavour on the field of play and capture the atmosphere of the Games. The impressive plans for the IBC/MPC will help us tell these stories while leaving high performance workspace after the Games for the east of London.'

Andrew Altman, Chief Executive of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, which is responsible for the long term development planning, management and maintenance of the Olympic Park Site after the Games, said: 'The Main Press Centre will become an important business and employment site after the Games. The building has been designed with flexibility in mind and can be split into different configurations depending on the requirements of market demand.'

Jules Pipe, Mayor of Hackney, said: 'The International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre will provide permanent employment space after the Games, bringing a vital economic legacy to Hackney and east London. This will allow the digital, creative and media industries the space they need to expand, while creating high quality jobs - these industries are long established in Hackney and we would like to see them given this important opportunity. We are working closely with our Olympic partners and the industry to secure this legacy on behalf of Hackney’s residents.'

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http://www.london2012.com/press/media-releases/2010/06/london-2012-main-press-centre-on-track-as-windows-fitted-to-30-000sq-m-build.php

VeloPark

by jdjones.

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Olympic Stadium excellent, Velodrome and Aquatics center are spectacular, Basketball arena is ehhh, temporary so that's acceptable. Coming along nicely.

The basketball arena is ehhh in day time, but games will be played late in the evenings, and the lighting that's planned for it looks spectacular.

A great overhead of the park from Al Green on Flickr:

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Yep, all the lighting shemes will do half the job and make it look wonderful. :cheers2:

Aquatics Centre

by jdjones.

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Just briliant.

Great updates can't wait

Basketball Arena

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Basketball Arena

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Wow, looks pretty cool.

Huh! The aquatic center must have been a daunting task for the workers with the curvy shape. What a brilliant look,though.

Wow, looks pretty cool.

The Basketball Arena is one of my favourites :yes: The night lighting schemes will make it look better.

The Basketball Arena is one of my favourites :yes: The night lighting schemes will make it look better.

The Basketball arena is almost taking the form of the Beijing Olympic Water Cube. It's rather a mimic of something of that nature.

Aquatics Centre

by Ciudad Bristol.

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London 2012 Velodrome hits the roof with timber ceiling now in place

02 Jul 2010
london2012.com

New images released by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) today show the huge roof of the London 2012 Velodrome now covered with the timber ceiling of the venue in place.

The 6,000 seat Velodrome will host the Olympic and Paralympic track cycling events in 2012. After the Games, the legacy Velodrome will be used by elite athletes and the local community and will include a café, bike hire and cycle workshop facilities.

The cable-net roof of the Velodrome was lifted into place earlier this year to form the distinctive double-curved shape of the venue. More than 1,000 exposed timber panels have now been lifted into place to sit on top of the cable-net structure, helping cover the roof and form the timber ceiling of the venue. The completion of the roof covering makes the Velodrome building weather-tight and allows work to continue inside the venue in preparation for the cycling track to be installed in the autumn. Work is also now underway to install the venue lighting and public address systems, handrails and balustrades and other internal finishes.

ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: 'The Velodrome will be a key focal point in the north of the Olympic Park, delivering first-class cycling facilities for the Games and a new generation of cyclists. Having the Velodrome timber ceiling in place is another glimpse of the striking design and attention to detail that have gone into delivering this highly sustainable venue. With the roof now covered, work inside the venue is well underway and the Velodrome is firmly on track to be the first Olympic Park venue to be completed early next year.'

Seb Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: 'This major step in the construction of the Velodrome once again shows the benefits of the Olympic and Paralympic Games coming to London. In just over two years time the best athletes in the world will come to the UK for the greatest sporting event in the world. We hope that the Velodrome’s striking design will be host to some outstanding British cycling performances, as well as leaving a first rate sporting legacy after the Games.'

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: 'The roof of the Velodrome is a striking sight that interacts well with other stadia in the park and maintains the high-level of design and practicality that are the trademarks of the other stadia. After the Games, the Velodrome will be the only such facility in the south east, opening up the sport to a new generation of community participants and, hopefully, creating the next Olympic and Paralympic champions.'

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: 'Boasting one of the fastest cycling tracks in the world and an eye-popping 360 degree view of the action for the spectators, the Velodrome is set to be one of the jewels in the crown of the Olympic Park. Post Games-time it will contribute greatly to the capital’s sporting legacy, providing a unique facility that will serve a new generation of cycling enthusiasts. These images today show that the ODA is ploughing ahead with construction and the Games remain on time and on budget.'

Shaun Dawson, Chief Executive of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority which will own, fund and manage the Velodrome in legacy, said: 'It’s incredibly exciting to witness this stunning venue take shape. While work has been racing ahead on site we’ve been working closely with British Cycling, our partners and host boroughs to develop the legacy programme. After the Games we’ll make sure this first rate centre is truly world class, welcoming cyclists of all levels and disciplines to train, race or simply cycle for fun all year round.'

The Velodrome was also visited last week by St Robert of Newminster School in Washington, winners of the London 2012 ‘VeloDream’ competition in 2009 which asked pupils to design their own dream cycling venues of the future. The ODA have continued to work with the North East school since they won the competition and the Velodrome project team spent the day with the students when they visited St Robert of Newminster last year. The school visited the Olympic Park and Velodrome site last week to meet with the project team and view the progress being made.

Construction work started on the Velodrome in March 2009. The distinct double-curved cable-net roof has been designed to reflect the geometry of the cycling track, and features 16 kilometres of cabling and 1,000 exposed timber panels, covering an area of 13,500m2. The Velodrome is one of the most sustainable venues in the Olympic Park and the lightweight roof weighs roughly half that of any other covered Velodrome, helping create a highly-efficient building.

After the Games, a road cycle circuit and mountain bike course will be added to the Velodrome and BMX circuit to create a legacy VeloPark that will combine cycling facilities across all disciplines in one cycling ‘hub’.

The legacy VeloPark will be owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. The construction of the VeloPark facilities includes funding from LOCOG, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA), Sport England, Transport for London (TfL), and the London Marathon Charitable Trust (LMCT).

Along with the VeloPark, in legacy Lee Valley Regional Park Authority will own and manage the Lee Valley White Water Centre and the Tennis and Hockey Centres in the Olympic Park. Each of these venues will create sporting and recreational opportunities for everyone, school children to local clubs, elite athletes to complete beginners, from the local communities and across London and the South East.

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http://www.london2012.com/press/media-releases/2010/06/london-2012-velodrome-hits-the-roof-with-timber-ceiling-now-in-place.php

IOC President fits 2,012th seat in Olympic Stadium

05 Jul 2010
london2012.com

The 2012th seat was today fitted in the Olympic Stadium by IOC President Jacques Rogge, London 2012 Organising Committee Chair Sebastian Coe and Olympic Delivery Authority Chief Executive David Higgins, and was witnessed by eight of the ‘Young Ambassadors’ who travelled to Singapore as part of London’s winning bid.

The external structure of the 80,000 capacity venue is complete, work has started on the field of play and the roof cover is nearing completion. The installation of the black and white seats started last week and will continue at a rate of around 700 a day.

Jacques Rogge, International Olympic Committee President, said: 'The Olympic Stadium is the centrepiece of the Games because it is where, during the Opening Ceremony, the athletes and spectators’ Olympic dreams become reality and it is also where the Games come to an end as the flame is extinguished after 16 days of exciting competition.

'Having helped to put the 2012th seat in place, I can now picture what spectators and athletes lucky enough to be here on 27 July 2012 will experience and I am sure that they will be impressed.

'The progress that has been made on the Stadium, and in the Olympic Park in general, is truly impressive and I congratulate the entire London 2012 team on their work.'

Sebastian Coe, London 2012 Chairman, said: 'In just over two years time, the eyes of the world will be on the Olympic Stadium. 80,000 Olympic and Paralympic fans will be there, watching athletes fulfil their dreams, and I'm honoured to be joining President Rogge to install the 2012th seat today.

'Our message to the people of the UK is that tickets go on sale in March 2011, so sign-up to our ticketing registration scheme now to be in the front row for information about tickets and seats for London 2012.'

David Higgins, Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) said: 'Over the last two years, the Olympic Stadium has risen from the ground and changed the skyline of east London.

'The start of the seat installation clearly demonstrates the strong progress we have made in creating the venue that will be at the heart of the action in 2012. With the finishing line in sight, we remain on track to complete construction of the Stadium next summer.'

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: 'Already five years to the day since he announced that London had won the bid, it is fantastic that Jacques Rogge is here to install the 2012th seat. It is a symbolic moment and proof of our commitment to deliver on our bid promises.'

The seats are being manufactured in Luton and are being delivered to the Olympic Park in batches. The black and white colour scheme and the dynamic pattern will create a look that both compliments the architecture and reflects the incredible energy and endeavour that will emanate from the Olympic Stadium in 2012.

Work has also begun on creating the correct ground conditions for the running track and the turf for the field events. Over the coming months, ducts and a drainage system will be installed and the base layers will be laid in preparation for laying the turf and track next year.

Construction on the Olympic Stadium started in May 2008 and progress to date has included:

* More than 4,500 reinforced concrete columns installed as the foundations
* 12,000 pre-cast concrete terracing units for the seating installed
* All five bridges and their abutments in place, connecting the Stadium island to the rest of the Park
* Work has begun on the fit-out of the 700 rooms and spaces within the Stadium, including fitting toilets and tiling showers in the changing rooms
* The 450-tonne cable net roof structure has been lifted into place
* 14 lighting towers which sit 60 metres above the field of play have been lifted into place and the fitting of the power cables has started
* The covering of the cable net roof has almost been completed, which will provide the correct conditions for athletes on the field of play and cover two-thirds of spectators.
* Landscaping work has begun including trees planted, a green wall installed and the trial sowing of meadows which will flower in this summer.

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http://www.london2012.com/press/media-releases/2010/07/ioc-president-fits-2-012th-seat-in-olympic-stadium.php

Basketball Arena

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wow, they've used exactly the same material and method like on the stadium in Poznan (Euro 2012 arena). Those walls looks pretty nice!

P.S.
When I look on Aquatics Centre, I see how beautiful it is and how well Zaha Hadid did her job, but hey, look on this roof construction; engineers who designed it to stay still and in one piece attached to the concrete just by few little metal parts did much grater and amazing job! I am so impressed and I would seriously bow to them :)
Great venues guys!

Handball Arena

london2012.com

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Basketball Arena nets spot in London 2012 skyline while Handball Arena hits milestone

02 Jul 2010
london2102.com

Two sports venues have hit respective milestones as progress continues on delivering the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The 12,000-seat Basketball Arena – one of the largest temporary venues ever built for an Olympic and Paralympic Games – has had its external cladding completed.

Elsewhere in the 500-acre Olympic Park, the main structure is now in place for the 7,000-seat Handball Arena.

The Basketball Arena, which is longer than a football pitch at 114m, 98m wide and as tall as the Tate Modern at 35m, is moving towards completion next spring, while the Handball Arena has a summer 2011 finish date.

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: 'The Basketball Arena and Handball Arena are two very different structures – one large and temporary; the other compact and permanent. Their contrasting designs and the progress we have made on their construction reflect the first-class abilities of the construction teams working on the site.

'Both also highlight our approach to legacy - only building permanent structures which can serve communities post-2012. The temporary Basketball Arena will be taken down and used again elsewhere while the Handball Arena is a permanent useable space which can accommodate an array of activities both during and after the Games.'

London 2012 Organising Committee Chair Seb Coe said: 'It is very exciting to see the Basketball Arena taking shape so quickly. The Arena will be a superb venue which will host some fantastic sport at both the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Basketball is one of the most popular Olympic sports and fans will be watching in a spectacular setting.

'Likewise, the Handball Arena will provide athletes with a state-of-the-art, purpose-built facility at Games-time and the local London community with a much needed flexible indoor sports arena after the Games. Handball is a very popular sport, particularly strong in Europe. London 2012 will provide an enthusiastic, passionate and knowledgeable audience with the chance to witness great sport in a great venue.'

The 1,000-tonne superstructure for the Basketball Arena is now wrapped in 20,000sq m of recyclable white PVC membrane, providing an early view of what the venue will look like when finished. During the Games the fabric, which is stretched over three different variations of arched panels, will act as a canvas for an artistic and innovative external lighting design.

It will stage the Basketball preliminaries and quarter-finals, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby and the Handball men’s quarter-finals, all semi-finals and medal matches.

After the Games, the venue will be dismantled by the owning construction contractor and elements potentially used at other UK and overseas events. A number of enquiries have already been received regarding future use of parts of the arena.

The Handball Arena’s main structure, also weighing 1,000 tonnes, will now start to be clad in 3,000sq m of copper with a high recycled content to give a rich natural colour as it ages.

It will feature 700 sq m of glazing that will encircle the building at concourse level, also serving to illuminate the venue at night.

Foundations for the building concluded in December last year, after which 30 concrete walls were lifted into place. The steel frame, fabricated in Bolton, was then constructed.

The venue is one of the most compact sporting venues on the park. Retractable seating will help create a 2,743sq m field of play space. To reduce the need for electricity, 88 light pipes in the ceiling will allow natural daylight into the venue, while rainwater harvesting from the roof for toilet flushing will help to reduce water use by an estimated 40 per cent.

During the Games the Handball Arena will host men’s and women’s preliminary stages and the women’s quarter-finals for the Handball competition, as well as the Fencing Discipline of the Modern Pentathlon, and Goalball during the Paralympic Games.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) is responsible for the development, planning, management and maintenance of the Olympic Park site after the Games, including the Multi Use Arena (Handball Arena during Games-time). With 6,000 spectator capacity, which can be extended to 7,500 seats, OPLC could also offer the venue for cultural, entertainment and business events.

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http://www.london2012.com/press/media-releases/2010/07/basketball-arena-nets-spot-in-london-2012-skyline-while-handball-arena-hits-.php

Olympic Stadium

by Davodavo.

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anyone know where the warm up track is gonna be, and what its fate is post games [last i remember from some document i read is that it'll be 'returned' to some company]. i ask because any athletics event needs one. if future diamond league and world champ events are to be held in london as an olympic legacy you'd think the fate of the warm up track wouldnt be conditional on other things??

Aquatics Centre

london2012.com

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Sorry about the size of this, but I really thought it worth posting here. Aerial view across whole Park:

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^^Fantastic view there:cheers:

It's going to look spectacular once the landscaping is finished.

Olympic Village

london2012.com

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One thing I want to ask is what do British people think about all this going on at the present time? The amount of money being spend is huge, all for 2 weeks worth of event, then a lot will be taken down. with the current financial measures in place or underway, is there any resentment in the community?

Its a massive site, with so much going on. The landscaping will make of break it all. Hopefully then will get those trees and gradss in with plenty of time to grow and settle in, unlike most cities who have left things till late, and landscaping was the last priority.

Love the Aquatic Centre and Velodroe most, with the basketball centre up there too. For a temporary venue, that is a most impressive structure.

One thing I want to ask is what do British people think about all this going on at the present time?

Some people think it's great, others not so much. I'm not completely sure the recession has changed many people's minds. If you were pro before you probably still are and visa versa - though I would say the antis have mellowed in their stance.

Firstly, I must point out support for the Games has always been solid. Polls have always shown support around the 70% range. This hasn't changed in the last two years and, if anything, seeing real structures emerging from the mud has excited people more.

The recession has been a double-edged sword for the perception of the Olympics I suppose.

The obvious response would be "why are we spending all this money on this now?". And I have heard that point of view several times. The truth is though, and even the harshest critics of 2012 recognise this, there is no going back. It's an unstoppable juggernaught and doing a bad job or pulling back from hosting would do irreperable damage to our international profile, and hurt the economic recovery. Those who were against the Games coming here are reluctantly supportive now, because there is no other option.

But, counterituitivly, the recession could also be said to have bolstered support. Firstly, thousands of people are in work on the construction site who mightn't otherwise be. Secondly, it's a good news story in a time of financial gloom and London is doing a rather good job (against certain people's and certain newpaper's *spit* expectations and predictions). Thirdly, £7bn on a hugely positive regeneration scheme with a big party at the start of it doesn't sound like quite so much money when your government is, at the same time, bailing out the banks to the tune of tens of billions of pounds - money thrown down the drain. A small fraction of that on an Olympics? Hell yeah, we deserve it!

And of course, the government will be looking forward to basking in the glow in two years. They'll happily knock the previous government's spending in many areas but they won't do this for the Olympics. Why is this, you ask? Because of spending cuts in public services, they know they'll most likely be an unpopular mid-term government looking for a boost in the polls by 2012. The Olympics are important to them in that sense and aside from a token £27m cut in the ODA's budget, they've not tampered with the project at all. It'll be one massive bit of good news in the midst of government spending cuts and they'll cling onto that for all it's worth.

So yes, we're all in this together. Most are behind the Games; the majority enthuisiastically, a minority reluctantly (becuase there's no going back and a botch job will do more harm to our economy than good), and the new government for genuine as well as political reasons. In a weird way, the recession may have brought people together behind the project more.

^^And the Games will probably boost the recovery, with the influx of tourists and spending. And I think they have been managing the budget well (delivering things on time and not going over-bufget). And certainly providing a much needed regeneration to East London. If it wasn't for the Games, they would only build Stratford shopping centre I suppose.

London 2012 venues on track to be finished next year

15 Jul 2010
london2012.com

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has completed its latest set of milestones on time and within budget, as the ‘big build’ construction project moved into its final year. New aerial images of the Olympic Park have been released showing the good progress being made across the site

In summer 2009, the ODA set out 10 milestones – ‘The Big Build: Structures’ – outlining how the main structures of the London 2012 venues and essential new infrastructure would take shape and be nearing completion by this summer.

The final milestone has now been completed, with water beginning to fill the new Lee Valley White Water Centre being built in Hertfordshire, meaning that all 10 milestones have been achieved on time.

A new set of milestones – ‘The Big Build: Completion’ – was unveiled today which covers the final stage of the construction project. The milestones outline how, by summer 2011, the structures of the main venues will be complete and ready to be handed over for testing, with all major new infrastructure finished and landscaping work well advanced across the Olympic Park.

Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) Chief Executive David Higgins said: ‘By setting out clear milestones right from the start of the project, we have offered a window into the delivery of this unprecedented construction project, allowing people to judge our progress for themselves.

‘We are in good shape for the home straight but the last leg of the race is often the hardest and we are not complacent about the many challenges still ahead.’

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, added: ‘It is thanks to the hard work and dedication of the ODA, and its workforce, that the project has hit all its milestones again this year. With the majority of the construction phase now complete we are in an excellent position for the staging and testing work to being next summer.’

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http://www.london2012.com/news/2010/07/london-2012-venues-on-track-to-be-finished-next-year.php

What is in third pic that grey pavillon over the handball Arena?

^^
The grey building is the IBC and MPC, I'm pretty sure

What is in third pic that grey pavillon over the handball Arena?

That building is the International Broadcast Centre and the Main Press Centre.

http://www.london2012.com/images/media-manager/2010/5/aerial-view-of-the-ibc-mpc-68743.jpg

Here is how it will appear during the Games.

http://www.london2012.com/images/media-manager/2009/09/international-broadcast-centre-during-th-63717.jpg

Both pictures courtesy of the LONDON 2012 Official Website.

Ok, thanks for the answers. It is terrible.

On my opinione best venues are aquatic center and velodrome.

nice pictures

london2012.com

Scroll >>>>>>

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That building is the International Broadcast Centre and the Main Press Centre.

http://www.london2012.com/images/media-manager/2010/5/aerial-view-of-the-ibc-mpc-68743.jpg

Here is how it will appear during the Games.

http://www.london2012.com/images/media-manager/2009/09/international-broadcast-centre-during-th-63717.jpg

Both pictures courtesy of the LONDON 2012 Official Website.

Does that building have ANY windows?!?!? It looks like a coffin.

^^
I don't know about windows but I could swear I read in one of the different sets of planning documents that there may be plans for rooftop studios for some of the broadcasters during the games. I don't remember whether they were to be in the same building or something equivalent to the Linglong Pagoda from Beijing, however.

Olympic Stadium

londo2012.com


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Olympic Village

by Ecological.

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Wow :cheers:

Get the party started - London will be the star of 2012

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Never mind the sport: London is set for four weeks of fantastic entertainment as host city of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Apart from the opening and closing ceremonies of both sporting extravaganzas — for which the Oscar-winning British film directors Stephen Daldry and Danny Boyle are spearheading a team of internationally renowned talent — there will be parties, concerts, events and spectacles taking place across the city, potentially including light shows at London landmarks and performances on the Thames.

Live sites around the city will offer both big-screen coverage of Olympic events and entertainment by stars of the calibre of Mick Jagger and Robbie Williams, plus performances by Britain's leading arts, opera and dance companies. The kind of gymnastic and acrobatic acts Simon Cowell unearthed in Britain's Got Talent could also be included, as could large-scale Bollywood dance numbers to please both Londoners and the international crowd.

Sites are planned for Victoria Park in Hackney, which can accommodate 40,000 people, and Potters Fields near City Hall, for about 6,000 (there is also a permanent Olympic live site at Woolwich, one of several around the country). Other London locations, for 5,000 to 6,000 people, are to be confirmed at Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank and at King's Cross — near the terminal for the Javelin train to the Olympic site.

But the biggest party of all will be at Hyde Park. City Hall and the Royal Parks are negotiating a multi-screen, multi-stage venue in the park that will bring sport and spectacle to up to 60,000 people a day, from 11am to 11pm over the 17 days of the Olympics.

No names are confirmed yet as the project is out to tender among producers, but organisers speak of “big international and national names” — undoubtedly of the magnitude of Madonna or a re-reformed Led Zeppelin — plus companies from blue-chip British flagship venues like the National Theatre and Royal Opera House.

Alongside sport and live and filmed performance, there are plans for “experiential”, interactive entertainments along the lines of Coke's environmental pavilion at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, which drew 2,000 visitors an hour and included a Wii game where punters played a polar bear looking for an ice floe. What's more, entrance to the Hyde Park events, like those at the other live sites, is planned to be completely free.

