London 2012 Olympics: medal hopefuls in six sports given financial boost

Six sports have been rewarded with more Lottery cash to prepare for the 2012 Olympics after they were identified by UK Sport as offering extra medal opportunities. The biggest winner is hockey, which has been given an extra £1.13 million over the 18 months to allow more players from both the men’s and women’s squads to train full time and improve their technical skills.

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The England women’s team pulled off a bronze medal hat-trick at the World Cup, Champions Trophy and Commonwealth Games while the men won the Champions Trophy silver and took fourth place at the World Cup — their best finish on foreign soil.

Liz Nicholl, the UK Sport chief executive, said: “Up until now, our evaluation has been that there was potential for one medal from either the men or the women but now we are much more reassured that there is potential for two medals in 2012, which is really exciting.”

The second biggest winner is gymnastics, which receives an extra £600,000 after clinching five European and three world medals, while boxing, canoeing, taekwondo and rowing have all been given additional funds after exceeding expectations this year.

The only Olympic sport to suffer a cut in funding is badminton, which faces a reduction of £540,000 after UK Sport revised downwards the number of likely qualifiers for the 2012 Games. Overall, Britain won 40 medals at world and European level in Olympic disciplines this year, and a further 84 medals in Paralympic events.

UK Sport said the country was further ahead in Olympic and Paralympic sport than it had ever been at the same stage of an Olympic cycle, raising hopes of a substantial medal haul in 2012. The agency’s official target is fourth place at the Olympics and second at the Paralympics, with more medals being won in more sports at both Games.

Britain’s winter sports have also enjoyed a big rise in Lottery allocations, with an extra £4.8 million being made available to prepare for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The increase reflects UK Sport’s new policy of funding winter disciplines according to the same criteria as summer sports.

But the money will be shared by only four sports that have been identified as genuine medal chances — skeleton, curling, short-track speeding skating and women’s bobsleigh. Ice dance, skiing and snowboarding, all of which received Lottery support before this year’s Vancouver Games, will no longer be funded.

Meanwhile, on the day the £31 million state-of-the art Olympic white-water centre was opened by HRH The Princess Royal, Canoe GB insisted that allowing overseas paddlers open access would not dilute the home country’s hopes of a record medal haul.

The centre in Broxbourne, Herts, is soon to become the home of GB Canoeing, but will be run by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, who will open it to the public in April and believe they will break even within two years.

John Anderson, performance director of GB canoeing, admitted that international teams will be given greater access than ever before, but that being based at the centre and using it six days week will enable them to maintain the success of 2010.

“The relationship we have Lee Valley Authority is absolutely first class,” insisted Anderson. “They’ve actually been helping our athletes with the move.

“The course is going to be open in April to the public and to the other nations. We are good enough in GB to make this course home and to take advantage from making it home.

“The fact the other nations are coming here, that’s fine. I don’t have any problem with that at all. I do believe in fair play. I absolutely want our athletes to be successful; any concept of locking the place up and not letting the rest of the world is just not what the Olympic spirit is about and I really mean that.

“Other nations will come on one week and two week training camps. We did exactly the same in Beijing, with a total of 40 days access with the rest of the world.

“With this course the nations are going to have more access than they have had in the last four Olympic Games. But crucially we are going to be based here permanently. So they may come, but they’ll go back. We won’t.”

“We medalled in Sydney, Athens and Beijing and we have had a good 2010 season, with our athletes winning five medals in Olympic events and so with 20 months to go and keeping our feet flat on the ground, I think we are in really good shape.”

Dave Florence, a silver medalist in the men’s slalom C-1 in Beijing gave his endorsement of the course when he said: “It’s fast but it is fantastic.”

And Richard Hounslow, who won bronze in the men’s canoe doubles at the World Canoe Slalom Championships in Slovenia in September with Florence, added: “I’ve only paddled it twice but I would say it’s my favourite course in the world.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/8192650/London-2012-Olympics-medal-hopefuls-in-six-sports-given-financial-boost.html

cannot wait for July 2012!

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587 Days to go to London 2012

the snowy pictures are really cool
im sure all will be ready in time in london....

587..
go go! :D

Now Qataris launch bid to buy half of Olympic village flats

The Qatari investment firm behind the redevelopment of Chelsea barracks has launched a bid to buy a £500million share of the Olympic village, it was announced today.

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“Trophy assets”: how the Olympic village will look. Qatari Diar has offered £500m

Qatari Diar, the property wing of the emirate's sovereign wealth fund, has submitted a joint bid with British property developer Delancey to purchase the vast development of flats in Stratford, which will provide accommodation for Olympic athletes before it is converted after the Games.

If the Qatari bid wins, it will be the latest in a series of huge investments in "trophy assets" in London by the Arab state that includes Harrods, Renzo Piano's "Shard of Glass", One Hyde Park and the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square. Qatari Diar submitted a new master-plan for its £3billion redevelopment of the Chelsea Barracks this month after the original scheme collapsed following the intervention of Prince Charles.

A total of nine bidders have come forward for the Olympic village including Sir Robert McAlpine - builder of the Olympic stadium - and some of the biggest British names in property development. They responded to a tender in October from the Olympic Delivery Authority offering for sale about half of the 2,800 homes plus an adjacent plot of land with potential for up to 2,500 more homes.

The other half of the homes has already been sold for social housing in a £270million deal with Triathlon Homes. The existing package is thought to be worth in excess of £500million with receipts to be returned to the taxpayer.

The ODA said it was delighted with the response which it said vindicated its decision to delay the sale until the property market came out of its slump. Further evidence of confidence in the Olympic Park area was provided this month when Dutch and Canadian pension funds paid £870million for Westfield's soon-to-be-complete Stratford City shopping centre.

ODA chief executive David Higgins said: "The quality of this shortlist is a vote of confidence in the quality of the Olympic village. Securing a shortlist with many of the leading property investors and managers both in the UK and around the world takes us an important step towards ensuring the village becomes one of the strongest legacies from the Games."

The full list is Delancey & Qatari Diar; Dorrington & Pinnacle Capital; Galliard Homes; Grainger plc & Moorfield Group; Hutchison Whampoa Limited; Le Frak Organization; Aviva plc & JP Morgan; London & Stamford Property plc; David Wilson & Sir Robert McAlpine; Wellcome Trust; and The William Pears Group & Urban Splash.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23908003-now-qataris-launch-bid-to-buy-half-of-olympic-village-flats.do

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im Zephaniah no Nic or wilgles. I deliver this message for him. Don't mess with the some of the most powerful people on the internet. Have fun.

Will there be any safe space for keeping bikes? As I read in the news (http://pedalepiaui.blogspot.com/2010/12/londres-2012-pede-que-fas-usem.html), they want the fans going by bike to the games.

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lights on

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therealmarky's on flicker

Was just on the news that David and Boris attended this light turning on ceremony.

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BBC London News: Stadium Lights

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^^ Thanks for sharing this video clip mate, fantastic lights, but the stadium doesn't have a roof? :(

How would they prevent london rain? :ohno:

The stadium does have a roof, it simply doesn't cover the whole seating. That's the price you pay for a seat on the first row.

Good page in the Daly Mail today (Mail Online). Shows the very impressive swimming pool diving boards.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-1340539/EXCLUSIVE-Sportsmails-Magnificent-7-2012-Olympic-Village.html

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:lol:

587 Days to go to London 2012

Dayes will become close to us when we aware which Olympic begin

cannot wait for 2012 :)

but i'm a big gutted learning that the original external wrap isn't going ahead. That was my favourite part of the design :(

Sportsmail's Magnificent 7 access all areas at the 2012 Olympic Village: our golden hopefuls for in seventh heaven at the venue of their dreams

-- Link to Daily Mail article (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-1340539/EXCLUSIVE-Sportsmails-Magnificent-7-2012-Olympic-Village.html) --

Like any sightseer, he had his camera out. A Colgate smile lit up his face. 'Nice,' he purred slowly. 'It's pretty cool.' That was Tom Daley's reaction as he entered the aquatics centre being fashioned for the Games of the XXX Olympiad. No matter that the interior was a maze of scaffolding underneath the iconic shark-style roof. There, simply, were the diving boards he wants to own.

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Daley, a favourite for gold in 2012, was ushered up the wooden ladders and through the yellow doors to pose for my colleague Andy Hooper's wonderful photograph (below). A headstand for the artist's lens? 'Don't give him ideas,' said Daley with mock concern, posing instead on his feet with his arms outstretched. A crane was poised to his right, just where the water of the diving pool will wait for him, mirror-like, at his moment of truth.

This was the highlight of our privileged peak behind the diggers and cement-mixers at the Olympic site in East London. We were there to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Magnificent 7, the talented group of young athletes whose progress this newspaper is following up to 2012, and to bring a sense of the smell and feel of it all to our readers.

'A lot is made of the outside of this building,' said Daley, a 16-year-old Plymouth A-Level student and recently-crowned double Commonwealth champion, of the edifice designed by British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, 'but the whole centre is amazing.'

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He was thinking mostly of the boards themselves. They are unlike anything anyone has seen before: modern sculpture produced, so I am reliably informed, by high-tech self-compacting concrete poured into glass-fibre reinforced moulds with a core of steel bars. 'They look like waves coming out of the floor,' added Daley. 'Seeing this today gives me the motivation to do the work I need to come back here and get a medal. But diving is an on-the-day sport.'

This was a chilly December morning but still the ripples of anticipation were palpable even to us non-competitors as we snaked our way by bus around a plot now employing its peak manpower of 1,000 workers. Much is already built - most of the grey and white seats, for example, are fitted inside the Olympic Stadium - but a great deal remains to be done. That is a reflection of the size of the project rather than a hint that any construction deadline will be missed.

A long dive away from Daley's balanced pose, we inspected the blue and white tiling in the swimming pool. We stood at the bottom of it, three metres down. Above us the ceiling timber of hardwood slats were barrel-gun straight to direct the backstrokers. 'Brilliant,' said Louise Watkin, the 18-year-old Paralympic silver medallist as she inspected the centre.

'I remember when London was awarded the Games in 2005 and I thought we don't need to worry about that for a while. It feels like yesterday. Now I know the Games will be here faster than we realise.' And when they are over, the pools will regularly be divided into smaller areas by booms that rise from the floor. The depth, too, can be altered.

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Over at the velodrome, the steep track of Siberian pine - 43 degrees at the ends, reducing to 12deg at the sides - was hidden under wraps. The smell of the blue paint on the infield hung in the air. The challenge of designing the fastest track drew Ron Webb, an ace Australian designer, out of retirement. Geometry that allows maximum speed to be taken out of the turns and a high internal temperature are crucial. So is workmanship to the nearest two millimetres.