Tickets will be bookable online, with the possibility of some admissions on the day. (As in so many areas of the 2012 games, this is a careful balancing act. Since some people who book free tickets for events invariably fail to turn up, organisers don't want vast empty tracts of space at Hyde Park: similarly, they don't want thousands of people waiting for hours for admission, as at Vancouver, “which introduced the new Olympic sport of queuing”.) The cost of the entertainment at the live sites is to be met by key sponsors, with the possibility of commercial events at Hyde Park in the run-up to the Games.

But if you can't get tickets to top events at the stadium, velodrome or aquatic centre, or a ringside seat to the opening or closing ceremonies, or even make it along to Hyde Park or the other big screen parties, don't despair.

Mayor Boris Johnson is negotiating with local authorities to relax restrictions on street parties and will supply cash to “animate” each London borough, “which could mean lamp-post banners or could mean a party in Bromley park to coincide with the opening ceremony” according to the Mayor's director of marketing, Dan Ritterband. (City Hall is also working on an online diary and phone app that will list all sporting and cultural events across London during the Olympics, and afterwards, as part of the Games' legacy.)

Besides, over the next two years, the Olympics will be all around us. Ritterband says that the city will be “dressed” with a view to accentuating its beauty and its famous landmarks, rather than swamping the streets with Olympic branding and streetlamp posters. One intriguing prospect is for a video screen which could actually rise from the Thames. And it's not just about making Londoners feel welcome at the Games, but also people from around the UK and the rest of the world.

In addition to the 70,000 volunteers to be recruited by the Olympic authorities to help on the Stratford site, the Greater London Authority will recruit 8,000 “ambassadors or hosts” to raise “the level of visitor welcome” across the city. They join a raft of celebrity ambassadors, both formal and informal, promoting the games in various ways, from Stella McCartney — who will design Team GB's sporting kit — to enthusiastic national treasure Stephen Fry and sporting legends such as Lord Coe, David Beckham and Sally Gunnell. And the mascots Wenlock and Mandeville — named for the villages of Much Wenlock, which inspired the launch of the modern Olympics, and Stoke Mandeville, where the Paralympics were founded — will be everywhere.

Hundreds of actors will take the colourful, cyclopean characters to schools throughout London and around the country (once problems with the costumes, which prevented them from freely moving their limbs, are solved). They will also feature as soft toys from beanie to giant size, on stationery and lunch boxes, and on clothing from festival sponsors.

John Lewis will this week start selling mascot toys in the merchandising concession in its Oxford Street branch and will gradually roll out the merchandising to the rest of its store network (the company is an “anchor tenant” of the new Westfield shopping centre at Stratford, overlooking the Olympic site). The two characters were specifically designed to appeal to the young and to digital consumers, so they already have a huge presence on social networking sites such as Facebook.

“One of our ambitions has always been to make these everyone's games,” says Bill Morris, the former BBC stalwart who now glories in the title of director of culture, ceremonies, education and live sites for London 2012. He says Stephen Daldry and his three co-producers leapt at the chance to oversee the four major ceremonies, and to re-examine established Olympic protocols around torch-bearing and medal-giving. Danny Boyle's reaction was “instant passion about the creative challenge but also a sense of civic duty, that this was what he wanted to do”, when he was asked to direct the opening ceremony.

The creatives who will helm the other Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies are yet to be appointed, so planning remains at an early stage, although Boyle and Daldry insist they won't be falling back on their greatest movie hits: no dancing Slumdogs or Billy Elliot boys. Daldry talks about “taking the opening event outside the stadium and into London”, and Boyle has talked about taking inspiration from the East End's dockland heritage, and “the river [as] the focal point of the city”. It seems likely the Thames may feature in the opening ceremony and throughout the entertainment accompanying the games — perhaps in the final stages of the torch relay, perhaps involving that submersible video screen.

In all the ceremonies, everyone involved agrees, there will be a balance between celebrating London's history and its present and future as a multicultural city (where many Olympic teams will find a ready-made home crowd) in a world emerging from recession. There will be none of the bombast of the Beijing ceremonies, or the tweeness (buses, bobbies and Beckham hoofing a football) of the British hand-over ceremony there.

“I don't think we should feel the need to compete with Beijing,” says Daldry. Boyle talks about harnessing crowds as part of the spectacle, rather than as mere spectators. The opening and closing ceremonies for London's 2012 games, and the accompanying entertainments, will be about inclusion, reflecting an inclusive city.

“We're not even really thinking about Beijing any more,” says Bill Morris. “We will be celebrating what an amazing city London is, and the UK more generally — our unique position in the world. The morning after the opening ceremony, just before the sport starts, London should feel that it is walking on water.”

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-olympics/article-23859904-forget-the-party-people---london-will-be-the-star-of-the-olympics.do

london2012.com

Scroll >>>>>>

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nice. was wondering why they didnt just rediriect that section of rail-track around where the warm up track is gonna be, looks like they have. It'll look good, there'll be a good sense of continuity hopefully throughout the whole park as well.

anyways. i thought i should draw attention away from stuff thats under construction...
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^ from the arena's website no copyrights.

ugly bugger the one in the foreground (docklands, or excel arena to give it its slave name), no doubt the dome is the one that'll get all the attention from the aerial shots of the intnl media and us architecture buffs here. however, the excel is pivotal to Londons capability of hosting the games, an unsung hero if you will. its amazing if you think about it. possibly 4 other brand new arenas would have been needed to be built otherwise. thats enough to have put some cities off from bidding. part of Londons existing entertainment/commericial infrastructure complex that imo is more important than some of the new builds, and should be part of the blueprint of future bidders assessments of the goods they have/need and plan for when thinking of legacy infrastructure from the very begining.

this is what allows you the flexibility to build temporary yet bold boutique basketball arenas and handball arenas that convert successfully into community use afterwards. or badminton theatres if you're Athens. a legacy of good urban planning thats irrelevant of the games. too often blue ribband projects like the hadid compromise get legacy needs tacked on as an after-thought or box ticking exercise.

The Velodrome

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Basketball Arena

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IOC boss hails London 2012 a model of regeneration

IOC president Jacques Rogge said London 2012 was a "beautiful example" of what the Olympics should be about, with a Games that breathe life back into a run-down part of a host city.

The International Olympic Committee chief said the regeneration of the "polluted, derelict" quarter of east London at the heart of the Games was a "remarkable" project.

The Belgian said he was confident London would be able to fix the IOC's concerns about transport problems, and insisted the new Olympic Stadium must remain as an athletics venue as 2012 chiefs work out what to do with it afterwards.

"It's a beautiful example of city regeneration and I would say of a positive legacy," Rogge told AFP in London, at the signing of a 10-year sponsorship deal between the IOC and US consumer goods giant Procter and Gamble.

"East London was totally polluted, derelict, and we are going to revive it.

"We are going to put back a heart, a soul, life, housing and a local population. That's what's remarkable.

"They will revamp it with new access roads, building and social housing. That is a positive legacy of the Games.

"We always demand that there is a legacy which is not purely sporting, with one or two stadiums, but also has an economic, urban and human legacy."

At the IOC's latest check-up on London earlier this month, Olympic chiefs said they were happy with the progress but said their chief concern was the British capital's congested road network.

"It's true that transport in London is difficult because there is lots of traffic but the roads are not very wide," Rogge said.

"But the organisers, along with the city and the public authorities, have come up with a transport plan which, in my opinion, could work well. I'm not worried."

The original Olympic Stadium pledges presented to the IOC in London's 2005 bid had the 80,000-seater venue's top tier removed to leave a 25,000-capacity athletics arena.

But its future is still uncertain, with local English Premier League football side West Ham interested, and other plans for concerts, entertainment use and even cricket have been mooted.

But Rogge was adamant the athletics function would remain.

"We insist that they should not leave 'white elephants'," the 68-year-old said.

"We are sure that there will be an athletic legacy and another one -- could be football, could be entertainment, could be something different.

"You can perfectly have a football pitch of highest quality with an athletic track around.

"You can combine both, which in terms of legacy is absolutely perfect, so we have no concerns about that."

The London Games are on schedule and running within their budget of £9.3 billion (14.5 billion dollars, 11.2 billion euros).

"I expect that budget to be on balance," Rogge said. "We're not speaking about overspending."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hWfJ-1MBzgxAneT-bAkuoZq-9DtQ

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-h2EBdTi4rI

Aquatics Centre

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Aquatics Centre

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As someones pointed out already in a different thread, the aquatics center with the road behind it looks like a stingray.

Some people think it's great, others not so much. I'm not completely sure the recession has changed many people's minds. If you were pro before you probably still are and visa versa - though I would say the antis have mellowed in their stance.

Firstly, I must point out support for the Games has always been solid. Polls have always shown support around the 70% range. This hasn't changed in the last two years and, if anything, seeing real structures emerging from the mud has excited people more.

The recession has been a double-edged sword for the perception of the Olympics I suppose.

The obvious response would be "why are we spending all this money on this now?". And I have heard that point of view several times. The truth is though, and even the harshest critics of 2012 recognise this, there is no going back. It's an unstoppable juggernaught and doing a bad job or pulling back from hosting would do irreperable damage to our international profile, and hurt the economic recovery. Those who were against the Games coming here are reluctantly supportive now, because there is no other option.

But, counterituitivly, the recession could also be said to have bolstered support. Firstly, thousands of people are in work on the construction site who mightn't otherwise be. Secondly, it's a good news story in a time of financial gloom and London is doing a rather good job (against certain people's and certain newpaper's *spit* expectations and predictions). Thirdly, £7bn on a hugely positive regeneration scheme with a big party at the start of it doesn't sound like quite so much money when your government is, at the same time, bailing out the banks to the tune of tens of billions of pounds - money thrown down the drain. A small fraction of that on an Olympics? Hell yeah, we deserve it!

And of course, the government will be looking forward to basking in the glow in two years. They'll happily knock the previous government's spending in many areas but they won't do this for the Olympics. Why is this, you ask? Because of spending cuts in public services, they know they'll most likely be an unpopular mid-term government looking for a boost in the polls by 2012. The Olympics are important to them in that sense and aside from a token £27m cut in the ODA's budget, they've not tampered with the project at all. It'll be one massive bit of good news in the midst of government spending cuts and they'll cling onto that for all it's worth.

So yes, we're all in this together. Most are behind the Games; the majority enthuisiastically, a minority reluctantly (becuase there's no going back and a botch job will do more harm to our economy than good), and the new government for genuine as well as political reasons. In a weird way, the recession may have brought people together behind the project more.

Only polls in London - if you go further north you will find that number decreases, and by the time you get as far as Glasgow/Edinburgh hovers a little over 0%.

Yes Londoners are paying more - but Millions of government money is being spent on the olympics which would otherwise been spent of sports projects throught the country - much of it building a new athletics stadium after we were told the reason Wembley was costing so much was because it was so state of the art, and among other things could host athletics events... So why do we need a new stadium? Thats now 2 massive stadiums in London which have had my money thrown at them, and one in Cardiff - yet when the SFA wanted to redevelope Hampden the tory government (uncharacteristically ;) ) decided to screw them over by removing all funding and leaving them to it - only to offer some cash AFTER 3/4 of the ground had been done.

And what benefit do we get from the games? little - I believe 3 teams have chosen to base themselfs in Glasgow before the games, something seriously negated by the fact a lot of the major teams have decided to use the same base in England for the Olympics and the Commonwealths in Glasgow 2 years later. Oh, and we get a couple of football games at Hampden Park - as part of a tournament that will threaten the very existence of the Scottish (along with English, Norn. Irish and Welsh) National Team!

There is serious talk of a mass-boycott of the football games taking place in Glasgow! (or if 'GB' play there - the EFA tried to blackmail the SFA into taking part by offering us the opening game - doubt we will get it though since the SFA told them where to shove it! - there will be 52,000 there supporting the opposition)

Oh, and most people up here seriously object to Seb Coe's position aswell - the man was asked what he thought about the SFA, FAI and FAW opposition to a british football team, to which he replied: "there will be a team taking part in 2012 - the scots can go f*ck themselfs" In any other role, those coments would get you the sack!

Only polls in London - if you go further north you will find that number decreases, and by the time you get as far as Glasgow/Edinburgh hovers a little over 0%.

It's hard to take you seriously when you start your wise and thoughtful :lol: post with an OUTRIGHT LIE

A poll done last December:

"In the North-East of the country, 67 per cent backed the Games, while 68 per cent in Scotland and Yorkshire were in favour."

Link (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23785636-four-in-five-londoners-support-2012-games.do)

Now even if this has a huge margin of error, it's still very possible to say most Scots are in support of the Olympics. And on other Olympic forums I post on there are several Scottish members interested in what's going on and looking forward to London 2012, so don't arrogantly pretend to speak on behalf of all your fellow countrymen.

There is serious talk of a mass-boycott of the football games taking place in Glasgow! (or if 'GB' play there - the EFA tried to blackmail the SFA into taking part by offering us the opening game - doubt we will get it though since the SFA told them where to shove it! - there will be 52,000 there supporting the opposition)

Inferiority complex thy name is Scottish football...most English support the Scottish national team when they play, believe it or not, as long as they're not playing England. But if you want to look pathetic in the eyes of the world by supporting the opposition in 2012 that's your lookout. And you do look pathetic by taking that stance, don't try to argue otherwise.

And the SFA, at one point, were opening up to the idea of a one-off Team GB for the Games, but FIFA (in their 'wisdom') failed to provide the necessary assurances, which is why we have the fudge we currently have with only English players playing in the team. Seb Coe is right (even though you stupidly decided to twist his words like the noobie you are; as well as making up quotations). Not having a Team GB in our national sport at our home Olympics would be a real shame. Rugby manages it, so do other sports which normally play as England/Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland but come together in certain tournaments. That football can't have a one off Team GB for the Olympics is rather sad to be honest, especially for young Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish footballers who might have liked the chance to play at an Olympic tournament in 2012. Other sports must look at football and laugh at the muddle they've got themselves in over what should be a non-issue; a one-off Team GB for the Olympics, seperate teams the rest of the time. "What's so tricky about that?" they'll no doubt wonder, as do I. Rugby is being introduced to the Olympics in 2016. Mark my words, we won't have the same arguments over a Team GB Rugby side.

Don't support the Olympics lwa? That's fine, you're entitled to your opinion. Making up quotations, making up survey figures on behalf of your fellow Scots, and supporting opposition football teams however is so utterly pathetic...I'd be hard pressed to find anyone on here who doesn't laugh at your lack of coherent debating skills, and I think many Scottish SSC members would cringe to think you're pretending to speak on behalf of them after reading that post. :nuts:

The fact is, in case anyone missed it or was persauded by lwa's argument, figures show most Scots support the Games. Those that don't are perfectly entitled not to. But that a vocal minority with a clear victimhood/inferiority complex - like lwa - think that they can speak on behalf of every other Scot is arrogant in the extreme. Support the Games or don't, but don't pretend your personal view represents everyone in your country.

Only polls in London - if you go further north you will find that number decreases, and by the time you get as far as Glasgow/Edinburgh hovers a little over 0%.

Yes Londoners are paying more - but Millions of government money is being spent on the olympics which would otherwise been spent of sports projects throught the country - much of it building a new athletics stadium after we were told the reason Wembley was costing so much was because it was so state of the art, and among other things could host athletics events... So why do we need a new stadium? Thats now 2 massive stadiums in London which have had my money thrown at them, and one in Cardiff - yet when the SFA wanted to redevelope Hampden the tory government (uncharacteristically ;) ) decided to screw them over by removing all funding and leaving them to it - only to offer some cash AFTER 3/4 of the ground had been done.

And what benefit do we get from the games? little - I believe 3 teams have chosen to base themselfs in Glasgow before the games, something seriously negated by the fact a lot of the major teams have decided to use the same base in England for the Olympics and the Commonwealths in Glasgow 2 years later. Oh, and we get a couple of football games at Hampden Park - as part of a tournament that will threaten the very existence of the Scottish (along with English, Norn. Irish and Welsh) National Team!

There is serious talk of a mass-boycott of the football games taking place in Glasgow! (or if 'GB' play there - the EFA tried to blackmail the SFA into taking part by offering us the opening game - doubt we will get it though since the SFA told them where to shove it! - there will be 52,000 there supporting the opposition)

Oh, and most people up here seriously object to Seb Coe's position aswell - the man was asked what he thought about the SFA, FAI and FAW opposition to a british football team, to which he replied: "there will be a team taking part in 2012 - the scots can go f*ck themselfs" In any other role, those coments would get you the sack!

You get the CWG in 2014!

It's hard to take you seriously when you start your wise and thoughtful :lol: post with an OUTRIGHT LIE

A poll done last December:

"In the North-East of the country, 67 per cent backed the Games, while 68 per cent in Scotland and Yorkshire were in favour."

Link (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23785636-four-in-five-londoners-support-2012-games.do)

Now even if this has a huge margin of error, it's still very possible to say most Scots are in support of the Olympics. And on other Olympic forums I post on there are several Scottish members interested in what's going on and looking forward to London 2012, so don't arrogantly pretend to speak on behalf of all your fellow countrymen.



A poll of 4,500 people nationwide - now if we assume they have split that around the country to reflect population, that amounts to maybe 500 (being generous here) people in Scotland who were asked... They might aswell have made that figure up! And how did they choose people to ask?

Certain areas in Scotland are packed with English folk anyway (mainly around military establishments, and for some reason Aberdeen) - if you aks them then any figures are redundant. I based my prediction on my experience of living in the country - And of everyone who I have spoken to about it, only 1 person hasn't been against the games (note against, not just indifferent) - and he only supports it because he wants to compete at the Paralympic Games!

And many of the folk I have spoken to about it have also comented that no-one they know supports the games in London. so if 68% of Scots really support the games - where are these 68%?



Inferiority complex thy name is Scottish football...most English support the Scottish national team when they play, believe it or not, as long as they're not playing England.

And I would probably do the same in return, were it not for the way the English media behave when England are playing - and I have spoken to many an England fan who has agreed the BBC can be very patronising towards Scotland, Wales and Norn. Ireland in that respect. I support Wales and Norn. Ireland whenever they play.

But if you want to look pathetic in the eyes of the world by supporting the opposition in 2012 that's your lookout. And you do look pathetic by taking that stance, don't try to argue otherwise.

That stance is nothing to do with not liking England, and everything to do with objecting to a GB football team threatening the existence of Scotlands national team.



And the SFA, at one point, were opening up to the idea of a one-off Team GB for the Games, but FIFA (in their 'wisdom') failed to provide the necessary assurances, which is why we have the fudge we currently have with only English players playing in the team. Seb Coe is right (even though you stupidly decided to twist his words like the noobie you are; as well as making up quotations). Not having a Team GB in our national sport at our home Olympics would be a real shame. Rugby manages it, so do other sports which normally play as England/Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland but come together in certain tournaments. That football can't have a one off Team GB for the Olympics is rather sad to be honest, especially for young Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish footballers who might have liked the chance to play at an Olympic tournament in 2012. Other sports must look at football and laugh at the muddle they've got themselves in over what should be a non-issue; a one-off Team GB for the Olympics, seperate teams the rest of the time. "What's so tricky about that?" they'll no doubt wonder, as do I. Rugby is being introduced to the Olympics in 2016. Mark my words, we won't have the same arguments over a Team GB Rugby side.

The Rugby comparrison is pointless - There is a proud tradition in Rugby of the British Isles coming together every so often to tour the best the southern hemisphere has to offer. pre-RWC, that along with the 5 Nations was the pinnacle of the sport - oh, and the IRB was essentially only British and Commonwealth Nations (plus Ireland), and no-one at the IRB could see any benefit to getting rid of either the Lions or the individual unions.

That doesn't transfer to football - FIFA are seriously corrupt (and amazingly are still getting away with it - despite sacking someone for saying he was going to expose any corruption... proof if needed they have something to hide), and Sepp Blater is proped up by the votes of Jack Warner and co in CONCACAF, and hence what CONCACAF wants, Sepp does his best to get. CONCACAF objects strongly to the fact the UK, which is politically one nation, gets 4 seperate football associations, each giving an additional UEFA vote - and indeed holding their very own vice-presidency between them.

Sepp Blater has never been able to make his mind up on this matter, and has said that " "If you start to put together a combined team for the Olympic Games, the question will automatically come up that there are four different associations so how can they play in one team.

"If this is the case then why the hell do they have four associations and four votes and their own vice-presidency?

"This will put into question all the privileges that the British associations have been given by the Congress in 1946."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/football/7286011.stm

I dont see how an all-english team would be any better TBH - many folk around the world dont know the difference between England and GB. And for the record - I would like to see a British football team, giving 20-odd youngsters the chance to play in the Olympics - but only if it was garunteed it would not threaten our status within FIFA. Unfortunatly, FIFA rules dictate that no administration can be bound by the promises of the previous one, and hence it is impossible to be given those assurances.

As for the SFA's stance, the Association of Tartan Army Clubs (which represents thousands of Scotland supporters) have said on several occassions that they felt betrayed by Gordon Smiths acceptance of an English-only team playing - so hardly a personal feeling of mine that isn't shared by others.


Oh, an there will be issues with the Rugby 7's aswell - the Lions represent the British Isles, not GB or the UK.


Don't support the Olympics lwa? That's fine, you're entitled to your opinion. Making up quotations, making up survey figures on behalf of your fellow Scots, and supporting opposition football teams however is so utterly pathetic...I'd be hard pressed to find anyone on here who doesn't laugh at your lack of coherent debating skills, and I think many Scottish SSC members would cringe to think you're pretending to speak on behalf of them after reading that post. :nuts:



I didn't make up survey figures, and never tried to pass them off as such. What I used was my personal experience which is probably far more reliable than any survey of 500 people.