Shanaze Reade, the BMX world champion and a hot tip for gold in London, spent her last visit here posing on the undulating roof for one of our previous photo-shoots. 'The velodrome has come on so much since then and it was only six months back,' said the 22-year-old from Crewe. 'I want to compete on the track at London, as well as the BMX. The track comes first in the timetable, which is great because it gives me a good run through to the BMX event a week and a half later.

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'If I can go to London and create a bit of history by winning two golds then that will be amazing. If I get a silver or a bronze and I've given my best then that's all I can do.'

The stadium is, of course, the heart of the whole carnival. It's an understated design and you feel it needs the participants to paint their magic on its canvas to bring it to life. One hoping to be there is Emily Pidgeon, a 21-year-old Loughborough University psychology student, who is splitting the final year of her degree course in two to help towards selection at 5,000 metres. She missed out on qualification for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October by seven seconds. Her Lottery funding was stopped the following month.

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Despite it all, she is confident. 'It's going well with my new coach Andy Hobdell and I've set PBs throughout the year,' said the former European junior champion. 'I am injury-free and I am on target to make it.'

On to the media centre. It's still a shell of a building but will be buzzing with 20,000 journalists when the Games arrive. Around a table, I conducted the first interview there, with Louis Smith, Olympic bronze medal gymnast from the Beijing Olympics. He was moments away from catching a flight to Los Angeles for an adidas shoot alongside David Beckham. It was a heady assignment for a burgeoning 21-year-old who, it is said, not so long ago cast his eyes to his feet rather than meet your eyes in conversation.

Away from London, the two other members of our Magnificent Seven toiled at their dream. British Open judo champion Gemma Howell was winning a World Cup silver medal in Korea. Finn sailor Giles Scott was adding to his host of sailing medals in Australia at the end of a wonderful, breakthrough year.

What an experience the grand tour of Stratford was. And at the end of it Lord Coe, chairman of the Organising Committee, spoke of what awaits our starlets. 'In a couple of weeks, the Games will be next year and then it will be writ large,' he said. 'Before they know it, it will be January 2012 and then they will think in a completely different way. It will be an Olympic year. We are getting closer and closer.'

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Great article!

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London 2012 Olympics: 2m signed up, say organisers

Two million people have signed up for tickets for the London 2012 Olympics, chief executive Paul Deighton said.

Organisers were preparing for the "mind-boggling" task of co-ordinating sales, he said, as well as planning and managing seats for the 8.8m tickets.

The London 2012 organisation needs to raise 25% of its revenue from ticket sales and generate £2bn from the private sector.

Some 6.6m tickets for the public go on sale in March 2011.

'Extraordinary demands'
Mr Deighton said: "The sheer scale of this is mind-blowing. Just the operational stuff is mind-blowing."

He added that he expected the number of people on the organisers' database was expected to rise to 2.5m by the time tickets were made available.

"The sheer scale of this is mind-blowing," he said. "Just the operational stuff is mind-blowing.

"It is a year of extraordinary demands in getting ready for the Games and in terms of operational delivery.

Officials have gone back on their November 2004 pledge that prices would begin at £15 with at least half costing £30 or less.

Instead, tickets for an Olympic event start at £20 and end at £725 for the 100m athletics final. Seats at the opening ceremony will cost £2,012.

Mr Deighton insisted said it had been necessary to make "adjustments" to the pricing structure.

He added: "Those people who say they are not cheap enough are the people who would be complaining if we could not sell enough tickets that we would have to go back to government."http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12078533

What an amazing stadium... London must surprise the world after Beijing games!

Advertisement on the Tube.:cheers:

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On your marks, get set for London 2012 - the greatest show on earth

Today the Standard begins the countdown to the greatest sporting show on earth: London's 2012 Olympics.
With just 567 days to go until the cauldron is lit above the main stadium in Stratford to herald the start of the 30th Olympic Games of the modern era, the sense of anticipation is mounting.
We are now on the final lap of a seven-year preparation. Organisers talk of a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Londoners. The city will host the equivalent of a world championships in 26 sports in little over two weeks. There will be 10,500 athletes from 205 nations competing in 650 sessions of sport.
The action will be beamed to a peak global TV audience of four billion and, with advances in mobile technology, London promises to be the best-connected Games ever.

Up to 250,000 spectators will pack the Olympic Park every day and 120 heads of state will attend the opening ceremony, the biggest gathering of VIPs London has ever seen. A month later, we will all be back for the Paralympics, the world's biggest disabled sports event.
In March the scramble begins for 8.8 million Olympic tickets.
Two million people have already signed up and prices will range from £20 right up to £2,012 for the best seat in the house at the opening ceremony on July 27.
The excitement will build as more than £1 billion-worth of world-class sporting venues are completed — on schedule — by the summer. Next month triple Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy will take the inaugural spin around the £100 million velodrome as it becomes the first of three signature venues — the others being the stadium and aquatics centre — to be finished.
Watching Ken Livingstone dancing till dawn at a harbourside restaurant in Singapore the night London won the Olympic bid five years ago, I could barely imagine being just months away from covering the big event.
Starting this week I will be writing a regular column, scrutinising London 2012 as it races towards the finish line. From the heroes to the hurdles, here are the crucial factors I'll be looking at...

The heroes
If our athletes peak at the right time, Team GB have every chance of hitting the target set for them of fourth place or better. Experts say the Brits can beat their 47-medal Beijing haul, it's just a matter of how many can be converted into golds.
The backbone of the team is expected to be in rowing (look out for Katherine Grainger and Anna Watkins, Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase, double sculls), cycling (Sir Chris Hoy in three velodrome events), swimming (Rebecca Adlington and Gemma Spofforth) and sailing. There is also podium potential in hockey, canoeing, gymnastics, taekwondo and boxing. Athletics may at best bring a brace of British golds with Hackney triple jumper Phillips Idowu and heptathlete Jessica Ennis the likely contenders.
In the Paralympics, Team GB is targeting a fourth successive second place with the help of Croydon wheelchair athlete David Weir, swimmer Ellie Simmonds and Iraq war veteran Tel Byrne in the velodrome.

The competition
China romped home in Beijing with 51 golds ahead of second-placed America's 36. But their trajectory in the past two and a half years is difficult to follow, since they prefer not to participate in global contests which feed into medal table forecasts. Japan is forecast to win 11 more medals than in 2008 and Germany 13, which could see them leapfrog Britain into fourth place. Double Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt aims to break his own world records and 14-times Games medallist Michael Phelps is expected to dominate again in the pool.

The tickets
When the tickets, worth £500 million, go on sale, organisers will hope to avoid a website crash like that which blighted the Beijing Games, or a cyber attack. But the real crunch will not come until after the initial two-month sales phase when the allocations are made. Applications for oversubscribed events such as swimming, cycling and athletics finals will go into a ballot with a maximum of four to eight tickets per household.
The movers and shakers
As chair of the 3,000-strong organising team, Locog, Sebastian Coe has struck a formidable partnership with Paul Deighton, the chief executive who learned how to cope with pressure from his years at Goldman Sachs.
The Locog pair form a group of “four wise men” heading the 2012 project, the others being John Armitt and David Higgins who have kept the construction on track at the helm of the Olympic Delivery Authority.
Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt can expect to lead the line of ministers at the numerous venue inaugurations this year.
Stella McCartney (Team GB kit designer), Stephen Fry (voiceovers) and David Beckham (Leytonstone local hero) will bring some stardust.

The building blocks
The 500-acre plot of land has been transformed from an industrial site to a fledgling green space the size of Hyde Park that will be inaugurated as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park when it reopens after the Games. The aquatics centre by Zaha Hadid is the undisputed architectural highlight.
The main stadium, designed by the creator of Arsenal's Emirates stadium, Rod Sheard, consists of a lightweight structure to be partially dismantled after the Games. The £100 million velodrome has been likened to a giant Pringle crisp.

The connections
London's roads must cope with the demands of shuttling 15,000 athletes and officials, media and VIPs between 30-plus venues in guaranteed times. This can only be achieved with the imposition of lanes dedicated to official Games vehicles in the so-called Olympic Route Network.
For the general public London 2012 has been designated a car-free Games. There are two main routes to the heart of the action — a dedicated shuttle from St Pancras or trains to Stratford or West Ham stations.
The Fun and Games

An athletics-inspired film by Mike Leigh, music by Damon Albarn and an exhibition at the Royal Academy by David Hockey are among the highlights of the 12-week summer arts festival inspired by the Olympics.
The Cultural Olympiad has gained new focus and direction under Ruth MacKenzie, an experienced arts manager, and is expected to be a cultural showcase, rather than the sideshow it has been at some Games. It will start in June and end after the Paralympics in September.

The price tag
The £9.3 billion project has largely escaped the Coalition's spending cuts. In its latest quarterly report in November, the Olympic Delivery Authority estimated the final cost of the construction project to be £7.2 billion, with the remainder largely made up of security and a £1 billion contingency pot.
Further public cash has gone into preparing British athletes, with £311 million of Lottery and exchequer funds from UK Sport pumped in as Team GB fields its largest squad of up to 500 athletes, plus 300 Paralympians.

The people
Almost 80,000 unpaid helpers are needed. Hundreds of thousands have applied, but organisers will be alert to the nightmare scenario of volunteers walking off the job in their droves after a few days when the dream of being Usain Bolt's bag carrier turns into the unglamorous reality of 10-hour shifts in the coach park. McDonald's has been drafted in for its expertise in high-speed recruitment and to ensure Olympic service comes with a smile.

The security
The total bill for security could hit £1 billion after ministers agreed an extra £280 million to beef it up in and around the Olympic venues. The extra cash pays for airport-style screening of park visitors, perimeter fences, CCTV and patrol guards.
Security minister Pauline Neville-Jones also expects a large chunk of the Home Office's £1.1 billion anti-terror budget over the next two years to be absorbed by the Olympics.

The Olympic effect
London is expected to become the world's most popular business destination in the year leading up to the Games. Hospitality will be the big winner with 60,000 rooms in West End hotels block-booked for VIPs, and top restaurants already reserved.
Art galleries, museums and historic palaces will share in the £100 million business of “Olympic houses” established as the party base for visiting nations (the Russians are set to transform Marble Arch into a £5 million palace).
Around a million Londoners are expected to flock to Olympic fan parks in Victoria Park, Hyde Park and Potters Fields to watch action on giant screens. Hopes that Londoners will become more sporting hang in the balance with official participation figures flatlining before the Mayor's £15 million sports fund takes effect.

The legacy
The green shoots of the London 2012 legacy should begin to show in the Olympic Park this year as the multi-billion pound public assets go on the market. Either Spurs or West Ham are to be chosen as the new Olympic stadium owners this month.
Legacy chiefs are putting up for sale/to let signs outside the media centre, Anish Kapoor's Orbit Tower, the handball arena and the swimming pool. The £1 million-a-year maintenance costs could deter potential operators of the aquatic centre.