Can you point me to the 'made-up quotation'? I maybe paraphrased the Seb Coe quote - but believe it or not, that DID actually happen!



The fact is, in case anyone missed it or was persauded by lwa's argument, figures show most Scots support the Games. Those that don't are perfectly entitled not to. But that a vocal minority with a clear victimhood/inferiority complex - like lwa - think that they can speak on behalf of every other Scot is arrogant in the extreme. Support the Games or don't, but don't pretend your personal view represents everyone in your country.

Im not speaking for everybody in the country - just the ones I have spoken to and like I say, I have yet to find someone who supports the games who isn't a paralympic athlete. And my personal experience is no more or less acurate than the survey you posted...

But if you want to look pathetic in the eyes of the world by supporting the opposition in 2012 that's your lookout. And you do look pathetic by taking that stance, don't try to argue otherwise.



oh, and i suppose this will also apply to the Football Supporters Federation in England, who have also constantly stood alongside ATAC, FSF Cymru and the Northern Irish supporters body (can't remember their name of hand)

The only, repeat, ONLY body in the world of football who support this idea are the FA, and so far as I know very few real football fans in any of the 4 nations support the idea. (certainly none in Scotland do)

As I've said, I post on other Olympic forums with several Scottish members who are neither Olympic nor Paralympic athletes, who are fully supportive of the Games. We can both pass off our "personal experiences" as representative but the only actual survey figures I've seen suggest reasonable, if not necessarily brilliant support north of the border. Being a newbie, and opening your first post on the subject by saying support "hovers a little over 0%" immediately suggested you had an agenda to push rather than being interested in serious debate; though your latest post is much more sensible...so thank you for the response.

I agree with you with regard to FIFA; it's such a shame they can't get their act together and allow a one-off team. And it's disgusing that they're so two-faced as to give assurances in public but warnings to the SFA in private - there was a point when the home nations were close to agreeing a deal, but Blatter seems to have scuppered it.

Don't forget, this is an under-23 team which will only contain 1 or 2 "known" players. It simply shouldn't be an issue and the fact that is threatens to overshadow the Olympic football tournament is FIFA's own doing. They put us in a position whereby whatever solution was reached would have upset some.

As far as I'm concerned, not having British players in a London Olympics, in our national sport, would be a travesty. And I can, of course, understand your own concerns about Scottish football's autonomy. I happen to think that the current solution, combined with the fact that our countries have seperate leagues and FAs, and further combined with the fact that this is an U23 competition, means the threat is somewhat overblown and FIFA have much better things to do than upset the status quo. But the lack of assuarances obviously led to concern.

I also dislike the fact that politicians on both sides of the border tried to use this to push their own agendas; be it the SNP, or Gordon Brown when he was trying to come across as "British" rather than "Scottish". And I do think there are a minority of Scots who will use this issue as a stick to beat the English and who are overplaying the issue...although perhaps I was a little hasty in casting aspersions on you in that regard.

All in all, it's an unnecessary mess. Olympic football is a tiny part of what 2012 will be about, but because of the idiots at FIFA, it seems to dominate some Scots' feelings about the Games. That upsets me.

a one-off Team GB for the Olympics, seperate teams the rest of the time.

Yes, the faux "Team GB" which leaves out Northern Ireland from the name and Wales from the flag.

Most of the world doesn't understand the complexities of the situation, and not all the counties that compete in the "team" support it, so let's just have separate teams all the time including the Olympics.

The Olympics means nothing to me as they don't represent my country in isolation so I have no passion for them. If I competed and won (I know, it would never happen!) I would be banned from celebrating with the flag of my own country as it would be seen as a political demonstration!

That is completely different for the Commonwealth Games, Football, Rugby etc where my country has representation and thus where I am able to display my support of my country.

Well, that's a much bigger debate for another time, but at the Olympics it's Britain and always has been. That's not going to change anytime soon.

As I've said, I post on other Olympic forums with several Scottish members who are neither Olympic nor Paralympic athletes, who are fully supportive of the Games. We can both pass off our "personal experiences" as representative but the only actual survey figures I've seen suggest reasonable, if not necessarily brilliant support north of the border. Being a newbie, and opening your first post on the subject by saying support "hovers a little over 0%" immediately suggested you had an agenda to push rather than being interested in serious debate; though your latest post is much more sensible...so thank you for the response.

I agree with you with regard to FIFA; it's such a shame they can't get their act together and allow a one-off team. And it's disgusing that they're so two-faced as to give assurances in public but warnings to the SFA in private - there was a point when the home nations were close to agreeing a deal, but Blatter seems to have scuppered it.

Don't forget, this is an under-23 team which will only contain 1 or 2 "known" players. It simply shouldn't be an issue and the fact that is threatens to overshadow the Olympic football tournament is FIFA's own doing. They put us in a position whereby whatever solution was reached would have upset some.

As far as I'm concerned, not having British players in a London Olympics, in our national sport, would be a travesty. And I can, of course, understand your own concerns about Scottish football's autonomy. I happen to think that the current solution, combined with the fact that our countries have seperate leagues and FAs, and further combined with the fact that this is an U23 competition, means the threat is somewhat overblown and FIFA have much better things to do than upset the status quo. But the lack of assuarances obviously led to concern.

I also dislike the fact that politicians on both sides of the border tried to use this to push their own agendas; be it the SNP, or Gordon Brown when he was trying to come across as "British" rather than "Scottish". And I do think there are a minority of Scots who will use this issue as a stick to beat the English and who are overplaying the issue...although perhaps I was a little hasty in casting aspersions on you in that regard.

All in all, it's an unnecessary mess. Olympic football is a tiny part of what 2012 will be about, but because of the idiots at FIFA, it seems to dominate some Scots' feelings about the Games. That upsets me.

I dont think the threat is overblown atall - perhaps because I really dont trust FIFA - but even if it was, there is still a threat. As you say - this is an U-23 tournament... Is it worth risking our footballing autonomy for a tournament which, ultimatly, doesn't count for much? I have asked various people while discussing this in pubs before Scotland games - and while everybody knows who won the FIFA WC in 1974, or Euro 1992, nobody has been able to name even the current Olympic Champions!

Yes it would be nice if we could take part - but in reality its only a big competition for the players involved and its not something worth risking our future over.

Anyway, this conversation should be irrelevant - Football Shouldn't be in the Olympics anyway, although that is a whole different argument...


And its only natural the football arguments will dominate views in Scotland - the vast majority of Scotland is football-daft (only the Borders - Rugby - and parts of the Highlands - Shinty - aren't dominated by football. And even then its changing in the borders), and the football is the only event we are likely to get close to.

Believe it or not, from my experience there is more support for Englands FIFA World Cup bid in 2018 than there is for the 2012 Olympics! (And I know I am more excited by the 2015 RWC)

Well, that's a much bigger debate for another time, but at the Olympics it's Britain and always has been. That's not going to change anytime soon.

Well I wouldn't be so sure if I was you.....

"An independent poll was conducted by Market Research UK, with a representative sample of Scots being asked:

Would you like to see Scotland send its own Olympic Team to London 2012?

A summary of results is as follows:

78% of all respondents said YES
11% of respondents said no
11% had no opinion

A ratio of 7:1 who expressed an opinion were in favour.

Support for the campaign was equal among men(78%) and women(77%).

Support was also strong among supporters of all political parties, with supporters of the two largest parties in the Scottish Parliament at 79% yes (Labour) and 83% yes (Scottish National Party).

Readers of the two most widely read newspapers also showed similar levels of support at 81% (Daily Record) and 80% (Scottish Sun).

Levels of support were consistent across geographic and demographic variables, with no group showing less than 72% support. The message is quite clear – The people of Scotland support the creation of a Scottish Olympic Team."


Sport is a fully devolved matter and decisions on the formation and funding of a Scottish National Olympic Committee are completely within the remit of the Scottish Parliament and Scotland’s sporting bodies.

Don't be surprised to see a Scottish team at the 2012 Olympics or at the very least 2012 being the swansong of "Team GB".

The Scottish Parliament is obliged to deliver the will of the people of Scotland and the people want their own team.

Well I wouldn't be so sure if I was you.....

"An independent poll was conducted by Market Research UK, with a representative sample of Scots being asked:

Would you like to see Scotland send its own Olympic Team to London 2012?

A summary of results is as follows:

78% of all respondents said YES
11% of respondents said no
11% had no opinion

A ratio of 7:1 who expressed an opinion were in favour.

Support for the campaign was equal among men(78%) and women(77%).

Support was also strong among supporters of all political parties, with supporters of the two largest parties in the Scottish Parliament at 79% yes (Labour) and 83% yes (Scottish National Party).

Readers of the two most widely read newspapers also showed similar levels of support at 81% (Daily Record) and 80% (Scottish Sun).

Levels of support were consistent across geographic and demographic variables, with no group showing less than 72% support. The message is quite clear – The people of Scotland support the creation of a Scottish Olympic Team."


Sport is a fully devolved matter and decisions on the formation and funding of a Scottish National Olympic Committee are completely within the remit of the Scottish Parliament and Scotland’s sporting bodies.

Don't be surprised to see a Scottish team at the 2012 Olympics or at the very least 2012 being the swansong of "Team GB".

The Scottish Parliament is obliged to deliver the will of the people of Scotland and the people want their own team.

It wont happen before 2012 - even if Parliament voted for it in the next 5 minutes, it would be unlikely to come into effect until after the London Games (it would be nigh on impossible to set up an Olympic Comittee and secure funding ect. overnight. If it was agreed to go down this road (and the SNP have tried to push the issue in the past) there would no doubt be an agreement to work towards a split at the start of the next Olympic cycle after the London Paralympic games)

Will it happen after the 2012 games? It depends on the political situation with the union ect. and starts to get very, very off topic so we wont go into that, except to say there definatly wont be a team GB at 2016 if the act of union is no longer in force. Like I say though, this isn't the place to discuss that issue.

Point is, the ship has sailed on the idea of team Scotland at the London Olympics. except of course, the twist in the tail is that the Scottish U-21 football team is looking like they might qualify for the London Olympics...

Like the threat to the home nations in football, changing the status quo in the Olympics isn't something which will happen any time soon. There's too much momentum, history, vested interest for much to change and I'd imagine it has to get past the IOC before anything can happen anyway. Even Chris Hoy calls the idea "ridiculous".

I honestly can't see any change happening, unless Scotland secedes from the Union, which is also pretty unlikely despite the noises from the SNP.

Seperate teams in football are because of the history of the sport - the first international being between England and Scotland. There is no such similar history in Olympic sport. If the IOC permits a Scottish Olympic team, they'll start getting applications from every other region in the world that feels its seperate from its political nation - a Basque team, a Quebec team, a Tibetan team.

This is the current state of affairs:

"Only independent nations, as recognised by the international community, can have national Olympic committee status bestowed on them."

Can you really see the IOC making an exception for Scotland?

Like the threat to the home nations in football, changing the status quo in the Olympics isn't something which will happen any time soon. There's too much momentum, history, vested interest for much to change and I'd imagine it has to get past the IOC before anything can happen anyway. Even Chris Hoy calls the idea "ridiculous".

I honestly can't see any change happening, unless Scotland secedes from the Union, which is also pretty unlikely despite the noises from the SNP.

Seperate teams in football are because of the history of the sport - the first international being between England and Scotland. There is no such similar history in Olympic sport. If the IOC permits a Scottish Olympic team, they'll start getting applications from every other region in the world that feels its seperate from its political nation - a Basque team, a Quebec team, a Tibetan team.

This is the current state of affairs:

"Only independent nations, as recognised by the international community, can have national Olympic committee status bestowed on them."

Can you really see the IOC making an exception for Scotland?

can't see the IOC making an exception (although I do happen to think an Independent Scotland is a far more real prospect than many people make out - and historically Tory governments in London havent helped galvanise the Union, infact quite the opposite. But like I say that is seriously off topic, and there are other sites for discussing that on the internet)

The point about the Autonomous regions looking for seperate teams has reminded me of something else, mind. While the majority of UEFA supports having the 4 individual home nations (its an extra 3 votes who willgo with whats best for UEFA), some of the autonomous regions of Spain - particularly the very nationalist Catalan region - have pointed to the situation in British Football and questioned why they can't have their own national football team. (or rather, why the one that exists can't play in FIFA competitions)

From FIFA's point of view, its far easier to end the special case in the UK than it is to deal with requests from the like of Catalonia, Euskal Herria, Tibet, Galicia, Monaco, Tuvalu ect.

I doubt it would be "far easier" to be honest. I think the seismic rumbles even a hint of a merger caused during this Olympic football team saga shows that FIFA would have a very difficult time changing things. The status quo is the easiest thing to stick with; citing historical precedent whenever anyone questions it. They've got better things to do than faff around with a system that has worked well; same with the IOC. Just because FIFA didn't give assuarances to Scotland, doesn't mean there's movement towards merging us. And just because the majority of Scots apparently want a Scottish Olympic Team, doesn't mean the IOC will even discuss it. It's mostly a lot of hot air from everyone involved.

This is the current state of affairs:

"Only independent nations, as recognised by the international community, can have national Olympic committee status bestowed on them."

Can you really see the IOC making an exception for Scotland?

Should Scotland even stay within the United Kingdom the IOC wouldn't even need to make an exception as Scotland already has the necessary number of National Federations (5) recognised at International level by the IOC.

In fact, Scotland has as much of a claim to have an Olympic team than some of the 203 National Olympic Committees. There are currently two teams from the Virgin Islands, one from Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), Bermuda, Hong Kong, Palestine etc etc.

The IOC charter states, "Although most National Olympic Committees (NOCs) are from nations, the IOC also recognises independent territories, commonwealths, protectorates and geographical areas."

I suppose that's an issue for you to sort out amonst yourselves and the IOC though - can't see it happening for many years and this being a London 2012 thread means we're going off topic a lot. It would get incredibly knotty though. It wouldn't be a case of us splitting into our seperate nations. We'd end up with a Team GB competing against a Team Scotland. Presumably Scottish athletes would be allowed to choose which team they represented just as Northern Irish athletes are permitted to. It's clear, that as a poltical football for the SNP, it could backfire if you get the likes of Chris Hoy choosing Team GB over Team Scotland; as he would almost certainly do.

It's clear, that as a poltical football for the SNP

It's not a political football if 78% of the population support it and only 11% are against it.

It also has cross party support within the parliament not just within the SNP but also within the Greens.

Does it? Out of interest, have you got a link which backs this up? The only quote I could find from Scottish Labour on the issue was decidedly against the idea.

http://www.c-scot.org/

No, you said "it also has cross party support within the parliament"

Unless I've missed something on this website, this is just an opinion poll amongst the general public which is then split into political demographics. I'm not saying the public view doesn't matter, but the website doesn't back up your claim of cross-party support within Parliament. Nor am I saying your claim is wrong by the way, just show me some evidence for it. :)

No, you said "it also has cross party support within the parliament"

Unless I've missed something on this website, this is just an opinion poll amongst the general public which is then split into political demographics. I'm not saying the public view doesn't matter, but the website doesn't back up your claim of cross-party support within Parliament. Nor am I saying your claim is wrong by the way, just show me some evidence for it. :)

Yes, the Scottish Parliament also contains the Greens and independents who support Scottish independence so would vote with the SNP Government.

OK, fair enough. I think I misinterpreted what you meant by cross-party. In truth, in Parliamentary terms, it would be the SNP in the main pushing for this though; with the support of a few fringe parties. And if it were to happen and athletes like Chris Hoy were to choose Team GB, it would look bad for them. I don't think I was too far wrong in saying that.

OK, fair enough. I think I misinterpreted what you meant by cross-party. In truth, in Parliamentary terms, it would be the SNP in the main pushing for this though; with the support of a few fringe parties. And if it were to happen and athletes like Chris Hoy were to choose Team GB, it would look bad for them. I don't think I was too far wrong in saying that.

Chris Hoy is coming from an angle that the facilities are not in place in Scotland for him to train and thus he would not won his medals without Team GB.

He perhaps conveniently forgets it is common practice for athletes to train in a different country to their home nation.

You could say though that if Scotland had an independent team the facilities would have been made available sooner for him to train there. Anyway these are currently being built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games from Scottish Government and Glasgow council budgets.

Two of his 3 medals in Beijing were team medals though. Would he really jump ship?

Two of his 3 medals in Beijing were team medals though. Would he really jump ship?
He hasn't had a problem winning those team medals with Scotland at the Commonwealths...

When will the Olympic Stadium will be finsh?

I suppose that's an issue for you to sort out amonst yourselves and the IOC though - can't see it happening for many years and this being a London 2012 thread means we're going off topic a lot. It would get incredibly knotty though. It wouldn't be a case of us splitting into our seperate nations. We'd end up with a Team GB competing against a Team Scotland. Presumably Scottish athletes would be allowed to choose which team they represented just as Northern Irish athletes are permitted to. It's clear, that as a poltical football for the SNP, it could backfire if you get the likes of Chris Hoy choosing Team GB over Team Scotland; as he would almost certainly do.

His popuarlity would absolutely plummet if he was to do that, let's be honest - I've not really got strong feelings either way on this one, but I can see where both sides are coming from.

Who will open up the Games?

Who will open up the Games?

I'm not sure but I would expect the Queen herself to do that.

Meanwhile back at the ranch..................

From the Canadian press:

London landmarks for 2012 Games

The guts of the 2012 Olympics will take place at the sprawling Olympic park currently rising of the squalor that once was one of the most run-down areas of East London.

The glory will come from the legendary landmarks throughout the historic city, iconic images to beam out to the world as the Games travel to the United Kingdom for the first time in more than six decades.

Two years from now, London’s Summer Olympics will have just wrapped up, ending what will be an ambitious and expensive effort for the bustling metropolitan area of more than 13 million people.

From tennis finals at Wimbledon, to archery at the storied Lord’s Cricket Ground, to a marathon course winding past Buckingham Palace and many of the city’s historic sites, it promises to be a spectacular show.

Best yet, two years out organizers believe they are in a strong position to live up to their promises.

“Overall, we are in great shape,” said Lord Sebastien Coe, the two-time Olympic gold medallist in the 1,500 metres and now the chairman of the London organizing committee. “We have raised record sums of money in probably one of the most difficult economic climates there could possibly have been.”

Indeed, organizers are enthusiastically trumpeting their projections that the 9.3 billion pound ($15.2 billion) Olympic project is both on schedule and on budget.

Granted, original financial estimates almost tripled shortly after London was awarded the Games in 2005, beating out Paris and New York, among others. And once the budget was set, the global economy went into the loo, ensuring that finances would match logistics among the massive challenges to creating a successful Games in a city so old, complex and densely populated.

Though London will be the first city to play host to a Summer Games for a third time, it has been a while and the first time the city truly won a bid to do so.

The Olympics were first held here in 1908 as an emergency replacement for Rome, which had to bow out because of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906.

In 1948, London received the Games again, essentially as an act of good faith after losing the event in 1944 which had been cancelled because of World War II. The latter was the first Olympics to have any live television exposure, just one example of how the world and city will have vastly changed this time ‘round.

Transportation and security have the potential to be enormous headaches in a city where no significant new roads can be built and terrorism is an ongoing threat.

As well, any modern Games needs a concentrated area of facilities, difficult to construct in a city where wide expanses of available real estate disappeared decades ago. The solution was to seize a part of the city in desperate need of a facelift, which brings us to London’s Olympic Park, currently going up at a torrid pace.

A recent tour showed progress well ahead of schedule with more than 8,000 workers on site this day. In the promotional language of London organizers, it is the biggest build in the shortest period of time in British history.

The 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium already has 2,000 seats fitted and the basic structure in place. The aquatics centre has a roof, as does the cycling velodrome and all other major buildings. All this on a site that less than three years ago was an eyesore industrial wasteland rotting on contaminated soil.

“Construction is on time and it’s on budget, how often do you get to say that about builders?” Paul Deighton, the CEO of the London organizing committee (LOCOG), said at the recent World Press Briefing in London. “We’re two thirds done. It has transformed this part of London and it’s going to be a terrific destination.”

Helped by the optics of tangible progress in the great build, all signs point to it being just that. With Coe in charge, London 2012 has a very public face that resonates with what often can be a skeptical population and savage tabloid press.

“We have to put on a so show so we can (offer) a great experience with the sights and all the city has to offer,” said Deighton, who soon will oversee the initial phase of selling some eight million tickets.

Different Olympic cities accentuate their show in different ways, usually through key positioning of television cameras of various global TV rightsholders. In 2004, images of the Acropolis provided a stunning backdrop. In Beijing, it was the brilliant architecture of the Bird’s Nest Stadium and Water Cube aquatics facility, in Vancouver, the picturesque waterfront.

With other venues spread out around the city, London will sell itself away from the Olympic Park as well. A massive Shakespeare festival is planned during the Games while street parties and huge outdoor screens in public areas will allow locals and tourists unlucky enough to get tickets keep up on the action.

Two years may seem like an eternity, but with no Winter Games or World Cup in the interim, London is up next.

“The (goal),” says Coe, “is to have a memorable Games in the eyes of millions of people around the world.”

A SECOND HOME FOR CANADIANS

The tether to the British monarchy may be gradually loosening with time, but there’s no doubt that London 2012 will feel like an over ‘ome Games for many Canadians.

The Queen and the United Kingdom still resonate throughout the Commonwealth, ensuring that these Olympics will have a special appeal both for those watching in Canada and the athletes competing under the Maple Leaf.

“For Canadians going to London, in many ways it will be like going home,” said Vancouver Olympic organizing committee chairman John Furlong, who now heads up Canada’s Own The Podium program. “The culture, obviously, is very much like ours so it will be one of the easier countries for Canada to compete in.

“We have friends in London.”

London has plenty of acquaintances in Canada, as well.

As with most venues to inherit the Olympic flame, London organizers were close observers in Vancouver and Whistler. In particular, they took note of the closing of streets in downtown Vancouver as well as security and media operations.