The gravy train
Expect a media witch hunt if there are rows of empty seats in the Olympic stadium where corporate ticket-holders have failed to turn up, as has happened in recent Games. Ticket recycling schemes and threats to give the seats away are in the pipeline.
There's also resistance to the 100-mile network of dedicated Olympic lanes and there have been calls for the 25,000 sponsors who gain access (as well as athletes, officials and media) to take the Tube instead. Around 120 heads of state are expected to attend the opening ceremony and the Foreign Office is under orders to keep their entourages to a minimum.

The finishing line
The so called “Big Build” has entered the home straight. Next month the velodrome will become the first Olympic Park venue completed with ribbon-cutting duties at the Olympic stadium, aquatics centre and handball arena set for early summer. Completion of the venues to schedule gives Games chiefs plenty of time to test them with behind-closed-doors invitation events to world championships, to identify any major snags before each venue is granted its operating licence.

The potential hurdles
In some order of seriousness: a major security scare, a boycott (increasingly rare since the end of the Cold War), a doping scandal, a strike on the Tube or a motorists' rebellion against road lanes reserved for Olympic traffic.
Follow me on twitter @matthewwbeard

from http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-olympics/article-23911908-on-your-marks-get-set-for-london-2012---the-greatest-show-on-earth.do

London 2012: The key moments in the run-up to the Games

-- Link to Daily Telegraph article (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/london-olympics-business/8244239/London-2012-The-key-moments-in-the-run-up-to-the-Games.html) --

After five-and-a-half-years of preparation, 2011 is the year that the Olympic project will come together in front of the UK's eyes. As the last full year before the Games, it will see the completion of the main venues and the award of the most significant long-term commercial opportunities. Here are the issues that should dominate the agenda over the next 12 months.

Westfield Stratford City opens

The largest urban shopping centre in Europe is a gateway to the Olympic Park and will be the first major test of Stratford's infrastructure when it opens to the public in September. The development has been earmarked as the anchor of the ambitious legacy plans for the Olympic Park, and has already been successful in attracting business investment. A 50pc stake was sold in the shopping centre for £871.5m last year to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Dutch investor Algemene Pensioen Groep, and the centre's shops are 75pc full, with John Lewis and Marks & Spencer anchor tenants. More news on lettings is expected before opening, with the Australian developer confident the scheme will open fully occupied. Westfield is also waiting to discover whether it has been successful in applying for a license to operate a casino at the site.

One year to go

The 12-month countdown to the opening ceremony of the Olympics is not just a symbolic moment for London 2012, but a key date in the construction schedule. The Olympic Delivery Authority has set a milestone of July 27, 2011, which if met means the key venues will by then be completed and ready to be handed over to the organising committee. So far, progress has been smooth and the construction of many of the sporting arenas is thought to be ahead of schedule. The first venue to be completed at the Olympic Park is expected to be the Velodrome this spring, with the Olympic Stadium in the summer, and the canoe slalom venue at Lee Valley White Water Centre opening for public use in April. Key construction landmarks will include the laying of the athletics track in the summer.

Future of Olympic Stadium confirmed

West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur are due by January 21 to submit their final bids to occupy the Olympic Stadium post-2012 in the latest stage of their battle for the stadium. The Olympic Park Legacy Company will meet a week later to identify a preferred bidder with a final announcement on the future of the stadium expected by March 31, when contract negotiations have been completed. The stadium's future is arguably the key to London's legacy proposals, and it has proved controversial. The latest twists include Karren Brady, the West Ham vice-chairman, accusing Tottenham of a "smash and grab" raid on the stadium, Tottenham hiring PR guru Mike Lee – who helped London win the 2012 Olympics – and Lord Coe expressing his backing for West Ham's desire to retain the athletics track.

Private sector deals for Olympic Village and media centres

The Olympic Stadium may be the most high profile component of the legacy plans for Stratford, but in many ways the village and media buildings represent the bread and butter. They are the test of whether homeowners and businesses can be attracted to the park. This year, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) plans to dispose of its stake in the athletes village to a private consortium, and official marketing will also begin in the search for an occupier for the press and broadcasting centres. The early signs are that these schemes are highly attractive propositions for the private sector. Nine consortia have been shortlisted for the Olympic Village, including major investors such as JP Morgan and the Wellcome Trust, and sovereign wealth funds such as Qatar Diar. They are being offered 1,439 private homes and the opportunity to develop up to 2,500 more. Final offers are due by the Spring and the ODA will then decide whether to proceed with a selected party, although Government approval will be needed.

Olympic tickets go on sale

In March, the 8.8m tickets for the Olympics go on sale. The demand for tickets will highlight Britain's appetite for the Olympics in challenging economic times. So far, more than 2m people have registered their interest in the tickets – which are a vital part of raising £2bn from the private sector to fund the Games – and Paul Deighton, chief executive of London 2012, says demand has been "mind-blowing".

Work begins on distinctive London 2012 water polo arena

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/6291/waterpololondon2012aren.jpg
UNDERWAY: Work has now started on the London 2012 water polo venue - a 5000-seater temporary arena with a distinctive exterior

The temporary 5000-seater venue - distinguishable by its silver wrap and an inflatable roof made from recyclable plastic - will be built by a raft of firms from across the UK, the Olympic Delivery Authority announced today.

The wedge-shaped Arena, which rises from 12m to 25m, will contain a 37metre-long competition pool and a warm-up pool. It will stage the men's and women's water Polo competitions. After the Games, the venue will be taken down, with elements reused elsewhere in the UK, including incorporating materials available through the rental market to promote reuse and reduce construction waste.

"The start of work on the water polo arena, one of the last venues to be built on the Olympic Park, shows how far we have come since construction started in 2008," said ODA project sponsor Ian Crockford.

"The venue will join the Aquatics Centre to form a dramatic and action-packed gateway to the Olympic Park when spectators arrive in 2012." The venue will be built at the main eastern entrance to the Olympic Park next to the Aquatics Centre, in what will be one of the most compact areas of the 500-acre site.

The ground is currently being prepared before work starts on the substructure in early March.

http://www.morethanthegames.co.uk/london-2012/1313609-work-begins-distinctive-london-2012-water-polo-arena

London 2012 Olympics to have airport style security

Sports fans attending the London 2012 Olympics can expect airport-style security screening at venues, the policeman in charge of safety at the Games said on Thursday.

Met Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison, Olympic security coordinator, said there were no plans to draw on the military, beyond certain niche demands, despite severe spending cuts across the nation's police forces. Chief constables have seen their budgets cut by about 20% as the coalition government attempts to rein in a record budget deficit approaching 11% of national output.

Allison said forces, which could be called upon to provide special services for the Olympics, such as firearms officers, mounted police, protection and search officers, have been asked to postpone any potential cuts in these areas until after the Games. Security inside Olympic venues will be the responsibility of LOCOG, the body in charge of staging the Games, who will work alongside the police.

Private security firms will use X-ray machines and carry out searches "much like you would see at an airport", he said. "As you get to the venues clearly you will have to go through a search and secure regime," Allison told reporters. "It will look like you would expect. Sadly, as a society we've been having to do deal with the impact of terrorism for many years," he said.

Britain has been a terrorist target for many years, and its role in Iraq and Afghanistan, as a leading US ally, has increased the threat posed by Islamic militants. In July 2005, the day after London was awarded the Games, four young British Islamists killed 52 commuters in suicide bomb attacks on the capital's transport network. The armed forces could provide niche capabilities, such as Royal Navy boats on waterways, but the military would not be seen on the streets.

"The military don't have the expertise of working on the streets within the UK," he told Reuters. "We work with the consent of the community. Generally, they do a very different sort of operation. We've got the capacity as a service at the moment to deliver a policing operation."

Last month, policing minister Nick Herbert said he expected the Olympic security budget to fall from a previous commitment of 600 million pounds to an estimated 475 million pounds through savings, though the full amount would be available if required. Allison said they were "well under" the 600 million pounds budget, but estimates were changing on a daily basis, and the securing the Games "was not going to be easy".

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/sports/london-2012-olympics-to-have-airport-style-security_513189.html

The Velodrome

From Jack999 on flickr:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5287/5353972567_655fcaca8e_b.jpg

^^ love this final photo... all so clean already... this is going gooD!

I hope we can put these games in the ranks of the beijing games. Though the main stadium already is dissapointing. They couldn't find a better design? It's so simple for a olympic stadium.

If it does it's job by creating new world records whats the problem?

I hope we can put these games in the ranks of the beijing games. Though the main stadium already is dissapointing. They couldn't find a better design? It's so simple for a olympic stadium.

Yes, but also more durable. This olympics are much 'greener' than the last one.

Yes, but also more durable. This olympics are much 'greener' than the last one.

true, and beijing set a really high standard for next olympic games.

Aquatics Centre

From Andy Wilkes on flickr:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5283/5370386340_25843940d8_b.jpg

Looks like it could take off at any moment :|

[B][SIZE="3"]
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5283/5370386340_25843940d8_b.jpg



http://i51.tinypic.com/24e9ml3.jpg

:rofl:

xRyMXCcVwm8

ByPP_MpTu5A

Interior of the Basketball Arena.

http://www.london2012.com/transform/3478052/m700x/basketball-interior.jpg

The basketball arenas not had much coverage really, its brilliant.

Handball Arena

http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/9644/110118odamdadp028hi.jpg

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/8049/110118odamdadp069hi.jpg

http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr145872617

Interior of the Basketball Arena.

http://www.london2012.com/transform/3478052/m700x/basketball-interior.jpg

cool :cheers::cheers::cheers:

The basketball arenas not had much coverage really, its brilliant.

Well, it's an entirely temporary "box-like" venue and right next to the superbly brilliant velodrome.

It works, and looks like it'll offer great views, but it's not one of the talking points right now. I hope when we see it lit up in 2012 it will surprise a few people who are less aware of this venue though. We've already had a glimpse of the lighting scheme:

From November last year, they lit up a few panels:

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/7567/basketballarenacolors1.jpg

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/6176/basketballarenacolors2.jpg

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/708/basketballarenacolors3.jpg

Mmm.... if only I had access to a map showing the perimeter of the Olympic park!!

PS, the basketball arena seating is suitably steep enough to create an atmosphere and half!, Plus the seating colours are perfect - Black and Tangarine!

Aquatics Centre

From Andy Miah on Flickr:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5214/5403835293_cfd22b95b8_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5099/5404435174_c9b96483fb_b.jpg

Fanstatic tour of the Olympic site here>

http://toursfromabove.com/aerial-photography/uk/london/london-olympics-2012-under-construction/

:)

Fanstatic tour of the Olympic site here>

http://toursfromabove.com/aerial-photography/uk/london/london-olympics-2012-under-construction/

:)

Damn - Just lost an hour of my evening looking at that :eek:

Olympic velodrome threatens to give London games a good name

There is so much noise surrounding other permanent facilities that the success of the velodrome is in danger of being overlooked.