In the transition, Furlong says several key figures in the VANOC operation have been employed by its London equivalent, LOCOG (The London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.)

MASCOTS A TRIBUTE TO BRITAIN

The ancient Olympics have their roots in Greece, but Brits aren’t shy about shouting out their role in the creation of the modern version.

Though the founding of the Games as we know them are widely attributed to Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin, he was said to be heavily influenced by a visit to the Much Wenlock Games in Shropshire, to the west of London.

Those Games, organized by Dr. William Penny Brookes, featured a mix of track and field events as well as local sports with the added flair of flag-bearers and other ceremonies so much a part of what we see these days at the Olympics.

Throughout his time helping create and grow the modern Olympic movement, De Coubertin was diligent to point out the role the quaint English event had in the evolution.

“If the Olympics exist today,” De Coubertin said later in his life, “the praise should go not to a Greek, but to Dr. Brookes of Wenlock.”

That heritage will be a theme trumpeted in the buildup to 2012 - in fact one of the official mascots for the London Games has been christened Wenlock.

The other mascot - Mandeville - is a tribute to Britain’s role in laying the early groundwork for the Paralympics. The UK was the unofficial founder of the movement in 1948 when a competition was held between World War II soldiers recovering from spinal chord injuries at Stoke-Mandeville Hospital.

“I speak with some emotion here ... one of the things we are very proud about in the United Kingdom is that the Paralympic Games were born in this country in 1948,’” said Sebastian Coe, the London 2012 chairman. “It has grown from that in an extraordinary way.”

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/othersports/2010/08/13/15014436.html

Water flowing at London 2012 Canoe Slalom venue

WATCH VIDEO (http://www.london2012.com/videos/2010/lee-valley-white-water-centre.php)

Water is now flowing at the Lee Valley White Water Canoe Centre, the venue for the London 2012 Canoe Slalom events. The venue is on track to be completed later this year and will be the first brand new 2012 venue to be finished.

http://www.london2012.com/images/olympic-park/broxbourne-water-flowing.jpg

Construction work on the new lake and competition courses has been completed allowing water to begin flowing at the venue and testing work to start on the canoe courses. Works on the internal areas of the two-storey facility building and landscaping works are underway.

Olympic Delivery Authority Chairman John Armitt said: ‘With water flowing down the courses at the White Water Centre we are getting our first look at the facilities that the world’s best canoeists will compete on in 2012. With the venue due to be completed later this year, we are also on track to deliver an early sporting legacy for the East of England region well before the Games begin.’

Before and after 2012, the venue will be owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority as a sporting and leisure facility for canoeing and white-water rafting, as well as a major competition and training venue for elite events.

Good, would be good to make a splash in that crystal clean water. :D

London 2012 Olympics media centre revealed

Thousands of international journalists coming to London to cover the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are to be housed in the centre of the city, Mayor Boris Johnson has announced. The One Great George Street conference centre will be available 24-hours a day offering live broadcasting areas, additional offices for photographers and in-house dining facilities. The Mayor hopes by accommodating journalists so centrally it will give London the chance to showcase itself to the world.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48760000/jpg/_48760405_exterior-darki.jpg

At each Olympiad the National Olympic Committees collectively accredit around 25,000 journalists and other representatives from international media organisations to cover the Games, giving them access to the Olympic Park Media Centre and International Broadcast Centre. However, thousands more journalists, without accreditation, will also descend on the capital to report on the Games and wider celebrations in London.

The London Media Centre will have workspaces for over 250 journalists, with press conference facilities to sit 200 members of media. Its location means journalists will be able to attend Olympic events as well as experience London as a place to visit, live, study and do business.

'Biggest party'

The media will be just a 10-minute walk from a host of London attractions, from its internationally renowned bars, clubs and restaurants, to its great museums and world class theatres. They are also a short journey to Games venues such as Horse Guards Parade and the Live Sites in Hyde Park and on the South Bank. Westminster Tube station is a five -minute walk, from where they can travel direct to the Olympic Park on the Jubilee Line.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "London has the best and most diverse leisure and cultural offering of any city in the world. Whether it is relaxing in one of our famous parks or squares or experiencing London's unrivalled nightlife all our guests in 2012, be they spectators, athletes, media or organisers, will be truly spoilt for choice. Journalists joining us for these historic days in the summer of 2012 are now guaranteed a central working base in the heart of all the action. A stone's throw from the London Media Centre lie some of the capital's most iconic shots and locations, ready to be beamed into homes across the globe. I look forward to welcoming our visitors in 2012 and joining with them for the biggest party London has ever seen."

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48761000/jpg/_48761192_mainstaircase.jpg

Welcome the world

Christopher Wyld, Director of the Foreign Press Association, said: "The Foreign Press Association in London looks forward to working closely with the Mayor and Visit London to make sure that visiting journalists get every opportunity to see what a diverse and exciting city London is before, during and after the 2012 Games.

"London is one of the great media hubs of the world and the central location of the London Media Centre will provide yet another opportunity to welcome foreign journalists to the United Kingdom and help them gain access to the people they want to meet and the places they want to see".

To help all visitors to travel smoothly around the city up to 8,000 London Ambassadors will be located at key points across the city providing information and assistance to everybody needing help and support during their stay for the Games. These volunteers will be in addition to the 70,000 Games Makers that London 2012 organisers will be recruiting to help at Games venues.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/london/hi/people_and_places/2012/newsid_8918000/8918350.stm

Olympic Stadium

londo2012.com


http://i31.tinypic.com/2uj409u.jpg


http://i28.tinypic.com/5ztf.jpg

Wowwww... The Olympic Stadium is beautiful :cheers:
Loved...

what are the doing in the river around the stadium? either cleaning it or putting something green into it!

Plan to create green space on Olympic village site

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/7241/48837527trees1.jpg
More than 2,000 trees will be planted as part of the landscaping

Plans to create parks and play areas for residents who will move into homes in the Olympic Park after the 2012 Games have been unveiled.
Work on almost 3,000 homes in the Athletes' Village in east London will start once athletes and officials have moved out.

Ten hectares of parkland and wetlands, with more than 2,000 trees and 100,000 plants, will complement the properties.

There will also be new cycling facilities, play and picnic areas.

Wildlife habitats

The Athletes' Village, which is adjacent to the Olympic Park, will accommodate athletes and officials during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The first stage of landscaping works in the village is under way to create a 2.5 hectare wetlands park that will feature ponds and marshlands with pathways and seating areas.

Extensive planting and new trees will create a "green canopy" through the area and help create new wildlife habitats.

This is in addition to landscaping in the Olympic Park to create the largest urban park in the UK for more than a century.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11060711

Plans unveiled for new parks, trees and green open spaces to support new homes in Athletes' Village

24 Aug 2010
london2012.com

Plans for thousands of new trees, new parks, play areas and open spaces to support the new homes being delivered in the Athletes’ Village site were unveiled by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) today.

The announcement comes as the first stage of landscaping work is now underway in the Village site with the creation of an extensive wetlands park.

The Athletes’ Village, which lies adjacent to the Olympic Park, will accommodate athletes and officials during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. After the Games the Village will deliver the legacy of 2,818 new homes for east London, of which 1,379 will be affordable, owned and managed by Triathlon Homes.

Together with the new homes being built, the landscaping and public realm project in the Village site will create 10 hectares of new parklands, wetlands, and open space featuring more than 2,000 new trees and over 100,000 wetland and wild flower plants.

The open space areas between the new homes will be interspersed with play areas, cycling facilities, picnic and recreation spaces for use by the new and existing local communities. The new green open spaces in the Athletes’ Village are in addition to the extensive landscaping works already well underway in the Olympic Park site to create one of the largest new urban parks in the UK for over 100 years.

The first stage of landscaping works in the Village is now underway with the creation of a 2.5 hectare wetlands park that will feature a series of ponds and marshlands with pathways and seating areas throughout. Extensive planting and new trees will create a ‘green canopy’ through the area and help create new wildlife habitats.

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: 'The Athletes’ Village will not only deliver essential new homes for Londoners, it will create new parks, trees, play areas and open spaces that can be enjoyed by new and existing communities for generations to come. The construction of the Village is firmly on track and with landscaping works now underway, we will start to see a series of new green open spaces take shape between the new homes being built.'

Seb Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: 'We recognise the importance of the public realm in our plans for the Village. The overall calm environment is crucially important to an athlete away from the venues and the crowds of the Games. The mature designs planned demonstrate that we care about athlete well being by creating a peaceful oasis. The Village has a permanence and maturity and will have the same lasting impact on its residents after the Games.'

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: 'I am determined that London becomes the world’s best big city and that means creating fabulous places to visit and relax. We are already investing millions greening our capital, from the planting of thousands of new trees to a major programme delivering new and improved public spaces. So it is great to see new green and open space emerging from this long neglected part of London and helping to transform the look and feel of this great city.'

The landscaping and public realm project in the Athletes’ Village will include:
New parks

* A series of interconnected park areas throughout the Village site including:
* A typical London square with an orchard of traditional British fruit trees.
* A formal square in front of the Chobham Academy school with seating areas and a gathering space that can be used for holding markets.
* A main public open space area at the heart of the Village with large areas for sitting, picnicking and recreation.
* A garden area with a central pathways meandering between three interconnected ponds as water features.

New wetlands area

* Work is now underway on a large ecology wetlands park to the south-west corner of the Village site, which leads directly into the wider Olympic Park site.
* Wetlands park features three ponds and two marshland areas, with pathways and seating areas throughout. A large wildflower lawn area scattered with trees will create a picnic area.
* More than 700 new trees to create a ‘gateway’ into the wetlands area and a ‘green canopy’ throughout.
* Native trees will be used including field maple, common alder, silver birch, black poplar, aspen, English oak, hornbeam and a variety of willow species.
* Planting will include more than 70,000 wild flower and aquatic plants.
* 60 bird boxes to be installed and new habitats created for a range of species including dragonflies, butterflies, swifts, swallows, martins, kingfishers and bats.

New play areas and cycle facilities

* Park areas interspersed with children’s play areas, including a neighbourhood play area in the centre of the Village site with various play equipment and a sheltered seating area.
* A cycle network throughout the Athletes' Village site, integrated into the surrounding London Cycle Network, together with cycle parking spaces.

New trees and wetland plants

* More than 2,000 new trees, over 100,000 wetland and wild flower plants, and large areas of wild flower meadows and lawns.
* Wildflower, tree and hedge planting designed to progress from the natural landscape of the wetlands areas in the west of the site to the more urban areas of Stratford and Leyton to the east.
* Landscaping planned to flow diagonally from the north-east to south-west of the Village site and forming a visual connection towards the Olympic Park and the City of London to the south west of the site.
* Planting to form tree-lined avenues around the main streets and roads in the Village, including nearly two hundred semi-mature London plane trees, with groups of trees brought together in more parkland areas.
* A range of tree sizes and species planted throughout to add variety.

The various landscaping and public realm elements in the Athletes' Village will be delivered in phases between now and the Spring of 2012. Construction work started on the Athletes’ Village in June 2008 and more than three-quarters of the residential plots in the Village are now structurally complete. The structure of the world-class new education campus being built in the Village, Chobham Academy, is nearing completion and work is well underway on the state-of-the-art new Polyclinic in the Village that will provide healthcare facilities for existing local communities and the new residents that will live in the Village after 2012.

Triathlon Homes (a joint venture company established by First Base and housing associations Southern Housing Group and East Thames Group) has purchased 1,379 of the new homes in the Athletes’ Village which will become available as affordable housing after 2012. The aim is to create affordable, high quality homes for local people which are intrinsic to the regeneration of the area and to ensure a successful legacy for Stratford and the wider east London community after the Games.

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http://www.london2012.com/press/media-releases/2010/08/plans-unveiled-for-new-parks-trees-and-green-open-spaces-to-support-new-home.php

London 2012 Olympic marathon set to start and finish at the Mall

-- Link to Guardan article (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/02/london-2012-marathon-finish-the-mall) --

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The route for the marathon at the London 2012 Olympic Games is likely to start and finish at the Mall in a departure from tradition, though a final decision has yet to be made.

Several different courses are under consideration and it is hoped the consultation process will be completed by the end of the month. However, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog) is understood to have a strong preference for the proposal that uses the Mall as its centrepiece. Running from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square and featuring Admiralty Arch, Locog believes the ceremonial route will provide the marathon with an iconic backdrop.

Traditionally, the event has finished at the Games' main stadium and the original plan plotted a path from Tower Bridge to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, east London. But Locog is eager to incorporate as many London landmarks as possible and favour the Mall, which is also the finish line for the annual London Marathon.

The Locog director of venues and infrastructure, James Bulley, however, today stressed discussions over the course are still ongoing. "No final decision over the marathon has been made at this point," he said. "We're still working with the international federation and various technical bodies to understand exactly what will be best for London 2012.

"A number of different routes and scenarios are being examined at the moment. We have some preferred scenarios and we're working those through with the international federations. We have to strike a balance between factors such as the implications for traffic and road closures on the day and getting people around to other events.

"We also want to use as many iconic locations in the route as possible and, of course, it has to work well for all the athletes. The fact it traditionally finishes at the stadium is a consideration. The stadium has been designed to accommodate it and finishing there remains one of the options."

K5aXiPMeoag

Olympic Stadium

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Worth pointing out that there is now a webcam showing the inside of the velodrome and the building of the track:

http://www.london2012.com/webcams/index.php

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Progressing fast on the velodrome, is it due for an early completion as there's no way they targetting a simple pre-games handover in 18-20 months at the rate they're going.

The velodrome was always slated as the first venue to be completed in the Park. I don't think they're ahead of schedule.

'Jaw-dropping’ 2012 Olympics displays to dazzle visitors

Boris Johnson has revealed plans to deliver a “jaw-dropping” visitor experience during the Olympics.

Inflatable boxers will float over the capital's skyline; a giant arch in the shape of a high-jumper will cross the Westway and a zip-wire is proposed for Trafalgar Square to add to the party atmosphere.

The Thames will be transformed into a dazzling Olympic display with new lighting for Tower Bridge and along the river banks. And a new boardwalk is planned for Southwark to make the south bank more accessible in time for the Games.

The Mayor also hopes the Royal Barge commissioned for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 will carry the Olympic torch on its final leg from Westminster to the Olympic Park in Stratford on the day of the opening ceremony.

Mr Johnson outlined his proposals at an Olympic summit attended by 2012 sponsors and marketing experts.

Keynote speakers at the summit, which was organised by the Evening Standard, were editor Geordie Greig and Sebastian Coe, chairman of the 2012 organising committee, Locog.

Mr Johnson said: “We are looking at the sort of things that are going to make the visitors' jaws drop and leave a lasting memory of the Games. Everyone knows this is the most exciting thing we are going to do in London in our lifetimes and we are incredibly privileged to be engaged in this project.”

About £30 million has been earmarked in the Olympic budget for dressing the capital but cash from sponsors, who have paid £600 million for promotional rights, could ensure a real impact — and perhaps leave a permanent legacy, he said.

Lord Coe said the Standard, which reported on the 1908 and 1948 London Olympics, would become the first host city newspaper to cover three Games.


http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23875043-jaw-dropping-2012-olympics-displays-to-dazzle-visitors.do

Velodrome

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Basketball Arena

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Olympic Village

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London 2012 Olympics proving to be a winner for business

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Two years to go: An analysis by The Daily Telegraph of stock exchange announcements shows that the Olympics is already affecting British business.

London won the right to host the 2012 Olympics with the economy booming and the FTSE 100 at 5,229. Five years later, following one of the deepest recessions in history and with the stock market still struggling to clear 5,500, the value of the Games to British businesses has evolved to an extent few could have imagined.

As the banking system teetered on the edge of collapse in late 2008, Tessa Jowell, then the Olympics Minister, questioned whether London's bid to host the Games would turn out to be a costly mistake. "Had we known what we know now, would we have bid for the Olympics? Almost certainly not," she said. The £9.3bn bill was steep for a country whose national debt was heading for the one trillion pounds mark.

However, as the UK edges ever closer to July 2012, John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, insists the Games will be a "fillip" to the economy and that the recession has been a "curate's egg" for the project.

Speaking in an interview with The Daily Telegraph he said: "When we won the Olympics the economy was booming but within about six months the reverse was true. Without the recession it [construction of the Olympic venues] would have been challenging in terms of inflation and getting labour on site. But equally, we wouldn't have had to use our contingency fund for the Olympic Village."

Armitt joined the ODA in September 2007 from Network Rail, where as chief executive he presided over the rebuilding of Britain's railways – but at more than double the costs to the taxpayer.

As chairman of the ODA, he is responsible for overseeing construction of the venues and infrastructure that will host the Olympics. Today, 10,000 workers are on-site at the Olympic Park in Stratford, and the ODA aims to hand the keys over to the organising committee, Locog, late next year.

"Our biggest achievement is doing what we said we would do," says Armitt, insisting construction remains on-time and on-budget.

An analysis by The Daily Telegraph of stock exchange announcements shows that the Olympics is already affecting British business. In 2010, 29 listed British companies have referred to the 2012 Olympics as having a material positive impact.

This includes 10 companies involved in construction such as WS Atkins, the engineering design provider to the Games, but also businesses in transport, retail and other industries.

For example, Hornby, the model manufacturer, has launched its first range of London 2012 products, while William Sinclair Holdings, a horticulture group, has won a contract to provided soil to the Olympic Park.

Although a spokesman for William Sinclair declined to comment due to ODA restrictions, it is believed the company has been tasked with producing different soils capable of hosting the array of global flowers planned for the Park.

Six property companies have also already stated they expect to benefit from the Olympics. For example, Telford Homes, the housing developer, says the regeneration around the Park is boosting demand for new homes in East London, while Capital & Counties owns Earls Court Exhibition Centre, which will host the volleyball tournament.

Overall, according to a study for the Government by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2005, the Olympics will boost the London economy by £5.9bn and the rest of the UK by a further £1.9bn.

Outside London, £1.1bn of the benefit will come during the event itself as tourists arrive in the country. But for London, the overwhelming majority of the benefits – £3.4bn – will come before the Games, with £1.6bn after it. This is primarily due to spending on construction.

But while the billion pound figures look impressive, the survey suggests that as a percentage of GDP the impact of the Games is limited. In 2012, for example, the Olympics are forecast to add just 0.066pc to the UK economy and 0.258pc to London.

Mark Ambler, a director in the economics team at PwC who produced the report, says the recession means those figures now represent a significant underestimation. "It has changed for two reasons," he said. "The Games will cost more than foreseen but also the value of the spending is greater than foreseen."

When the Olympic contracts were first tendered, private companies' order books were overflowing and their appetite to work on high-profile public projects had been damaged by debacles at Wembley and the Millennium Dome.

However, following the credit crisis, the ODA contracts have emerged as valuable and stable work due to construction halting elsewhere in the UK.

Armitt and his team have learned from previous public project failures, introducing target price contracting as a way of boosting the relationship between the client and contractor. This agreement means a design-and-build price is agreed prior to construction, with the ODA and contractor then sharing any upside or downside.

So far, the ODA has issued 1,300 contracts worth £5bn. Of those, 98pc have been won by British companies – with most based in the South East, Midlands and the North West – while small and medium-sized businesses have secured 65pc of the work.

"One of things that worried us was with the recession was that we could have failures [in the supply chain]," Armitt explains. "We have tried to get an environment where we help people."

As yet, no Olympic contractor or sub-contractor has gone bust. Companies have been helped by the ODA pledging to make payments within 18 days rather than the industry standard of 30, and by pushing tier one contractors to pay promptly.

According to Mr Armitt, the ODA has also been careful not to "overload" businesses with too many contracts.

However, the recession has still scarred the Olympics. The ODA is having to build the £1bn Olympic Village and £350m media centre itself because the private sector was unable to raise the funds, while land sales are expected to raise £150m less than expected because of falling values.

The Olympics has also failed to escape public spending cuts. The Coalition Government has shaved £27m from the ODA budget, although Armitt insists these savings will be found without changing the nature of the venues or infrastructure.

With £300m of contracts still to be awarded – including construction of the BMX and shooting facilities –future challenges still lay ahead. Terminal 5 and the Millennium Dome, Armitt warns, are haunting examples of complex projects that were successfully constructed but suffered damaging publicity on completion because of operational problems.

"It is critical for us that we don't fall over in the next nine months," he cautions.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/london-olympics-business/7992826/London-2012-Olympics-proving-to-be-a-winner-for-business.html

2012 Official Count Down Clock

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Plans for a giant clock in Trafalgar Square counting down the time until the start of the 2012 Games are set to be approved by the City of Westminster.

The proposals do not specify who designed the clock, which is set to be approved on Thursday, just days before the start of London Design Festival.

The 6.5m-high structure, developed by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog) and sponsored by Omega, will have a concrete base and will be clad in brushed stainless steel. It will sit in the north-west corner of the square from 15 March 2011 to mark the 500 day deadline to the start of the Games.

For night time viewing it will feature LED lighting strips of varying colour, while the digital clocks and Olympic and Paralympic logos will also be illuminated.

Planners at the council admitted “there is much to take issue with in terms of design” citing its “asymmetrical position, its substantial height, the cladding materials and the illumination” as inappropriate, but recommended its approval because of the exceptional circumstances.

English Heritage declined to respond to the planning application, with just two bodies – the Westminster Society and the Thorney Island Society – raising objections.

The countdown clock is a stalwart of pre-Olympic marketing in host cities – Beijing placed its version in Tiananmen Square - and the council believes it will become a tourist attraction.

Subject to approval, London’s will remain in place until the end of the Paralympic Games and will finally be removed on 14 September 2012.

from http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/uk/olympic-clock-set-for-trafalgar-square/5005658.article

The Velodrome

london2012.com

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Olympic Village

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block homes?

how come they have no balconies...not sure i would want to spend a million dollars for a home with no balcony. bye bye

Cycling velodrome is fantastic! Great job!

Olympic Village

by astrimole.

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Olympics showcase: translating the architects' vision for the Aquatics Centre

-- Link to The Engineer article (http://www.theengineer.co.uk/olympics-showcase-translating-the-architects-vision-for-the-aquatics-centre/1004936.article) --

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Compared with some recent Olympics, London’s games will be a stripped-down affair. The organisers decided to avoid the architectural fantasias of Beijing’s improbable Bird’s Nest Stadium and shimmering Water Cube in place of more utilitarian buildings, exemplified by the no-frills bowl of the athletics stadium now looming above Stratford Olympic Park.

However, top-notch architecture is on display, most notably in the Aquatics centre. Perched to the west of the stadium across the Plaza where 250,000 visitors will enter the park every day, the building’s swooping roof spreads its winged form over three pools (one for the main swimming events, one for diving and one for practice purposes in the basement) and 18,000 spectators. The design, by Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, was chosen in a competition. It will be the first of her projects to be built in her home country.

But the striking roof, with its three-dimensional curves, presented a real challenge to the engineers who had to realise Hadid’s design. Measuring 160m in length and 90m in width, it appears to float unsupported above the pools and seating. How do you build a structure like that? And worse, how do you build it in a recession, under the scrutiny of an organising body determined to pare costs down as much as possible, and pressure from the media determined to seize upon any evidence of extravagance?

Addressing a recent meeting organised by the Royal Academy of Engineering, project director Stuart Frazer of Balfour Beatty said that there were many challenges on the site. ’First, there was the remediation from the site’s use pre-war and into the 1950s and 1960s - Stratford used to be a big railway town and there were the remains of facilities for manufacturing steam locomotives and carriages,’ he added. ’We then inherited the remediated site in June 2008 to start work, much of which had to be carried out below the water table. That presented another problem: there are two tunnels that run immediately below our site, 20m underground.’ Known as the PLUG (power line underground) tunnels, these carry electricity to the north end of the site.

However, the roof presented the biggest challenge: a highly complex structure, it also serves as a showpiece for British architecture. Part of the problem was that the competition was actually part of the London 2012 bidding process and was therefore designed before the games were assigned to London, according to Mike King, an associate director of engineering consultancy Arup, who led the project to build the aquatics centre. ’This was to show the International Olympics Committee [IOC] that London was serious about the games and was prepared to invest in cutting-edge architecture,’ he said. However, once the games were won, it became obvious that certain parts of the design would need to be rethought.

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The design presented to the IOC showed the venue in games and legacy modes, but there wasn’t much difference between the two. ’For the games mode, it was a case of tucking in the seating under the roof, then, after, the Olympics installing a new facade some distance back from where it had been during the event,’ added King. ’And that was how the design looked in 2005. After that, we went back and looked at where the focus should be. The advice was that we should focus on the legacy and think about how we could adapt that for the Olympics.’

This meant that the size of the roof was reduced, cutting back the overhanging wings to a scale more in proportion with the building’s post-games capacity. The seating was also redesigned, from sweeping curves to a right-angled grid that was easier and cheaper to model and build.

The focus then came back to the roof. ’One of the key things in the project was the reduction in risk, or the perception of risk, so the ODA created a dialogue process where the design team would sit down with potential contractors to instil confidence that the scheme was buildable,’ explained King. The result of this was that architects and engineers spent approximately four months revisiting the design to make the structure less complex, while retaining its distinctive shape.

In the previous design, the two arches that form the winged side sections of the roof transferred forces into the ground. ’There was a huge thrust into the ground and we had a tie buried in the substructure beneath the ground to cope with that,’ he added. The roof itself was to be built from support beams that followed its double-curved shape.

This part of the design did not survive the rethink. Even with its reduced scale, the roof was still huge and had to sit on main supports that were only 22m wide, and the wings overhang these supports on both sides. ’If you draw a line down from the tip of the roof, you have a 27m overhang from your last line of support, bang in the middle of this 120m span,’ said King.

The result was a structure formed from two-dimensional roof trusses that travel from the front to the back of the roof’s long axis, perpendicular to the wings. These are made from sections of fabricated steel, all of the same dimensions, to ensure that all the nodes - where the trusses are fixed to other sections - are the same. The wings are still arches but, rather than transferring thrust into the ground, they are connected to in-plane trusses and transfer their weight via tie into the central trusses. ’It’s an elegant, closed form in that all the forces are contained within the roof,’ added King.

The complex three-dimensional curve of the roof is created by the purlins, which run perpendicular to the trusses, but even these only have to be curved in one dimension. ’If you look at the top surface, which is clad in aluminium, and the bottom, which is clad in timber, we get that great seductive curve from simple 2D elements that are universal beam sections - cheap and cheerful, if you like, because it’s economical and easily fabricated.’

The roof is supported on spherical bearings, fixed at one end and sliding at the other. One allows movement longitudinally but not laterally, which helps the structure to withstand the wind; the other two can slide in both directions.

Balfour Beatty found the new design relatively simple to work with, said Frazer. ’We had visions of erecting the roof on the floor and lifting it, but it’s 11m high at its highest point, so that wasn’t practical,’ he said. ’We made the steel pieces flat, lying on their sides, then towed them down to the site and lifted them onto three trestles that provided temporary propping.’

Two years ahead of the games and the roof is complete, with pods containing security cameras, lights and speakers ready to be installed in the space between the outer and inner cladding. Inside, the warm timber panels of the roof will form a smooth, uninterrupted curve.

’Come 2012, we’ll have a series of venues that are a testament to UK construction and engineering,’ said Frazer.

Ill take good architecture over architectural fantasies any day.

First tile laid in London 2012 Olympics swimming pool

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Foster said the centre would be 'buzzing' during the games

The first tile in the London 2012 Olympics swimming pool complex has been laid by world swimming champion Mark Foster.

Some 180,000 tiles will line the 50m (164 ft) competition pool, plus the training and dive pools.

The ceiling of the 17,500-seat venue is being clad with more than 30,000 pieces of timber.

Mark Foster, 50m freestyle world record holder, said it would be a "fantastic facility".

He said: "The aquatics centre will be buzzing during the games.

"Afterwards [it] will be a fantastic new facility for the Olympic and Paralympic athletes of the future and the local community."

Between them the pools will hold 10 million litres of water.

The two seating stands will weigh in at 1,600 tonnes each.

Olympic Delivery Authority chief executive David Higgins said: "Starting tiling of the pools is another milestone towards completing the Aquatics Centre next summer ready for test events.

"With the covering of the sweeping roof complete and ceiling under way the venue is on track."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11391500

NBC network to televise 200 hours plus from London 2012

The NBC network will broadcast more than 200 hours from the London 2012 Olympics, almost a 25 per cent increase on what they showed from Beijing 2008, they have revealed.

Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Universal Sports, made the announcement during the United States Olympic Committee's Assembly in Colorado Springs.

NBC's cable partners also will expand their coverage by 100 hours and average 50 hours a day.NBC's network and cable partners broadcast a total of 3,600 hours during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and 835 during the Winter Games in Vancouver earlier this year.

When NBC televised the Olympics for the first time - in Tokyo in 1964 - they showed a total of just 15 hours.

London will be the seventh consecutive Olympics that NBC has shown but is the last Games that they won as part of the record $2.2 billion (£1.3 billion) deal they signed with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2003.

An NBC delegation earlier this month visited London for the first of what are set to be several operational meetings. They plan to base up to 1,000 people in London during the Olympics, including camera crews, reporters, makeup artists, chefs, doctors and runners.

The IOC has yet to begin negotiating for the United States television rights for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
A fragile economic climate in the United States had prompted the IOC to delay the start of negotiations.

But Jacques Rogge, the President of the IOC, said last night that he expects negotiations to open before the end of this year."We will most likely start negotiations either at the end of this year or in the beginning of next year," Rogge told Associated Press.

"The economy is improving, and the economy is definitely the major factor for which we waited."Broadcasters in the United States are funded exclusively by advertising. "We now see signals and we hear from our partners in the advertising world that advertising is coming up.

"So we are waiting for that to negotiate."NBC will bid to keep the rights but face opposition from ABC-ESPN, CBS, Fox Sport and Turner, who Rogge expects to all bid."It's not going to be an easy discussion but there is good will on both sides to find a good solution," Rogge told Associated Press.

"We want to find a win-win solution in the long term." Ebersol claimed that he is happy with the IOC decision to delay negotiations."You have no choice," he said.

"You go by what they say and when they want to do it.

"I have been so lucky for such a long period of time that I'm going to just keep rubbing my rabbit's foot."

http://insidethegames.biz/summer-olympics/london-2012-news/10594-nbc-to-televise-over-200-hours-from-london-2012-

Sports centres share £10m for athletes' training in 2012

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/2280/redbridgeleisure4151.jpg

Up to £10 million is up for grabs for London sports venues that want to attract Olympic athletes in their training for 2012

The upgrade fund is available to schools, universities, sports clubs and leisure centres which sign up to become an official Games training venue.

London 2012 and the Olympic Delivery Authority are managing the project and funding most of the capital works needed. They have struck deals with 16 venues and another 12, which are largely football training facilities outside London, are due to sign up by the end of the year.

London 2012 chairman Lord Coe, speaking at Redbridge Sports & Leisure Centre, the first venue to be signed up, said: “These are first-rate venues that will provide excellent training facilities for athletes getting ready for the biggest sporting competition in their careers.

“It is important that they have high-quality training areas for their final preparations. Funding from the ODA has helped upgrade these facilities.

“This is a tangible benefit of the Games because these upgrades will be available for use afterwards, ensuring that local communities have access to the facilities as well.”

Olympics and Paralympic athletes from more than 200 countries will use the training facilities after they move into the Games Village in Stratford 11 days before competition begins.

Venues must be no more than 30 minutes away and will also offer medical facilities, changing rooms and catering.

ODA chairman John Armitt said: “By investing in existing facilities where possible, the best value for the taxpayer has been secured in addition to sports provision being significantly improved across the area.

“Venues will be left with world-class courts and surfaces which will serve the community for years to come.”

Redbridge Sports & Leisure Centre will provide training for badminton, judo and wrestling during the Olympics and for goalball during the Paralympics.

The ODA grant is to help build a £6.4 million badminton and netball centre, with about half the amount coming from the Trust which runs the centre, in addition to external funding from organisations such as Sport England (National Lottery), Badminton England, the London Marathon Trust and England Netball.

Redbridge Sport & Leisure was also awarded a further £200,000 towards the cost of the new badminton hall after becoming the first successful applicant of London Mayor Boris Johnson's new community sports funding scheme - the PlaySport London Facilities Fund.

He said: “This funding ensures that the local community will be able to benefit from state of the art facilities post 2012.”

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23883966-sports-centres-share-pound-10m-for-athletes-training-in-2012.do

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11391500

Is it churlish to point out that you can see other tiles next to the one he's laying? :lol:

I did think that as well, haha!

he may have tiled the others first before the photo op ;)

Property price rise double in East thanks to the Olympics effect

The rise in asking prices for property in London's Olympic boroughs is almost twice that in other parts of the capital.

New research shows that the asking prices for homes in east London also bucked the national trend of falling values.

In the 12 months to September, the average asking price in Greenwich, Hackney, Newham and Waltham Forest increased by three per cent from £276,751 to £284,396, according to the research by property website FindaProperty.co.uk.

In the same period, prices in London's other boroughs grew by an average of only 1.6 per cent, while across the country as a whole asking prices fell by 0.3 per cent.

The only exception to this was Tower Hamlets where prices remained fairly stagnant, dropping by about one per cent.

The sharpest rises were in Newham, where the athletes' village is under construction and where many of the main facilities will be located. Prices there rose by seven per cent year-on-year.

Despite this, the borough remains London's second cheapest — after Barking & Dagenham — with an average asking price of £230,752. The website's analyst, Nigel Lewis, said: “When London first won the Games in 2005, property prices in the area increased sharply. Some thought this would tail off but we're finding that the Olympic effect is having a lasting impact.

"These areas have some of the cheapest property in London but will benefit from a huge investment in infrastructure that will have an impact far beyond the Olympics.

"The closer we get to the Games, the more people are seeing effects such as new rail links and shopping centres which are making these areas more popular and driving up prices.”

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23884406-property-price-rise-double-in-east-thanks-to-the-olympics-effect.do

How the Olympic Park will look in 2030

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/1097/07olympicpark415.jpg
New vision: the Olympic Park with the Orbit Tower could become one of London’s top visitor attractions after 2012

London's Olympic Park legacy plans has been dramatically redrawn to encourage middle-class families to move into the area.

Thousands of homes with gardens will be built instead of "soulless" high-rise flats.

New neighbourhoods with shared family squares will be created in the Regency and Georgian style of London's smartest streets.

Apartments with canalside views will also be marketed as an affordable alternative to Islington or Camden.

The idea, mooted by Olympic legacy chief Baroness Ford, is designed to solve the city's looming housing crisis and ensure the Games delivers lasting improvements to London. She wants to build fewer but grander homes as part of a general scaling-down of the area's housing plan.

Lady Ford criticised the 2008 Park masterplan for having too many "soulless" high-rise apartments.She argued that with 7,000 flats already in the pipeline, including the 2,800-unit athletes' village, there was a need instead for family homes with gardens.

She said: "London is crying out for decent-quality family housing both to rent and to buy and, given the assets here, this is destined to be a park for London families. I think this masterplan has a much sharper focus and reflects the best of London."

The work is scheduled to begin in 2014 although the transformation will not be completed for two decades. Lady Ford, a regeneration expert who took the Millennium Dome off the taxpayers' hands, has divided the 300-acre site, previously an industrial area in the Lower Lea Valley, into four districts: two commercial zones, a sports and cultural "plaza" and the natural parklands in the north.

She added: "The Empire exhibition and the Festival of Britain have left great new quarters of London, whether it's the South Bank or South Kensington. We want to do the same in the South Plaza with a great recreational space for Londoners."

The two commercial "bookends" of the Park will be around the Olympic media centre in Hackney Wick, with hopes for 5,000 new jobs in the "creative industries", and in the east the £1.4billion Westfield shopping centre. Lady Ford's Olympic Park Legacy Company - which next year will come under the full control of City Hall - hopes to secure planning permission from the Olympic Delivery Authority and sign up the first private sector developer before the Games are held in 2012.

Proceeds from selling the site to property developers are expected to reach £2billion and will pay back the Lottery's Olympic contribution and the Treasury.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23885625-how-the-olympic-park-will-look-in-2030.do

Thorpe impressed by London 2012 Aquatics Center

Five-time Olympic swim champion Ian Thorpe believes that the London 2012 Aquatics Center looks better in person than it did on the drawing board.

The Australian visited London's Olympic Park for the first time Thursday, and said the nearly completed Aquatics Center was arguably more impressive than the one where he won three gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Games.

"To come around and see how complete everything is, it's exciting," said Thorpe, who retired from competitive swimming in 2006. "It's very different seeing something in its presentation mode when it looks really shiny and everything, and when you actually go and see it, it doesn't really come up in the same way.

"But this is quite extraordinary, that it is replicated in the same way when it is built as when it was presented."

The 17,500-seat arena, with its distinctive sweeping roof, will be scaled down to a 3,000-capacity venue after the 2012 Games. It will contain two 50-meter pools with moveable floors, a diving pool and a dry-land training area.

"This may be the first project that has a true legacy. ..." Thorpe said of the London Olympics. "It is real. Not only will this give back to Greater London and the whole area, hopefully it will give back to the whole world."

Thorpe said the determination of London organizers to ensure use of all the facilities after the games and tie them to the city will lend a distinctive character to the event.

"London's good at this, being different. The mood of the world is different now," Thorpe said. "It's not going to be a big games like Beijing, and that's neither a good thing or a bad thing."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2010-10-07-2544809626_x.htm

A nice little overhead shot of the Olympic Park:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/5066370531_1f7f1aa939_z.jpg

From Happy Snapper23 on flickr

I have to agree with Thorpe.

The preparations of the London team have been superb to date. Well done.

Velodrome

Pictures from http://www.insidelondon2012.blogspot.com (http://www.insidelondon2012.blogspot.com/)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/5059378935_a732216f44_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5059992084_9c8ccdaa13_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/5059991532_40025e03e9_b.jpg

I have to agree with Thorpe.

The preparations of the London team have been superb to date. Well done.

put that down to typically understated British efficiency ;-)

put that down to typically understated British efficiency ;-)

Well more so the fact that the right people and the right skill sets have been put in place...unlike in other bidding/hosting cities where the personnel involved seemed to be clearly out of their depth.

Well more so the fact that the right people and the right skill sets have been put in place...unlike in other bidding/hosting cities where the personnel involved seemed to be clearly out of their depth.

Exactly.

We're quite capable of making a complete mess of a construction schedule when the wrong people (and wrong thinking) are put in place........Wembley anyone?

That was built by Aussies :-)

That was built by Aussies :-)

Aussie company. But British management working on Wembley, for the most part, I think. And British workers' industrial action. And British political interference / dithering. Etc etc.

Thankfully, I suspect that Coe et al have used Wembley as an object lesson in how not to deliver such large scale projects. The fear of another Wembley fiasco is what has concentrated minds at central government level and scared the ODA into scheduling most venues to be ready a year or so ahead of the Games.

In that respect, the Wembley mismanagement has proved to be a blessing.

If you take everything into account including the IAAF World Champs mess and that Paris was hosting these world champs during its bid, the bid was really always working from behind and hence Olympic projects required a proper structure and focussed approach.

Venue completion is not so much a case of being complete 1 year before, which is a requirement for compulsory test events, but its the ability to co-ordinate all projects to a suitable time line. 2-3 years before is not always ideal.

The success thus far was partially due to starting early but more a case of the right people in the right place working under the correct structures.

The alternative being the 19 disjoint authorities in Delhi, who tried to deliver, using their own objectives and means.

Sydney 2000 was certainly a pioneer in terms of Games organization, and set the blueprint for many Games to come. Unfortunately some cities just don't learn.

LONDON 2012: Olympic Park to be renamed after Queen Elizabeth II

The Olympic Park will be renamed the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park after the 2012 Games, Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, confirmed today.

The new name, which will come into effect when the Park reopens in 2013, follows permission from Her Majesty The Queen, the British Olympic Association and the International Olympic Committee. It builds on the Royal Family's long association with, and support for, the Olympic and Paralympic Movement.

Today's announcement coincides with the roll out of the long-term plans, by the Olympic Park Legacy Company, to make the Park one of Europe's premier destinations for residents and visitors.

Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, said: "It is a great honour that Her Majesty The Queen has given her consent to name the Park, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, after the Games.

"Her Majesty has been supportive of London 2012 from the start and with the event taking place in her Diamond Jubilee year, it is fitting that the Park bears her name."

Lord Colin Moynihan, Chairman of the British Olympic Association, said: "The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will deliver a lasting legacy from the 2012 Games and be a source of inspiration for generations of athletes to come.

"London is the only city to be honoured as host for the Olympic Games on three occasions and the name that has been selected for this iconic park is a wonderful tribute to the people of Britain and the importance of sport in our country.

"We appreciate the support of the International Olympic Committee and thank Her Majesty The Queen for creating a lasting connection between the Olympic Movement and the people of Great Britain."

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said: "I cannot think of a more fitting tribute than celebrating this significant anniversary and this historic moment for London by naming the site after Her Majesty.

"This will be the first time that an Olympic Park site or a Games will have both an Olympic and a royal long-term association, and brings with it fantastic benefits for local people, for East London and for the capital as a whole."

The decision by the Legacy Company's Board to recommend the name with the royal and Olympic association follows consultation with investors and developers, local boroughs and businesses and extensive market research conducted throughout the UK and across London.

Positive feedback for this combined name association was overwhelming and widely seen as an appropriate, appealing and attractive fit for the planned future of the Park.

Margaret Ford, Chair of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, said: "The strength of the values, heritage and power of the royal and Olympic associations fit with our ambition for the Park.

"We are creating a new piece of London with family neighbourhoods, open space and events, inspired by the 2012 venues that surround them. It will bring together the best of London in one place and will be one of the United Kingdom's premier visitor attractions."

http://www.morethanthegames.co.uk/london-2012/0712775-london-2012-olympic-park-be-renamed-after-queen-elizabeth-ii

The alternative being the 19 disjoint authorities in Delhi, who tried to deliver, using their own objectives and means.



There are 19 local/county/borough Councils in Dehli? Or do you mean there are 19 different authorities working on the CWG's as a project?

Either way, just knowing that alone and the inequitable nature of planning and development in India would mean that organisation across authority boarders would also be difficult.

Someone please ban skyscrapercity104 already....

The alternative being the 19 disjoint authorities in Delhi, who tried to deliver, using their own objectives and means.


actually it became 19 because for every second infra projects there was a different agency i tell yo how it was

see a flyover/underpass was made by a agency then we make there has to be agency who would remove the underground water pipes,electricity wires,telephone wires and internet facilities so you have 4-5 agencies working for a flyover

similarly there was a different agency for renovating/making new stadiums, landscaping and then we have a separate agency for removing,cleaning debris so in this way it looked there were 19 different but that were for infra projects

for the stadiums i think we had a sole department :)

Qatr should bid.

actually it became 19 because for every second infra projects there was a different agency i tell yo how it was

see a flyover/underpass was made by a agency then we make there has to be agency who would remove the underground water pipes,electricity wires,telephone wires and internet facilities so you have 4-5 agencies working for a flyover

similarly there was a different agency for renovating/making new stadiums, landscaping and then we have a separate agency for removing,cleaning debris so in this way it looked there were 19 different but that were for infra projects

for the stadiums i think we had a sole department :)

Which is exactly why an ODA should be made compulsory.

London 2012 Olympics: Games chiefs reveal ticket prices

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/1332/usainbolt1739939c.jpg
Showpiece event: tickets for men's 100m final will be highly-sought after

The organisers have pledged to keep prices as affordable as possible and said 90 per cent of all tickets for the Olympic Games would be priced at £100 or under, including 30 per cent at £20 or under.