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Admin/BkFill/Default_image_group/2011/1/31/1296500678736/velodrome-007.jpg
velodrome The London 2012 velodrome is an elegant example of form following function. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

Sir Chris Hoy can uncross his legs. The lavatory he asked for is exactly where he wants it to be, close to the track at the Olympic velodrome, ready for riders who feel the need to answer a last-minute call of nature before tightening their toe straps for the pursuit or the keirin at the 2012 Games.

In the Tour de France the competitors can just hop off the bike on some deserted country road, or even pull down their shorts and irrigate the scenery as they freewheel along. Such relief is hardly possible in a crowded velodrome, making Sir Chris's khazi just one of the impressive details to be found in a structure that threatens to give the London Games a good name.

So much noise continues to be made about the scandals surrounding other permanent facilities in the Olympic park – notably the uncertain future of the main stadium and the outrageous £180m cost overrun on the aquatic centre – that the success of the velodrome is in danger of being overlooked. Here is an arena that was properly planned, properly costed and delivered on time, to specification, and within its £90m budget. So it can be done.

The building was 24 hours away from being handed over to the organisers as a finished article when I was shown around the other day. To get there, a visitor to the Lee Valley park passes by the unremarkable main stadium, its looks compromised by the absence of the "wrap" intended to provide its visual signature but cancelled in order to save £7m on a building costing almost £500m, and the swimming pool, an aesthetic disaster thanks to the need to flank Zaha Hadid's surprisingly unremarkable core design with two temporary grandstands in order to bring its capacity up to Olympic requirements.

Then the eye falls on the swooping roof of the velodrome, rising elegantly at its two ends to echo the banked turns inside and supported by exterior walls of warm red cedar, a hint of the wooden piste itself. Here is something of genuine beauty, an elegant example of form following function.

You might have guessed that it was designed by a cyclist. Mike Taylor, a senior partner at Hopkins Architects, a practice noted for creating the canopied Mound stand at Lord's, led the design team. He rides, which helped him to listen with a sympathetic ear to Hoy's suggestions, such as the request to ensure that the opening of the main spectator access doors does not create a cold draught for the riders (the solution involved industrial "air curtains"). Hoy also asked for the design to incorporate seating around the top of the banked ends to create an unbroken wave of noise as the riders circulate.

Ron Webb, an Australian former champion who specialises in track design, created the piste itself from 54km of Siberian pine. Shipped from Archangel, sawn into narrow strips in a German mill, it is secured with 360,000 nails into a 250m ribbon that rears at either end into a 42-degree banking. Previously responsible for the Manchester and Sydney velodromes, Webb reportedly reckons that this is one on which records will be broken.

I'm going on about this because so many big building projects in Britain invite scorn for their flaws of design and execution, and in the case of sporting arenas for their farcically inept legacy planning, too. I was tagging along with a visiting party from the Save the Herne Hill Velodrome organisation, a group dedicated to preserving the 450m shallow-banked concrete track used in the 1948 Games, for whom Taylor has created a striking set of plans to ensure the south London track's rescue from its present state of dilapidation and its revival not just as a centre for community and schools use but, as the architect puts it, "for getting people started on the way to the high end of the sport".

Herne Hill looks as though it is going to survive. And so will the 2012 velodrome: a building which, whatever the fate of its troubled neighbours, will in time become a perfect, much loved monument to whatever achievements it may witness.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/feb/01/velodrome-london-2012

Ian Thorpe returns for London 2012 Olympics

Five-time Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe today announced he is to make a comeback at the London Games - inspired by the "extraordinary" Aquatics Centre.

The return of the "Thorpedo" sets up the "ultimate race" with his great American rival Michael Phelps, who has won 14 Olympic gold medals.

Australian Thorpe, 28, retired four years ago but said he was awestruck by a visit last year to the Aquatics Centre, where he felt he could actually taste his desire to compete again.

He said in Sydney: "I went to see the swimming venue for the London Olympics and it's an extraordinary venue. I could taste it, which is something I haven't felt for a very, very long time.

"This hasn't been something I've taken lightly but I actually made a decision in September when I was flying over the Atlantic. Then I went on to not being able to say anything because I was actually commentating for the BBC, so it was sitting in my gut for a while."

Since then he has been training in eight pools and only communicating with his coach by text to try to keep the comeback under wraps. His decision met a mixed reaction in Australia, where some criticised the announcement - made at a heavily stage-managed conference organised by budget airline Virgin Blue - as a "self-indulgent" PR stunt.

Thorpe, who has dabbled in TV presenting and fashion design during his lay-off, will be based in Abu Dhabi for his Olympic preparations to avoid the media spotlight at home. He has to wait nine months before he can return to international competition because of strict drug testing rules.

His return is a huge momentum boost to the 2012 Games build-up.

It raises the possible prospect of one of the all-time great Olympic showdowns, to rank alongside the epic 1980 Coe-Ovett track clashes in Moscow and the notorious 3,000 metre women's final at Los Angeles in 1984 when Zola Budd tripped her rival Mary Decker.

Today Phelps's coach Bob Bowman said: "I welcome Ian back to the sport. His presence will only increase the interest and enthusiasm for swimming and we look forward to seeing him back on deck soon. He is one of the true greats and it will be fun to have him back in the mix for London." Thorpe, also known as the Superfish, said he planned to target the 100 metre and 200 metre freestyle relays but did not rule out the 100 metre and 200 metre individual freestyle events.

He is most likely to meet Phelps, 25, his successor as the world's greatest swimmer, in the 200 metre freestyle, the event that saw their only head-to-head in a major competition. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Thorpe beat Phelps into third place in "the race of the century". He retired two years later.