The opening ceremony prices are both the lowest and the highest witnessed in recent Games, and reflect the commitment of the organisers to keep the games affordable, but also to help raise £500m in ticketing revenue, to help underpin the cost of staging sport's biggest show.

The flagship event, the men's 100m final, has tickets priced from £50 to £725. That particular session, in the middle of the Games schedule, is the highest priced sporting event.

"The higher priced tickets have provided us with the balance for us to provide millions available at lower prices," Locog chief executive Paul Deighton said.

Locog chairman Seb Coe said one of the core principles of the ticketing prices was to have "full venues packed to the gunnells".

"The more passion, the more enthusiasm, the closer the spectators to the field of play, the more the athletes' performance raises. It could be the difference between a semi-final or a final, a medal or a gold medal, a world record maybe," Coe said.

"The Olympic tickets is the must have I-was-there-item, that why we need to get them into the hands of sports fans."

The organisers also announced two special schemes to enable local schoolchildren to attend the Games. At a third of the available sessions, mostly preliminary events, children can buy tickets according to their age under a pay your age deal.

Deighton said the pay your age scheme would enable a family of four with a seven and a nine year old to go to watch the Olympics for £56.

"And that includes the cost of the travel card to get to the Olympics as well, so it is a low cost day out," he said.

That same scheme also extends to seniors, who will pay £16 for the same special sessions.

The second scheme is called Ticketshare, which comprises free tickets for schoolchildren. Every secondary school across the country will be able to access up to six tickets. Schools within London will be able to access just over ten per cent of their pupil population for free tickets.

A total of 6.6m tickets will be made available to the public out of a total allocation of 8.8m. The balance is taken up by overseas ticket allocations and a percentage to rights holders, sponsors and international sporting organisations.

Key facts on 2012 tickets

»8.8 million tickets will be available for the Olympic Games.

»75% of these, 6.6million tickets, will go on sale to the public from March.

» The most expensive tickets will be £2012 for the opening ceremony and £725 for the 100m final. The cheapest will be £20 and less for concessions.

»90% of tickets will be priced at £100 or under.

»Two thirds of these tickets will be £50 or less.

»2.5 million tickets will be priced at £20 or under

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/8066068/London-2012-Olympics-Games-chiefs-reveal-ticket-prices.html

Prices for Opening Ceremony starts at £20.12 then £150, £995, £1600, £2012:nuts: For Closing: £20.12 then £150, £20.12 then £150, £655, £995, £1500....well it's time to save some money!

Those prices are a joke!

For a comparrison, I was at Hampden on tuesday night to watch Scotland playing the world champions - with 9 of the 11 that started the World Cup Final just a few months ago on show. My ticket cost me £25 (the cheapest was about £15 for an adult ticket in the familly end - the most expensive £35. To watch, arguably, the best team of all time.

Tickets for the Olympic football tournament at Hampden are £20, £30 and £50. For an Under-23 tournament that is, quite simply, extortionate. It may be a 'once in a lifetime oppertunity', but at those prices I think I will be saying no thanks*. They will struggle to sell 5,000, let alone 50,000 at those prices.

(*unless the 'GB' team are scheduled to play at Hampden, in which case I will be part of a capacity crowd supporting the 'other team' - but that is another matter)

Those prices are a joke!

For a comparrison, I was at Hampden on tuesday night to watch Scotland playing the world champions - with 9 of the 11 that started the World Cup Final just a few months ago on show. My ticket cost me £25 (the cheapest was about £15 for an adult ticket in the familly end - the most expensive £35. To watch, arguably, the best team of all time.

Tickets for the Olympic football tournament at Hampden are £20, £30 and £50. For an Under-23 tournament that is, quite simply, extortionate. It may be a 'once in a lifetime oppertunity', but at those prices I think I will be saying no thanks*. They will struggle to sell 5,000, let alone 50,000 at those prices.

(*unless the 'GB' team are scheduled to play at Hampden, in which case I will be part of a capacity crowd supporting the 'other team' - but that is another matter)

Well, then. Let's hope that the GB team doesn't get to play at Hampden, so that a sadly predictable section of Scottish opinion doesn't get the opportunity to display its immaturity (and insecurity) to the world.

The fact that there will be no Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish players in the team is entirely down to your own FAs' intransigence.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7635353.stm

Funding problems for 2012 Olympics.. if the economic down trend continues the government plans of taking the funds from contingency funds may not happen .. what a pity.

Let see how can UK cope up with fund management. Where is all that money gone that you looted through out the world? Bring it out people

^^ :weird:

what??? The original budget for the 2012 Olympics was£3.4bn but this was increased to £9.3bn last year. :nuts:

btw how many tickets were sold in beijing 2008??

Guys and Girls. If you are here to cause trouble you will simply be booted out.

Thanks. Go well.

Well, then. Let's hope that the GB team doesn't get to play at Hampden, so that a sadly predictable section of Scottish opinion doesn't get the opportunity to display its immaturity (and insecurity) to the world.

The fact that there will be no Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish players in the team is entirely down to your own FAs' intransigence.

you are aware that the bodies representing fans of ALL FOUR home nations (yes, the FSF in England included) have been vocal in their opposition to this? Infact, very few 'football fans' in britain support this - very few football fans care about (or even know anything of) Olympic football, and none of them want to see their own national team risked for the sake of an under 23 tournament.

And the fact that the English FA have decided they have the right to select a team to represent GB (even before the whole argument surrounding the team started) is, quite frankly, insulting to football supporters in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Anyway, that's an argument that could (and indeed has and will) run and run - which has little to do with this thread, so I will leave it at that.


But the main point I was making is that, after criticism of Delhi, London cannot afford to have empty venues. And I can say with a fair degree of certainty that, at those prices, Hampden will be very empty. And I suspect the same will be true of other venues.

you are aware that the bodies representing fans of ALL FOUR home nations (yes, the FSF in England included) have been vocal in their opposition to this? Infact, very few 'football fans' in britain support this - very few football fans care about (or even know anything of) Olympic football, and none of them want to see their own national team risked for the sake of an under 23 tournament.

And the fact that the English FA have decided they have the right to select a team to represent GB (even before the whole argument surrounding the team started) is, quite frankly, insulting to football supporters in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

The Scottish, Welsh and NI FA chose not to take part, the Enlgish FA chose to take part. Theres no point of moaning about it now, they chose not to take part and you can't have it both ways. GB are only taking part because we are hosting, it won't happen again just a one off.


Anyway, that's an argument that could (and indeed has and will) run and run - which has little to do with this thread, so I will leave it at that.


But the main point I was making is that, after criticism of Delhi, London cannot afford to have empty venues. And I can say with a fair degree of certainty that, at those prices, Hampden will be very empty. And I suspect the same will be true of other venues.

your loss. over a million people have registered interest in tickets, Brits tend to always pack out sporting venues even at previous Olympics. I want my tickets and i bet it will be sooooooooooooooo difficult to get the ones i want!!! :rant:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7635353.stm

Funding problems for 2012 Olympics.. if the economic down trend continues the government plans of taking the funds from contingency funds may not happen .. what a pity.

Let see how can UK cope up with fund management. Where is all that money gone that you looted through out the world? Bring it out people

Stop smoking the strong stuff.

The article you have linked is dated September 2008..............................more than two years ago. And the Olympic village (like all London's other major Olympic construction projects) is now well on the way to completion - two years before the Games.

Seriously, fella, I'm sorry that the Delhi organizers made such a mess of the Commonwealth Games preparations and embarrassed your city (and country) as a result. The people of India deserved better than the incompetence of their officials. I sincerely hope that the various cock-ups did not detract too much from your enjoyment of the Games.

But please, don't be childish. You won't be able to turn the clock back on the debacle of Delhi's organization by starting to cause trouble on this thread and trying to claim that London will be similarly disorganized.

You'll only end up with egg on your face - especially if you continue to cite woefully and risibly out of date stories.

So do yourself a favour. Write something constructive or just hold your tongue. Okay?

you are aware that the bodies representing fans of ALL FOUR home nations (yes, the FSF in England included) have been vocal in their opposition to this? Infact, very few 'football fans' in britain support this - very few football fans care about (or even know anything of) Olympic football, and none of them want to see their own national team risked for the sake of an under 23 tournament.

And the fact that the English FA have decided they have the right to select a team to represent GB (even before the whole argument surrounding the team started) is, quite frankly, insulting to football supporters in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Anyway, that's an argument that could (and indeed has and will) run and run - which has little to do with this thread, so I will leave it at that.


But the main point I was making is that, after criticism of Delhi, London cannot afford to have empty venues. And I can say with a fair degree of certainty that, at those prices, Hampden will be very empty. And I suspect the same will be true of other venues.

I couldn't give a monkeys what the FSF did or didn't say. They don't represent me and they don't represent 99.99% of football fans in England - whatever they might claim. They are a pompous talking shop with about as much clout as a fly with a feather.

Anyway, the point remains that all four home nations had the opportunity to contribute players to this one-off gathering of the UK's finest and only the English stepped forward. That you try, oh so predictably and chippily, to twist your national FAs' collective failure to enter into the spirit of the Olympics into an instance of the horrible English arrogantly riding roughshod over the sensibilities of your countries.........it's beyond sad and pathetic.

Seriously......man up, for fuck's sake, and stop being so bitter all your lives. Jeezus H Christ!

I couldn't give a monkeys what the FSF said or didn't say. They don't represent me and they don't represent 99.99% of football fans in England - whatever they might claim. They are a pompous talking shop with about as much clout as a fly with a feather.

Anyway, the point remains that all four home nations had the opportunity to contribute players to this one-off gathering of the UK's finest and only the English stepped forward. That you try, oh so predictably and chippily, to twist your national FAs' collective failure to enter into the spirit of the Olympics into an instance of the horrible English arrogantly riding roughshod over the sensibilities of your countries.........it's beyond sad and pathetic.

Seriously......man up, for fuck's sake, and stop being so bitter all your lives. Jeezus H Christ!

I don't give a flying fuck what other scots say I am quite frankly embarrassed by the attitude of the S, W & NI FAs over this one off once in a life time event.

What makes football so different where rugby, hockey, bowls, athletics and most other sports seem to be able to manage to have complimentary british and home nations representation without getting their knickers in a twist.

Iwa it is bitter, chip on the shoulder scots like you in the minority that give the rest of us a bad name. Now fuck off and stop trolling what is a perfectly good thread!

I don't give a flying fuck what other scots say I am quite frankly embarrassed by the attitude of the S, W & NI FAs over this one off once in a life time event.

What makes football so different where rugby, hockey, bowls, athletics and most other sports seem to be able to manage to have complimentary british and home nations representation without getting their knickers in a twist.

Iwa it is bitter, chip on the shoulder scots like you in the minority that give the rest of us a bad name. Now fuck off and stop trolling what is a perfectly good thread!

:applause:

I doffs my cap to you, sir!

I have loads of Scottish friends who feel exactly the same as you.

It's right that England and Scotland should have a sporting rivalry and that, more widely, there should be all sorts of cross border banter. It's just the ones that can't let go of the bitterness and chippiness that spoil it for everyone else.

To be fair FIFA handled the situation badly as well - one minute claiming a 2012 football team should go ahead and the next failing to give the Scottish FA the assurances they were looking for. Not having a GB team for 2012 was never an option but various organisations have had a hand in the fudged solution we now have. For what is an u23 tournament FIFA, the various FAs, Brown, Salmond, and a minority of seemingly militant fans should hang their heads in shame for politicising it to such an extent. It should never, ever have become the issue it did. The English FA weren't arrogant - they were simply the only ones willing to be involved by the end of it all. The Scottish and Welsh FAs were warming to the notion till Blatter started saying weird things so they shied away. So we have a fudged solution but don't conform to the Scottish default and paint England as the bad guys in this because, in truth, whilst all parties coild have handled it better, our FA shares the least of the blame.

Stop smoking the strong stuff.

The article you have linked is dated September 2008..............................more than two years ago. And the Olympic village (like all London's other major Olympic construction projects) is now well on the way to completion - two years before the Games.

Seriously, fella, I'm sorry that the Delhi organizers made such a mess of the Commonwealth Games preparations and embarrassed your city (and country) as a result. The people of India deserved better than the incompetence of their officials. I sincerely hope that the various cock-ups did not detract too much from your enjoyment of the Games.

But please, don't be childish. You won't be able to turn the clock back on the debacle of Delhi's organization by starting to cause trouble on this thread and trying to claim that London will be similarly disorganized.

You'll only end up with egg on your face - especially if you continue to cite woefully and risibly out of date stories.

So do yourself a favour. Write something constructive or just hold your tongue. Okay?

Yes, Delhi's preparations have been shambles but nevertheless, games have been a success. Our organisers have brought us bad name but our athletes have made us proud. London's run-up has been phenomenal and I hope that London turns out to be lucky for Indian athletes and they perform well there. I wish London all success in its endeavour to host best ever games(I am quite hopeful that London will leave behind Sydney to produce best Olympic games ever).:)

Yes, Delhi's preparations have been shambles but nevertheless, games have been a success. Our organisers have brought us bad name but our athletes have made us proud. London's run-up has been phenomenal and I hope that London turns out to be lucky for Indian athletes and they perform well there. I wish London all success in its endeavour to host best ever games(I am quite hopeful that London will leave behind Sydney to produce best Olympic games ever).:)

Excellent post. I'm delighted that, in the end, the Commonwealth Games were a success for India - both in terms of your athletes and in terms of the venues.

As to London, if we can match Sydney, I'll be happy. The major area of concern for me is security (something that Delhi dealt with incredibly well).

Olympic Park Legacy

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^^
London 2012 olympic game = Jewdon 2012 olympic game

The prices at first glance are not that bad really, the key point is how many tickets are available at the cheaper range. If 75% of tckets are 200 pounds or more then things start getting less affordable to the majority.

^^
London 2012 olympic game = Jewdon 2012 olympic game

??

Careful, fella. Walking on thin ice, there.

The prices at first glance are not that bad really, the key point is how many tickets are available at the cheaper range. If 75% of tckets are 200 pounds or more then things start getting less affordable to the majority.

Here's your answer:

Key facts on 2012 tickets

»8.8 million tickets will be available for the Olympic Games.

»75% of these, 6.6million tickets, will go on sale to the public from March.

» The most expensive tickets will be £2012 for the opening ceremony and £725 for the 100m final. The cheapest will be £20 and less for concessions.

»90% of tickets will be priced at £100 or under.

»Two thirds of these tickets will be £50 or less.

»2.5 million tickets will be priced at £20 or under

Overall, that compares quite favourably with previous Olympic Games and World Cups (according to the chart posted above) - especially bearing in mind that £19 for the cheapest ticket in Beijing equated to something like £300 for local Chinese (on the basis of average income).

London 2012 Olympics: England bid to host 2014 Hockey World Cup in Olympic Park

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England expects: England hockey hopes to build on interest in the sport during London 2012 by hosting the 2014 World Cup at the Olympic Park

England Hockey Board (EHB) have enlisted the help of boxing promoter Frank Warren in launching a bid to bring the 2014 Hockey World Cup to London. If successful, it will be the first major event to be held at a legacy facility at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park following the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The bid is also supported by UK Sport and Visit London, who will inject around £1m and £500,000 respectively in to staging the finals if they are awarded to the capital.

The Lee Valley Hockey Centre would have its 3,000 seat capacity expanded to hold upwards of 10, 000 spectators for the two week event that would see the men’s and women’s World Cup hosted at the same venue for only the second time in their history.

The last time the UK hosted the men’s tournament was back in 1986 while the women’s event has never been staged here.

“Hockey is one of the ways in which we are going to turn the Olympic Park into a fantastic sporting legacy,” said Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, who also lent his weight to the bid.

“We are always talking about regeneration of housing and parks, but it will also be a place where people want to come and play sport.

“It’s an impeccable bid. I know there are some strong rival bids from around the world, but London is very strong because we have fantastic facilities.”

EHB are looking to capitalise on an anticipated increase in interest in the sport after London 2012. All 630,000 tickets across the tournament are expected to be sold during the Games with the British squads likely to compete for medals.

“I am delighted to add my weight to this impressive bid,” said Warren. “I have promoted many great championship events here in London and this is going to be one of the most exciting.

“First of course we have to win the bid but we have a great team so let’s go out and bring the World Cups to London.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/8073136/London-2012-Olympics-England-bid-to-host-2014-Hockey-World-Cup-in-Olympic-Park.html

Olympic Park Energy Centre powers to finish line delivering sustainable legacy for 2012

The state-of-the-art Energy Centre in the Olympic Park was unveiled today by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). The building was officially opened by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, ODA Chief Executive David Higgins and Gérard Mestrallet, Chairman & CEO of GDF SUEZ who will own and operate the new facility.

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The Energy Centre will help reduce the carbon emissions of the Olympic Park and deliver an early legacy of sustainable energy across the site well before the Games begin. The project is the largest energy centre scheme to be built so far in the UK.

The Energy Centre will provide an efficient low-carbon heating and cooling system across the site for the Games and for the new buildings and communities that will develop after 2012. The Energy Centre is now available to meet the heating and cooling requirements of venues and buildings across the Olympic Park.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London said: 'It is an environmental imperative that we harness the delivery of 2012 Games to raise new standards of sustainability. Not only will this leverage in new skills and job opportunities for Londoners, but also help the transition towards a low carbon economy. It is a fantastic achievement that the Olympic Park will be powered locally. Not only will it generate electricity but the heat from that process will also be used to heat and cool buildings providing a valuable wider legacy for the vibrant new metropolitan quarter we are creating in east London. We want to encourage more energy centres such as this one through the London Green Fund, which will offer loans for innovative infrastructure projects.'

ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: 'The opening of the Energy Centre is a significant milestone for the Olympic Park and demonstrates the sustainability features that underpin this project. The Energy Centre will deliver essential services throughout the Olympic Park well before the Games begin and ensure a lasting legacy of green power for generations to come. The delivery of this facility is a considerable achievement and sets a model for future urban regeneration schemes'

Andrew Altman, Chief Executive of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, said: 'The Energy Centre will be a core part of our long-term sustainability aims, meeting all future energy needs of the Olympic Park including the five new neighbourhoods that will be developed. Not only will it be more energy efficient by eliminating the need for boilers in each home, but it has the capacity to supply the areas surrounding the Park and, in turn, leave an even bigger legacy for east London.'

The facility will provide an efficient low-carbon heating and cooling system across the site for the Games and for the new buildings and communities that will develop after 2012, contributing towards the ODA’s overall target to reduce carbon emissions by 50% across the Olympic Park.

The Energy Centre will include a gas-fired Combined Cooling Heat & Power (CCHP) plant to capture the heat generated by electricity production. It will also include biomass-fired boilers using sustainable biomass fuels (woodchip) to generate heat and deliver low carbon energy. Cooling will be provided through a combination of electric, ammonia based chillers and absorption chillers which are driven by heat recovered from plant in the Energy Centre.

The Energy Centre has a flexible modular design, meaning that further capacity and new technology can be added as the area is developed after the Games and demand increases.

Emphasis has been put on the architectural designs of the energy centre to ensure it fits in with the design of the wider Olympic Park. The energy centre has been designed by John McAslan & Partners and reflects the Victorian heritage of the Olympic Park site as well as drawing inspiration from iconic London power stations such as Tate Modern (the former Bankside power station) and Battersea power station. Part of the utilities infrastructure will be housed within an existing Edwardian building which is being retained and renovated and will include space for a visitors’ centre to be added in the future.

The Energy Centre has been also been designed to be part of a wider ‘family’ of utility buildings on the Olympic Park, to join the electricity substation and sewer pumping station – these main utility buildings have all been designed to be ‘grounded in the earth’ with a solidity to give them a separate identity to the main sporting venues in the Olympic Park which are seen as lightweight and floating out of the ground.

Energy Centre fact file:

* The Energy Centre has been designed, financed and built by Cofely, subsidiary of GDF SUEZ, together with approximately 16km of community energy networks. It will be operated by Cofely, the energy services company of GDF SUEZ, for 40 years
* An initial capacity of 46.5 MW of heating and 16 MW of cooling
* The Energy Centre building is 45m tall at its highest point
* Equipment in the building includes five cooling towers, and two hot water boilers each weighing around 60 tons
* The Energy Centre will provide heating and cooling through 16km of Community Energy Networks across the Olympic Park
* An early legacy of sustainable and essential energy services
* The facility will use zero carbon renewable energy sources such as biomass
* The CCHP system has been designed to use recycled wastewater to cool the Energy Centre
* The community energy networks across the Olympic Park have been designed to operate at low temperatures, minimising energy losses
* Heating will be affordable, with mechanisms in place to ensure that supply costs less to end-users than traditional means
* A 2nd Energy Centre is being built in Stratford City to supply the new retail and commercial development
* The flexible modular building design avoids overcapacity in first phase of development but allows future technologies to be incorporated in the building as they are developed and as demand grows after 2012

http://www.london2012.com/press/media-releases/2010/10/olympic-park-energy-centre-powers-to-finish-line-deliver.php

Why the Olympic Park building site has become London's hot new tourist attraction

Building sites are not generally places that attract day-trippers but then the 2012 Olympic Park has more potential than your average development. Indeed, so popular is the work in progress proving that around 110,000 curious visitors have already descended on London's east end to have a nose around. On a sunny autumn afternoon, I joined a few of them - and some 10,000 men in hard hats - at what is turning out to be the capital's unlikely new tourist attraction...

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Pulling into Pudding Mill Station on the Docklands Light Railway, it is hard to avoid the Olympic Park, the train practically hovers right over the site. The raised line that leads from central London out to Stratford in the east is the kind of route a tourist bus would charge a fortune to ride, but for the price of a commuter train ticket you can fly right by the stadium and venues in all their glory. However, I have been told I can enjoy an even better view with a quick walk to the foot and cycle path known as the Greenway - a once-neglected passage considered far too dangerous to venture down but now revamped thanks to a wave of the Olympic wand.

The four-and-a-half mile route cuts across east London and borders the building site is currently Olympic Park, offering some great vantage points from which to see the new structures come to life. Known as the View Tube, the main lookout has been made all the more pleasant by a community-run cafe located in a bright green building made from recycled shipping containers - these are to be known as the 'Green Games' after all.

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It is not unusual to see groups on Blue Badge guided tours around the outskirts of the site making a quick pitstop en masse at the cafe to enjoy bargain bacon butties and homemade cakes. Nor is it surprising to see a gaggle of schoolchildren being shepherded into the View Tube building and the classroom upstairs which has been designed to host and inspire younger visitors.

I'm surprised that even on a weekday there seems to be a steady trickle of locals and visitors dropping in to enjoy a coffee with a view - I even spotted the odd business meeting taking place. For the adventurous who want to explore further afield, bikes are for hire for a wallet-friendly £5, enabling you to take yourself off around the circumference of the Park and down the length of The Greenway with its unparalleled views of London's City skyline.

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But if you really want a dose of Olympic fever, there is no better way to join the excitement than with a free bus tour inside the hallowed fences of the Park. The trips take place daily but are so popular that you have to book three to four months in advance (book now if you want to see it in spring) to even have a hope of setting foot inside London's ultimate sports venue before 2012.

But it is well worth the long waiting list and stringent security checks. As I pass by the sweeping roof of the velodrome - everybody's favourite building - and the wibbly, tent-like basketball arena, it is fascinating to hear the thought process behind each decision and the unusual history of the area. How poetic that the Park is being built on what was once a dumping ground for WW2 rubble and the site where the running track from the 1948 Olympics is buried.

While I can't get out of the vehicle for safety reasons ('Olympic rubble crushes visitor' is not among the headlines the organisers want to create), I'm as close to the action as it is possible to be ahead of the official opening. And there is something truly exciting about seeing the Park mid-transformation - it feels like a VIP-style sneak peek behind the scenes with giant steel rods rushed past us and bulky items lurking mysteriously under tarpaulins.

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A surprising number of structures look almost finished from the outside. Some are temporary and others are purposefully designed so that they can be converted into something else once the games are over. The enormous media centre has had cooling systems built on the outside, so that once the TV cameras have gone, they can be removed easily and the building put to good use in other ways. The Aquatics Centre and Stadium have extra seating that can be detached to make them smaller and the Basketball Arena can be taken down and set up in another part of the UK that needs a sports venue.

Three waterways criss-cross the Park and the banks - currently covered in orange fencing to protect new plants - are being designed to create picnic spots for the visiting masses. And organisers have worked with the University of Sheffield to choose just the right wildflowers for the meadow outside the Stadium so they bloom an appropriate gold colour in the month of August.

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But it's not just the pretty touches that make the site so special, the idea of creating a legacy - so intrinsic to London's successful bid - has come to life in a myriad of unusual ways. As well as the 4,000 trees being planted, a 2,000-pupil school is also being built just behind the Olympic Village so that when it is turned into a residential area in 2013 there is already a community feel.

The soil of the once-industrial site has been removed and cleaned before being built on, to rid it of the poisonous asbestos and chemicals that had seeped into the ground and an apprentice centre has been set up to train young people in the building and construction trade. Seeing the Park now, there is a real sense of seeing the power of regeneration in action. Visitors leave walking that little bit taller, that little bit prouder, and local children are full of bubbling, excited chatter. As for me, I'm heading straight home to apply for 2012 tickets online. There's no way I'm missing out on this party.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1322579/London-2012-Olympic-Park-capitals-hot-new-tourist-attraction.html

What will east London look like after the athletes leave?

Stadiums rise from the building sites of Stratford and another 2,000 homes are planned to replace the Olympic media centre after 2012

There's little more maddening than wandering around an obsolete and decaying Olympic complex, which, after huge investment and a brief moment of glory, is rotting away. From Athens to Atlanta they stand, chronically underused and deathly silent, a testament to overambitious and short-sighted planning.


In Britain, with the 2012 Olympic Games drawing nearer and building work gathering pace, the Government and public alike are anxious that the 500-acre complex being constructed at Stratford in east London should deliver a profound and lasting legacy for the area. Especially when in a faltering economy the expected cost of the Games has risen from £2.4bn five years ago to around £9.3bn now.

Last week the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), the organistaion set the challenge of turning one of the country's most deprived areas into a sustainable and thriving neighbourhood, and home to thousands of new homes, called for expressions of interest in the massive broadcast and press centres currently under construction .

While the media centres, designed to house 20,000 journalists, photographers and broadcasters during the Games, are not themselves suitable for housing – there has been early interest from a range of sectors including creative, retail, education, sports, culture and office use – it is envisaged that they will be a vibrant hub of activity, the centre of a new neighbourhood that will include lots of new housing – surrounded by the park's 80,000-seater stadium, aquatic centre, velopark and indoor arena.

"The broadcast and press centres offer an unprecedented opportunity to create a new employment hub in Hackney Wick," says Jules Pipe, the elected Mayor of Hackney. "They will have world-class communications infrastructure and will be served by excellent new transport links."

However, a report last month by the London Assembly disagreed, noting that the media centre will be poorly served by transport.

Andrew Altman, chief executive of the OPLC, remains optimistic, however: "We hope to have around 2,000 new homes built around the broadcast and press centres," he says. "We see the Olympic Park as having distinct neighbourhoods, and this one will have green spaces, a public plaza, great connectivity, with bridges linking with Hackney Wick, perhaps some retail."

And, overall, the region's transport will be greatly improved. The Docklands Light Railway will be extended, and the Jubilee Line will increase capacity, while Stratford regional station will be equipped to cope with three times the current level of passengers. With the Eurostar and Crossrail connecting with Stratford in time, and City airport in the vicinity, the transport network will be fantastic, and invariably a huge influence on driving prices upwards.

At present the media centre is a huge building site and doesn't look too inspiring, but it is not difficult to imagine how it could be transformed into an attractive, thriving new neighbourhood once the Games have ended. Framed on two sides by pretty waterways, with Hackney Marshes to the immediate north and more open space to the east, and with the extensive facilities in the area – including the £1.45 billion Westfield Stratford City, which will be Europe's biggest shopping centre – no doubt people will be queuing up to live and work here if all goes to plan.

Details of housing on the Olympic Park – which is set to consist of at least 10,000 homes in all, to be constructed in the two decades following the Games – is still sketchy. Plans are afoot for up to 2,818 homes to be created, with 1,379 of these affordable, from the 17,800-person capacity Athletes' Village to be used by athletes and officials during the Games.

It will feature an education academy for 1,800 students, community and healthcare facilities, and parks, public squares, tree-lined streets and communal gardens. Residents will move in during 2013, at which time the development will be extended to include further homes, a health centre and community centre.

The regeneration is to be carefully integrated with existing communities, creating huge new employment opportunities. Indeed, at present around 10,000 people are working at the site.

Stratford City, where the Westfield retail park is set to open next spring, is pencilled to accommodate 16,400 homes on completion. Ikea has also bought a site by the Olympic Park, with development potential for up to 1,500 homes.

As well as Stratford itself, there are new homes planned in Bromley-by-Bow, Hackney Wick, Canning Town and Leyton. It is difficult to ascertain as yet exactly how much the Olympic Park is influencing the local housing market, however. Analysis of Land Registry data by Lloyds TSB in July revealed that house prices in east London have risen by 26 per cent (compared to 20 per cent nationally) since the capital was granted the right to host the Games in 2005. Some neighbourhoods have enjoyed particularly high increases, such as Homerton rising by 69 per cent, compared to the Greater London average of 36 per cent. Yet in total just four out of the 14 Olympic postal districts have seen house prices rise by more than the London average. Stratford, where the Olympic Stadium is located, saw only a 3 per cent increase in average prices, lower than any of the other Olympic postal districts.

And there have been other influences at play to help explain price rises, including the transport improvements and gentrification of areas such as Hoxton and Shoreditch. The financial crisis and property crash would have complicated the picture further.

Agents are noticing considerable interest from Chinese investors, who witnessed the Olympic effect on property prices in Beijing. Many believe that buying now, with the worst of the financial crisis over, in order to sell just before the Games, before a new swathe of properties enter the market after the Games, is a possible strategy.

Potential investors should be aware that there is always a danger of east London being swamped by new housing stock. Forty two per cent of Greater London's homes under construction are in east London, and more than half of those with planning permission but awaiting construction are there also.

"There are a number of developments in Stratford and Hackney itself that are being built independently," says Daren Haysom, sales manager of the Islington branch of agents Foxtons. "They include the striking Athena Towers located on Stratford high street with magnificent views over the Olympic Stadium and just nearby is St Andrews in Bromley By Bow."

Athena, an entirely private development, will tower 28 storeys above the ground and provide far-reaching views across London and the Olympic Park. Apartments are not currently available, but details of prices, specifications and availabilty are expected around mid-November.

Knight Frank is currently marketing 64 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments at the architecturally bold Lett Road development near the park, with prices ranging from £235,000 to £337,500. Around half have already been sold since launching in April.

Affordable homes developer One Housing Group's Velocity development on Stratford high street is also generating considerable interest. The one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments will be available to those eligible through schemes including the Government's New Build Homebuy scheme. The properties will be released for sale tomorrow.

Close to Bow Church, at Genesis Homes' Fairfield Quarter affordable homes development, a 25 per cent share price for the one-bedroom apartments ranges from £41,000 to £56,750, based on full-market price ranges from £164,000 to £227,000.

"With the Olympic Games fast approaching there has been a complete makeover and remodelling of Stratford and Hackney – areas positioned right above Canary Wharf, one of the most valuable financial districts in the world," says Haysom. "Essentially, it's the redevelopment of a section of a capital city with an existing and strong beating heart. Once the Olympics is complete it will become important to focus on engaging the Olympic Park with its neighbouring areas.

"East London has seen a huge uplift in demand and prices this year, with continued redevelopment, new transport links and a massive influx of fashion-setting inhabitants. Despite this, property prices still remain well below central London average values and are therefore a great investment for the future."

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/house-and-home/property/what-will-east-london-look-like-after-the-athletes-leave-2094455.html

London Olympics 2012 on Track, Claims Andy Hunt

Andy Hunt, the Chief Executive for British Olympics Association has claimed that the preparations for London Olympics 2012 were on schedule and he expected to deliver a fantastic games event to the spectators around the globe.

Talking to the media personnel on Tuesday, the chief executive said that the government’s decision to exclude Olympics games spending from major cuts to reduce the country’s deficit was commendable.

Reportedly, there has been a budget allocation of 9.3 billion pounds for London Olympics 2012 event. Out of this huge amount, 7.3 billion pounds would be spent on regeneration of east London.

While addressing the press after a meeting of National Olympics Organizations in Acapulco Hunt expressed that cutting off the Olympics’ budget would have been a crazy step. He was of the view that allocation of two billion pounds for staging the sport event was rather appropriate; with such huge sums of money, the games could turn out to be fantastic.

Today Mr. Seb Coe, the chairman for London Organizing committee is expected to present a progress report before the Association of National Olympics Committee. The report would encapsulate all the details of the works which have been duly completed and the proposed schedule for the pending tasks.

Pondering upon the success for convincing the government to not to cut the budget for the London Olympics, Andy Hunt said that they had to lodge a lot of lobbying efforts for pursuing the authorities. However, he also admitted that for the government too, things were quite difficult to handle on economic fronts. “In the toughest economic crunch of the times if the authorities have the nerve to retain spending upon the sports that must be welcomed with open hearts,” said the chief executive.

Talking about the preparations work, Hunt said that regeneration of a large part of eastern side of the London city would help them carve an outstanding legacy and would transform the eastern side of the city to admirable standards.

Hunt hoped that the Olympic stadium would be able to retain the running tracks after the games would be over, however he also admitted that the final decision had to be taken by the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

While bidding for the Olympics games, the officials at London had promised to keep athletics as a part of long run future of the stadium, it is expected that after the 2012 games would be over, most probably they would keep their promise.

A major improvement in this regards was witnessed when two of the Premier League Football teams expressed their interest in moving to the Olympic stadium, however a considerable hindrance on the way forward was the proposal from London Club West Ham United to keep the running track. A few months back West Ham had submitted a joint offer with local government of Newham east London in which they had requested to retain the track of the stadium for 537 million pounds. The request was also backed by the governing body of the UK athletics.

Another bid had been submitted by a rival London club known as Tottenham as a joint venture in collaboration with American entertainment and sport giant AEG. However, they do not have any plans to keep the athletics track intact.

Commenting upon the situation, Hunt said that he felt encouraged after several good bids for stadium had been submitted. He also added that provision of a world class athletics track in the stadium was at the top of their agenda and failing to do so would be equally disappointing for them.

On the other side, David Campbell the chief executive for AEG Europe told the media correspondents that he believed there were two other credible bids; however, the total number of bids could rise to 30 for the remarkably large stadium situated on a huge 560 acres of site in the most rundown part of the capital of Britain.

http://blogs.bettor.com/London-Olympics-2012-on-Track,-Claims-Andy-Hunt-a36166

London 2012 Olympics: IOC president Jacques Rogge praises Games organisers

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Impressed: IOC president Jacques Rogge has congratulated the London 2012 organisers

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge is so impressed with the preparations for the London 2012 Olympic Games he has predicted that they will be ''a great success''.

Dr Rogge was so confident in the professionalism of the Games organisers that he publicly praised them following a three day IOC executive board meeting.

He noted the next challenges for the organisers were the same as for every Games cycle - moving from the construction phase to the operational phase and learning from the test event period.

''London is going extremely well, ''he said. ''This is really a very good preparation. Test events are a very good indicator.'' Dr Rogge said Britain was the country that invented modern sport and that pedigree will underpin the strength of the British team at their home games.

''They are very strong in sport, the British Olympic Association at the last two games was outstanding and I have every confidence in their success,'' he said.

Meanwhile Dr Rogge has faciliated discussions between Israel and Palestine here in Acapulco after a recent goodwill tour to the Middle East and the two countries will meet in Lausanne early next year to discuss sporting issues.

''Palestinian athletes have trouble coming to Palestine, travelling back from international competions which is sometimes a lengthy process. The two (countries met here ) together, agreed on inventory of issues that have to be solved, an inventory of bilaterial support and exchanges that could be carried out,'' Dr Rogge said.

He also confirmed that Haiti would be the next recipient of the Olympic Youth Development Centre under its Sports for Hope initiative.

A meeting is being organised for early next year to bring together government, sport and regulatory bodies like Interpol to see how a legislation can help sports in battling illegal and corrupt betting practices.

Dr Rogge said the IOC had already worked with cricket, equestrian and tennis as the sports most affected by irregular betting and had expanded the involvment of a monitoring company to embrace other international sports competitions and international federations.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/8088923/London-2012-Olympics-IOC-president-Jacques-Rogge-praises-Games-organisers.html

Olympic Village

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LEoxGJ79PMs&feature=related

^^
Perfect video and music. Perfect.

Grandstand seat for David Cameron at Olympic beach volleyball

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Historic setting: the players will compete at an arena in Horse Guards Parade. Left, how it will look

At first glance, it could be Wimbledon's Centre Court moved to central London.

But this image actually reveals the final design for the Olympic beach volleyball competition which will be held in Horse Guards Parade.The temporary amphitheatre has been designed with only three sides to maximise the historic Whitehall backdrop for spectators and broadcasters.

The design will also give the Prime Minister an excellent view of the Olympic action without having to leave his Downing Street home.

Tickets to the beach volleyball have been priced up to £350 to reflect the glamour of the setting and the competitors. Organisers expect 480,000 spectators at the 15,000-seat venue over 104 matches, including many played under floodlights.

An artificial beach will be laid using sand brought in from a beach in the north of Britain, chosen by organisers for its soft sand.

The venue will have to be built quickly as the parade ground will be a focal point of celebrations to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee six weeks beforehand. It is a joint project by engineers Atkins and architects Populous who have also designed the Olympic main stadium, handball arena and the Centre Court roof at Wimbledon.

Horse Guards has a history of hosting royal pageantry, from Henry VIII's tournaments to the annual Trooping the Colour.

During the Olympic bid, then Prime Minister Tony Blair joked that he was most looking forward to beach volleyball because he could watch it from his Downing Street window.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23892616-grandstand-seat-for-david-cameron-at-olympic-beach-volleyball.do

That's going to have to be one very fast build!

Do you think they'll build it somewhere else first since it's entirely temporary, so that testing can be carried out on the structure?

I think they might do that. They are very shott of time because of the Jubilee celebrations. Or they can built it and test it right on Horse Guards, even though they won't have much time to fix potential faults.

So I suppose the first option is more reliable.

A close up render of the Volleyball Stadium.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/uk/10/horse_guards/img/horseguards_parade_976.jpg

I heard that the Earls Court will host indoor volleyball.Will it has temporary stands?

^^ They already have temporary seating at Earls Court. I guess the seating layout for the volleyball will be the same as this:

http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/1269/sml995e4a653e8a6db3c1a3.jpg

Anyone ever been to an event here? There must be some seriously restricted views in that upper tier:

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Aquatics Centre

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/1536/picture1qm.png

^^
Wow, those temporary stands are gonna be massive :P

Russians splash out to hire Marble Arch for Olympic parties

Russian Olympic chiefs are to take over Marble Arch and turn it into a stunning party venue for the 2012 Games.

Details of a multi-million-pound deal to establish “Russia House” on the West End traffic island are being finalised with Westminster council. A temporary multi-storey canopy will be erected around the arch and some of the surrounding parkland will be requisitioned.

The project, which will require planning permission, is being funded by the Russian National Olympic Committee and the organising committee of the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Russia has a reputation for staging the most lavish Olympic parties as the country reasserts itself as a sporting superpower. An entire science museum was hired by the Russians as their base for the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February.

The Marble Arch site is close to the cluster of Park Lane hotels to be used by Olympic VIPs and will be connected to the network of priority road lanes for officials and sponsors.

The Russians settled on the traffic island after they were told that their first choice, the Royal Albert Hall, was unavailable because of the Proms.

The Marble Arch deal is the most eye-catching of the “Olympic houses” agreed so far for 2012. The venues are used for parties and as trade missions and networking bases for many of the 204 competing nations.

Holland's “Heineken House” is expected to be at Alexandra Palace and the owners of Westfield Stratford City shopping mall, overlooking the Olympic Park, are thought to have held talks with the Australian and British Olympic committees.

France has booked the Old Billingsgate market in the City and Brazil, hosts of the 2016 Olympics, will be based at Somerset House.

The Olympic houses are expected to provide a £100 million boost for the hospitality industry in London.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23893587-russians-splash-out-to-hire-marble-arch-for-olympic-parties.do

Where handball matches are going to be played? Anyone has pictures?

Where handball matches are going to be played? Anyone has pictures?

http://www.london2012.com/games/venues/handball-arena.php

Handball (finals I believe) will also take place at the nearby temporary Basketball Arena.

Olympic Park to rival Silicon Valley in David Cameron's vision for east London

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Work continues at the Olympic stadium in east London where David Cameron wants to create a hi-tech rival to Silicon Valley.

David Cameron will today set out a vision of London's East End becoming a hi-tech rival to Silicon Valley on the US west coast, disclosing Google, Facebook and a host of cutting-edge firms have committed to invest in the Olympic Park.

In a speech today, the prime minister will announce that he is introducing a new entrepreneurial visa as well as allowing more intra-company transfers – moves that will blow a hole in his plan for an immigration cap.

Cameron will also disclose that he will look at a potentially far-reaching change to intellectual property rights after Google told him UK laws are far more restrictive than the US.

The prime minister will say he is determined to create the right environment for the thriving start-ups already flourishing in London's Old Street and Shoreditch areas to grow into multimillion pound global businesses.

He will say: "Silicon Valley is the leading place in the world for hi-tech growth and innovation. But there's no reason why it has to be so predominant.

"Our ambition is to bring together the creativity and energy of Shoreditch and the incredible possibilities of the Olympic Park to help make east London one of the world's great technology centres."

Cameron's team, in a round of meetings with hi-tech firms and venture capitalists, has won support for his vision.

Google, Facebook, Intel and McKinsey & Co are among the companies that will commit to invest in the future of the area. Google had told him the company could not have been formed in the UK.

He will say: "The service they provide depends on taking a snapshot of all the content on the internet at any one time and they feel our copyright system is not as friendly to this sort of innovation as it is in the United States.

"Over there, they have what are called 'fair-use' provisions, which some people believe gives companies more breathing space to create new products and services."

In the two main commitments to east London, Google will create an Innovation Hub for its researchers to come together with developers and academics to create the next generation of applications and services. Facebook will create a permanent home for its Developer Garage programme, which brings together the most talented UK developers and entrepreneurs.

Cameron's decision on intra-company transfers will mean that employees of multinationals who move to work in British branches, potentially numbering in their thousands, will be exempt from the permanent immigration cap to be introduced in April. Out of the 36,490 skilled workers who came to Britain from outside Europe last year, 22,000 came on intra-company transfers. More than half of the ICT visas went to three Indian IT companies and the British IT industry has been pressing for them to be included in the cap. The largest single group of unemployed graduates is in IT.

The decision follows fierce lobbying by big employers including Nissan, Toyota and Honda who threatened to close UK plants if they cannot move staff freely.

The announcement is thought to be the result of a deal between the business secretary, Vince Cable, who wanted a more flexible cap, and the home secretary, Theresa May. UK Border Agency officials have been concerned that the route has been used, particularly by Indian IT companies, to undercut British graduate salaries.

Cameron was lobbied by the Indian government on the issue during his recent visit.

The decision means it will be harder for the government to get net migration – 196,000 last year – down to the "tens of thousands" promised by the next general election.

Home Office sources said the formula leaves the door open for a limit to be placed on intra-company transfers outside the formal immigration cap. One option is to limit the visas to 12 months – which would have blocked all but 6,000 of last year's arrivals. Another option is to require a minimum salary of £45,000 which would also curb numbers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/04/london-olympics-legacy-silicon-valley-cameron

I’ll turn the East End into the British Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is the leading place in the world for hi-tech growth and innovation; the place where companies head if they want to break the mould.

At the moment, there is nothing like it anywhere else. But something exciting is happening in east London — so exciting, in fact, that it means we could create another Silicon Valley. This isn't far fetched — all the elements are here too.

Already the area around Old Street and Shoreditch has more than one hundred technology companies, attracted to the cheaper rents, the great transport links and the cafés and galleries. Add to that the Olympic Park. Just a few Tube stops away, there's the potential for nearly one million square feet of flexible office and research space which our technology companies can expand into.

And then throw into the mix the fact that London has more outstanding universities than any other city in the world, plus a host of venture capital firms that are willing to invest, and east London has all the ingredients to become one of the world's leading technology centres.

Indeed, there's so much potential in the area that after many phone calls and dozens of meetings, we've helped to inspire a huge mobilisation of business and enterprise. Today, a who's who of some of the world's biggest companies and organisations — from Facebook to Google, Cisco to McKinsey, BT to Barclays, plus many, many more — are committing to invest in the long-term future of east London. These companies are putting up everything from free business advice to start-ups, to help with financing and the laying down of super-fast broadband cables.

Perhaps most exciting of all, Intel, Google and Facebook are all creating either research labs or innovation spaces in east London, where the latest technologies can come together with new entrepreneurial ideas to produce the businesses of the future. And Vodafone has committed to bring its global innovation fund to the capital, to hunt out cutting-edge British technology.

There's nothing that says Silicon Valley has to dominate the world of technology from now until the end of time. Other hubs can rise to challenge them. The question is where will they be? I believe if we recognise our strengths, have the confidence to really go for it and understand what it takes — London can be one of them.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23894507-ill-turn-the-east-end-into-the-british-silicon-valley.do

Basketball Arena

Images from wilkinsoneyre.com (http://www.wilkinsoneyre.com/projects/olympic-basketball-arena.aspx) --

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http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23893587-russians-splash-out-to-hire-marble-arch-for-olympic-parties.do

And how many expatriate Russian journalists or anti-Putin politicians will the Russians assassinate on English soil by then?

Are there pictures from how the olympic stadium after the olympics.

I heard that Tottenham and/or West Ham are intrested to play in the stadium? Is it a rumour or serious?

Are there pictures from how the olympic stadium after the olympics.

I heard that Tottenham and/or West Ham are intrested to play in the stadium? Is it a rumour or serious?

It's official, they have submitted their bids.

London 2012 Olympic Games will hit sponsors' target by end of 2010

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Paul Deighton, the chief executive of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, said £700m would be raised by the end of 2010.

Organisers of the London Olympics have said that they will hit the upper limit of their pre-Games sponsorship target by the end of this year.

Paul Deighton, the chief executive of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog), said it would hit the pre-Games target of £700m by the end of 2010, once a handful of deals with suppliers have been tied up.

Estimates of the amount Locog would raise via sponsorship have varied between £600m-700m, roughly a third of the £2bn it needs to stage the Games. Games organisers will now move into an operational phase, during which they will take control of the venues and start "dressing" the Olympic Park.

Organisers targeted sponsors in 2005, soon after winning the right to stage the Games. Most of the Games' sponsorship revenue was secured before the global economic crash in 2008.

So-called "tier one" sponsors, such as Lloyds TSB, British Airways and EDF, which are each paying at least £40m, are looking at ways to "activate" their sponsorship, placing emphasis on corporate social responsibility programmes and staff motivation.

Locog's £2bn budget for the Games will be privately raised – a third will come from domestic sponsors, a third from the International Olympic Committee's sponsorship programme and a third from ticket sales.

Deighton said he is confident the Games would not be held to ransom by transport unions. Locog and City Hall have billed the 2012 Olympics as "the public transport Games". Deighton said he was confident that agreements to keep the Tube, trains and buses running smoothly would be honoured.

"I don't think anybody in this country wants the Games to be anything other than a great success," he said. "If you talk to the TUC, they'll tell you they're right behind us and want this to be a spectacular success and a showcase for everything the country can do. I don't think anybody thinks it's in their interests to have a problem."

Deighton said no formal written agreement had been made with transport unions. "It's not our job," he said. "TfL [Transport for London] and the London Underground have all the experience you could possibly wish of managing their own network so we'll be relying on them to deliver their services."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/03/london-2012-olympic-games-sponsors

Third bidder enters arena to take over Olympic Stadium

A specialist venue operator which helped launch Wembley stadium and the O2 Arena was today revealed as the third bidder for the London Olympic Stadium.

International Stadia Group will compete with two consortiums — West Ham United/Newham council and Tottenham/AEG — to take over the £500 million-plus venue after the 2012 Games. The disclosure today by Estates Gazette ends months of speculation about the identity of a third bidder for the flagship venue.

It comes days before the Olympic Park Legacy Company, which is handling sales, is due to inform bidders whether they have made the shortlist before a deal is signed next March.

ISG says on its website that is has been responsible for generating more than $2 billion in revenues from the sales and marketing of stadium seats at more than 15 projects. It has also been involved with Coventry City Football Club's Ricoh Arena, Galatasaray's Türk Telekom Arena in Istanbul and the Swebank Arena in Solna, Stockholm.

The group has worked extensively with the US National Football League on financing stadium investment. The NFL is understood to be considering options for moving its franchise to the Olympic Stadium.

It also has close ties with US entertainment giant Anschutz (AEG), which is bidding alongside Tottenham. The two worked together on creating, managing and selling the premium seating at the O2 Arena. It is unclear whether the ISG bid seeks to retain the athletics track at the stadium post Games.

West Ham, in partnership with Newham council, entertainment group LiveNation and with the backing of UK Athletics, is committed to maintaining the athletics track post- Games.

Both ISG and the legacy company declined to comment.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23896016-third-bidder-joins-the-race-for-olympic-stadium.do

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23896016-third-bidder-joins-the-race-for-olympic-stadium.do

This is very worrying. My understanding is that ISG have no experience of running stadia or providing content. Their specialism is sellling corporate hospitality seats at stadia. They bought Bastion from an aussie who had done the work at the Telstra Dome (now Ethiad)in Melbourne and then set up the Premier clubs at Hull, Coventry and Swansea. IMG have sold the club seats at Wembley. They specialise in funding stadia. I hope they don't force up the price that West Ham/Spurs? have to pay for the stadium.

New images from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) show the roof of the Handball Arena as complete and the progress made in cladding the 7,000-seat venue with sustainably-sourced copper.

The top section of the Arena is being wrapped in 3,000sq m of copper with a high recycled content, of which 65 per cent is from production scraps. Work started after the unique ‘naturally lit’ roof of the venue was recently finished.

Events being staged at the Arena include men’s and women’s preliminary stages and the women’s quarter finals for the Handball competition, the Fencing discipline of the Modern Pentathlon, and, during the Paralympic Games, Goalball.

Construction of the venue is due to be completed next spring, with the copper cladding on track to finish by the end of the year.

Other environmental elements of the venue’s design include a rainwater harvesting system which collects water from the roof, reducing usage by an estimated 40%.

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It will be a glorious venue, beautiful cladding!

Time to shine: Copper topping for London 2012 Handball Arena as roof is complete

New images from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) show the roof of the Handball Arena as complete and the progress made in cladding the 7,000-seat venue with sustainably-sourced copper.

The top section of the Arena is being wrapped in 3,000sq m of copper with a high recycled content, of which 65 per cent is from production scraps. Work started after the unique ‘naturally lit’ roof of the venue was recently finished.

Events being staged at the Arena include men’s and women’s preliminary stages and the women’s quarter finals for the Handball competition, the Fencing discipline of the Modern Pentathlon, and, during the Paralympic Games, Goalball.

Construction of the venue is due to be completed next spring, with the copper cladding on track to finish by the end of the year.

Other environmental elements of the venue’s design include a rainwater harvesting system which collects water from the roof, reducing usage by an estimated 40%.

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: 'Sustainability was one of the strengths of London's bid and is integrated into the design of all the venues on the Olympic Park. By building energy-saving measures into the Handball Arena, such as a naturally lit roof and a rainwater-harvesting system, users in legacy will benefit from savings on resources for years to come.'

London 2012 Organising Committee Chair Seb Coe, said: 'London is the first Summer Host City to embed sustainability into its planning and operations. The Handball Arena is an excellent example with an energy efficient design and it also has a sporting legacy because after 2012 it will become a multi-use sports centre capable of being used by all levels from community users up to international competitions. That’s new thinking from London and something we look for future Host Cities to adopt.'

Andrew Altman, Chief Executive of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, which will manage the venue after the Games, said: 'The Handball Arena is a compact design with the flexibility to host a variety of sports after the Games, along with cultural, entertainment and business events. It will be a great asset for the Olympic Park and the communities living around it.'

Mayor of Hackney Jules Pipe said: 'The Handball Arena will become a community facility after the Games, offering a wide range of sports and other uses, as part of the 2012 legacy. We are working closely with our Olympic partners to secure this legacy on behalf of Hackney’s residents. It is encouraging that the Arena design incorporates sustainable elements.'

The unique roof of the Handball Arena is fitted with 88 rooftop sun-pipes that bounce sunlight onto the field of play in the Arena. The 1.5m-wide devices are designed to switch off when required – such as to allow television broadcasting to film during a live game – and in legacy will provide greater illumination than similar sized conventional lights, achieving annual energy savings of up to 40%. Backup electric lights will only switch on temporarily when photo sensors in the roof detect a sudden loss of sunlight during the day, such as when a dark cloud passes over.

After the Games the Arena will be adapted to become a multi-use venue for community use, athletic training and events. Retractable seating will mean it will have a flexible capacity of up to 7,500 seats, allowing it to be used for activities ranging from international competition to community sports, including basketball, handball, badminton, boxing, martial arts, netball, table tennis and volleyball. A health and fitness club with changing facilities and a cafe for use by the local community are also planned.

http://www.london2012.com/press/media-releases/2010/11/time-to-shine-copper-topping-for-london-2012-handball-ar.php

4_V-NB2v6zI

OLYMPIC PARK. Some great views across the park, info about how the parklands are being created and some very nice CGI of the venues in this one:
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AQUATICS CENTRE. Great film of the whole roof being lifted after the supports were removed. The shots at the start are old renders of the Olympic Park though:
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VELODROME. Really wonderful film of the cable-net roof being lifed and some good overhead shots too
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SOIL CLEANING. Not the most exciting film, but more Olympic Park stuff
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450$ for finals of beach volleyball and "only" (still very expensive for me) 185$ for the final of men's football.

Madness!

Thanks a lot for posting the videos, Rob. I'm particularly fond of the Aquatics Centre and love all the engineering behing it. :)

London Cycle Hire to extend east for 2012 Olympics

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has announced that the Cycle Hire scheme will extend into east London with the introduction of 2,000 more bikes before the 2012 Olympic Games in the capital.

The extension of the scheme will enable visitors to the London 2012 Games to use the bikes, as well as providing cycle hire facilities for residents and commuters in the area.

Bethnal Green, Bow, Canary Wharf, Mile End, North Shoreditch, Poplar, Tower Hamlets and the Olympic Park itself will all gain Cycle Hire docking stations. A total of 2,700 docking stations will be created in the new area, and the existing hire area will also gain 1,500 additional stations.

"Londoners have taken to the hire of two wheels with alacrity and it would have been absolutely nonsensical not to expand our scheme," Johnson said.

"Plans are now well advanced that will see the roll-out of thousands more of our gleaming bikes across the capital's legendary East End.

"For as little as 12 pence a day users will soon be able to use our bikes to cross a huge swathe of our city, and it will mean that by 2012 we'll be able to invite the entire world to join London's cycling revolution."

Since its introduction in July, the Cycle Hire scheme has been hailed a success, with over 1.5 million journeys having been made in the capital on the distinctive bikes. Over 100,000 people have now registered for the scheme.

Reacting to the news, Jenny Jones, Green Party member of the London Assembly, pointed out that there are still many areas of London that have yet to be included in the scheme. "This is great news for East London, but a real disappointment for all the other people living and working in Inner London who won't have the scheme coming to their area," said Jones.

"By 2012, the London scheme will still have far fewer bikes and docking stations than Paris, and it's obvious that the expansion of this scheme lacks ambition.

"If the Mayor is serious about his target of having a million extra journeys made by bike every day, then a bike hire scheme which only generates an extra 40,000 journeys a day is well short of what London needs."

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/506225/london-cycle-hire-to-extend-east-for-2012-olympics.html

Gold-medal job on the 2012 Olympics site

There is an enduring belief in this country that we cannot handle complex projects. The French can build nuclear power stations and high-speed rail links with never a backward glance. But we beat ourselves up even before the cost overruns come through, and convince ourselves it will be a disaster.

It is time to lighten up. The only occasion Terminal 5 at Heathrow got any publicity was when the baggage-handling system failed in the first few days after British Airways moved in. But the bigger story was that Terminal 5 was the largest single building construction project in Europe and it came in on time and on budget.

Today the big project is the Olympics site at Stratford, and again the tenor of much of the coverage is negative — a succession of niggling stories about how this supplier is in difficulties or that section is over budget.

The reality, however, as was pointed out yesterday by John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, is that one of the largest construction projects in Europe is now 75% complete, on time and on budget.

What he perhaps should also have said is that it is a far more difficult build than other Olympic parks. No host country in the past 60 years has attempted to build its stadia in the heart of an existing metropolis. From Montreal to Munich, Atlanta to Athens, Beijing to Barcelona, they all built on the outskirts or where there was an abundance of space.

Choosing as we did to build on derelict land in the densely populated inner city made Stratford massively more complicated, and requires raw materials used every day to come in by canal, rail and road in quite astonishing quantities and in all weathers.

What is unfolding in Stratford is a triumph not just for civil engineering, construction and project management but also for logistics.
We really ought to celebrate it, not knock it.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/markets/article-23897043-gold-medal-job-on-the-olympic-site.do

Olympic boss seeks golden future for London 2012 park

-- Link to BBC article (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1141425&page=205) --

The Festival of Britain in 1951 and the Great Exhibition a hundred years earlier are credited with transforming previously underdeveloped areas of London, namely the South Bank and South Kensington. Now the boss of the firm that will oversee the commercial and social legacy of London's 2012 Olympic park is hoping for a similar impact in east London.

"It is about creating a new space in the city of London, in the way that those two previous events brought new spaces into use," says Baroness Ford, chair of the London 2012 Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC). "We are creating a new piece of London with family neighbourhoods, open space and events, inspired by the 2012 venues that surround them."

The OPLC has been established to take responsibility for the long-term planning, development, management and maintenance of the park and its facilities after the games. And former banker and management consultant Baroness Ford is determined that the park post-games is "no vanity project" and has a strong commercial sense about whatever it does.

The OPLC plans to build up to 11,000 new homes over the next 25 years, and hopes to generate up to 10,000 jobs. The site will have a mixture of town houses, mews houses, affordable flats and riverside properties which will sit next to the various venues. "Instead of people moving out to Hertfordshire or Kent when they have children, we want them to consider moving into one of these new homes in the park," she says.

There will be some high-rise homes in the park, with the accommodation in the athletes village being turned into 3,000 flats. But she says they want to "complement" that with other types of housing which take inspiration from "the historic best" of London housing designs. At the moment the company is closely watching such issues as whether there will be a recovery in the property sector, and whether mortgages will be made more easily available.

All of which could reduce the ability of the OPLC to sell properties after 2012. Baroness Ford Baroness Ford says there will be two different sectors to the park. "We need to have a strong commercial sense about everything we do," says the baroness. "This is no vanity project, there is a very strong drive to claw back value from the park. We have got to get on and try to make some sense of where we are [economically] today."

New schools and nurseries will be built for the families living in the park along with health centres, community and faith spaces. The site will also include hanging gardens set 30ft above ground, meadows, lawns, shrubs and 4,000 trees.

"These things are never set in stone but give us a clear steer on what we are trying to do in the park," adds Baroness Ford. The intention is to gradually build up the park over a 20 to 25 year period. And according to Baroness Ford there will be two very different sections to the park, which will have extensive waterways going through the site.

The North Park will be more focussed on activities and the outdoors, and as a "great family destination". It is hoped to create an attraction similar to the Skywalk at Kew, and there will also be a BMX track. Meanwhile, the iconic, elegant structure of the velodrome will be run by Lea Valley regional park authority.

The South Park area will be different in character, with three big venues, and "more of a festival or plaza feel about it". This section will also be home to the Arcelor Mittal Orbit tower designed by Anish Kapoor. Visitors will be able to climb on the structure to get panoramic views across the Stratford site in east London.

"The whole south area of the park will have more of a festival feel, a café-culture feel," says Baroness Ford. She adds: "By 2020 this park will be a new venue for London. We want it to be a top notch destination for local people, other Londoners, and visitors to London."
Media and arts

However, she is clear that the development is firstly about the redevelopment of east London, which means that employment is important.
The Royal Festival Hall at the time of the 1951 Festival of Britain with the Dome of Discovery and the Skylon It is hoped the Olympics will do for east London what the Festival of Britain did for the South Bank

It is hoped that jobs will be created in the area through the media and arts, and around a new transport interchange. High on the list of priorities was creating a digital legacy in the park. Intel and McKinsey are among the companies that have committed to invest in this part of the park masterplan. "We believe we will have large companies in the park, as well as new firms coming when they want space to grow," says the baroness.

There are also plans for an artistic area in the north-west of the park, in the area near to Old Street which already boasts a large number of artists. Meanwhile, it is hoped jobs will be created around the Stratford transport hub.

In addition Westfield, responsible for the large mall at Shepherd's Bush in West London, hopes to trump that development with an even bigger shopping centre at the park. They have invested £1.5m in the project already, with Baroness Ford calling them "a phenomenally successful partner". In January 2011 the OPLC will be putting out tenders for estate management and catering across the park.

"We want companies to come to us and tell us how they want us to do that," says the 52-year old. There are a great many opportunities for us all to work together."

Was browsing the webcams, and the winter light really shows off the velodrome beautifully.

http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/1397/velon.jpg

New aerial pictures have been released of the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London, as the IOC arrives for an inspection visit. The grass and running track will be laid next year. All venues are set to be handed over by next July.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50017000/jpg/_50017395_aquatics_stadium976_549.jpg

A closer view of the iconic Aquatics Centre, where the permanent structure and wave-shaped roof is in place. Work is under way on the Games-time temporary seating stands, ceiling timber cladding and concrete dive boards.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50017000/jpg/_50017550_aquatics976_549.jpg

The Velodrome structure is complete and watertight and the timber track is being installed. The ODA says the Velodrome is on target to be the first Olympic Park sporting venue to be completed in early 2011.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50017000/jpg/_50017601_velodrome976_549.jpg

The "shrink-wrapped" Basketball Arena, where 12,000 seats are being installed. Lifts, toilets and external service rooms are under construction.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50017000/jpg/_50017602_basketballarena976_549.jpg

More than three-quarters of the residential plots in the Athletes' Village are structurally complete and the first stage of landscaping has begun.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50017000/jpg/_50017616_village976_549.jpg

After the Games, the village will be used for housing. It includes a new school, Chobham Academy (above), which is taking shape as part of the Olympic Park build.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50017000/jpg/_50017628_academy412_549.jpg

The structures of the International Press Centre and multi-storey car park are all complete and work has started on the temporary "high street" for journalists and broadcasters during the Games.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50017000/jpg/_50017741_ipc976_549.jpg

Link to BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11774953)

And a few more.

Stadium:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1426/5183736063_26874cbcbe_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/5184334572_3964fd2f87_b.jpg

Handball arena:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5184333808_b270bbbe2e_b.jpg

Eton Manor:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1013/5183737545_cb6801873b_b.jpg

And lastly, some stunning panormas of the Park as a whole. Thanks to DarJoLe for uploading these:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/5183735817_551c8a80cc_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1271/5183735907_b2c44d4823_o.jpg

^^ RobH, don't you have them in bigger resolutions? I can hardly see the details in those? :lol:

BTW, what will become of that long IBC building after the Games? An indoor rowing course? :lol:

Not sure yet. Last thing that was mentioned was that it could become a technology park. Apparently companies like Google and Intel are interested. We'll have to see whether anything comes of that.

Fantastic ones Rob! Itll be a city within a city!

A few others:

Aquatics Centre

london2012.com

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5184334140_0617a4801d_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1409/5184334780_91b2528e34_b.jpg

Germany choose to spend 2012 Olympics at Docklands museum

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/3548/684345165.jpg

An agreement has been reached for the first ‘nation house’ to host an Olympic team during the 2012 London Games. The Museum of Docklands has signed a deal with the Germany Olympic Committee to provide VIP hospitality and meeting facilities for their guests.

They will range from medal-winning athletes and key Olympic figures to political, cultural and business big-wigs.

The West India Quay building, which dates back to the early 19th century, will also become the German press facility and media lounge.

Professor Jack Lohman, Director of the Museum of London, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome the first Olympic house to the Olympic boroughs.

“This partnership will bring lasting benefits to the Museum of London Docklands, including upgrades to the building, international links with Stories of the World – the London 2012 cultural festival for young people, and relationship-building with German businesses.

“As a publicly funded organisation, these benefits are both extremely valuable and timely.”

The museum, which tells the story of the emergence of London’s Docks from Roman times to the present day, will stay open throughout the Olympics. The listed Georgian warehouse, built to store sugar from the West India, has seen a major increase in visitor numbers since becoming free to enter earlier this year.

http://www.docklands24.co.uk/news/germany_choose_to_spend_2012_olympics_at_docklands_museum_1_731441