The £268 million Aquatics Centre will house two 50-metre pools, a 25-metre diving pool and training facilities.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/article-23919559-ian-thorpe-bids-for-comeback-at-london-2012-olympics.do

Thorpe vs Phelps on the Aquatic Centre...nice!

Tbh, as great as an athlete Thorpe was, i dont really see him being up there for the gold in 2012. Medal contender? Maybe, but there are athletes that have been training for this as soon as they got off the plane departing from Beijing. And pictures have shown how unfit the swimmer has become.

Its like Michael Schumacher for example, his return to F1. Granted he didnt have a good car like his original Ferrari, but still, he didnt make an impact on the top drivers.

I do hope I am wrong in some respects because I want the games to be remembered for great moments, and electrifying races, but i dont think he will come close to the likes of people like Phelps :ohno:

He has to qualify first doesn't he? He wants to be at the Games but other people will want to get in the team ahead of him. Is it even certain, given how long he's been away, that he'll qualify, particularly for a team as strong as Australia's?

London 2012: Heineken to supply lager for Olympics

Spectators flocking to the Olympic Park in 2012 will drink Heineken as their lager after the company signed up as the latest sponsor of the London Games. Heineken UK will be the official lager supplier in a tier three deal, typically worth around £10m, that pushes London 2012 closer to its target of raising £2bn from sponsorship.

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3277/heineken1818285c1.jpg

Heineken and its portfolio of beer and cider brands, including Bulmers, Foster’s and Kronenbourg, will be offered at the sporting venues and within corporate hospitality. Paul Deighton, the London 2012 chief executive, said organisers would have a “very, very active anti-ambush” unit to protect sponsorship deals.

At the World Cup in South Africa, a group of women were thrown out of a stadium for attempting to promote a Dutch brewer.

He said: “If someone tries to ambush, I would see it as an attack on one of the most important events in this country in a decade. Any brand that behaves like that would probably receive quite a negative reaction. Any action we deem it necessary to take against anything explicit or aggressive would, as you would expect with us, be handled with enormous discretion."

Alexis Nasard, the chief commercial officer of Heineken, said “There are no bigger, global or more spectacular events than the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. We selected this opportunity as it fully reflects Heineken’s global brand position. It also provides a wonderful platform for the promotion of responsible drinking.

“Based on the experiences gained from being a long-term sponsor of premier sporting events such as the UEFA Champions League and the Rugby World Cup we will utilise London 2012 to celebrate with the world in a way that only Heineken can do.” The deal means Heineken is the 21st Tier Three sponsor, which gives the company advertising rights in London.

London 2012 organisers have also signed up their second Paralympic-only sponsor. Otto Bock will be the official prosthetic, orthotic and wheelchair technical services provider, offering repairs and advice at the Olympic venues. Meanwhile, the company behind the world's first indoor snow resort in Dubai has approached London Olympic organisers about turning the Broadcast Centre into a giant ski dome after the 2012 Games.

Acer Snowmec is one of a number of companies to have expressed an interest in the site, according to Estates Gazette, which local authorities had earmarked as a base for creative businesses. The Birmingham-based group has designed and operated indoor ski centres around the globe, including the 250,000 sq ft Ski Dubai centre and the Madrid Xanadu. Ski Dubai includes an 85m indoor mountain with five ski slopes.

A spokesman for the firm said: "We have made a bid to the OPLC for a winter sports anchored development on the media centre site and are waiting for the next stage of the official bidding process."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/london-olympics-business/8301986/London-2012-Heineken-to-supply-lager-for-Olympics.html#

^^ Nice haha, good for our economy :banana: ;)

He has to qualify first doesn't he? He wants to be at the Games but other people will want to get in the team ahead of him. Is it even certain, given how long he's been away, that he'll qualify, particularly for a team as strong as Australia's?

Yeah, he still has to earn qualification points for the Olympics, and progress through the Australian national trials. But he does have stiff competition with the likes of Eamon Sullivan in the 100m and Kenrick Monk and Thomas Holmes in the 200m

Plus all of the Austalian team have been preparing for these olympics since 2008, hes announced that his training will start in 2011

All be it he's a class swimmer, but no-one could come out of 5 years retirement and expect to win a gold medal, not in these times

Trade event 'should exploit 2012'

A major trade event should be held close to or during the London 2012 Games to exploit the commercial interest the event will attract, the Foreign Affairs Committee suggested. Committee chairman Richard Ottaway said: "London 2012 will be a once-in-a-lifetime event, when the eyes of the world will be on the UK and unprecedented numbers of VIP guests will be arriving on these shores."

"A simultaneous trade event, held at a suitable and accessible venue, would secure the maximum commercial benefit to the national economy." The Games are a chance to use the "soft power" of the Games to open doors with key individuals and groups that can help British interests, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) believes.

The MPs suggest the Government should give "urgent consideration" to hosting a trade event as the Games will offer an "unparalleled opportunity" to promote UK business, trade and inward investment. This is something the FCO wants to seize upon but "it is important that the action matches the rhetoric", the MPs noted.

In its report on how the FCO can capitalise on the Games in its public diplomacy work, the committee also concludes: "The FCO's budget cannot remain unscathed at a time of economic stringency and public spending cuts. "Nonetheless, it is important that the Department's public diplomacy work in connection with the Olympics should be regarded, during the crucial 18 months leading up to the Games, as being a priority area."

"The committee is worried that cuts may result in the FCO's work related to the Olympics becoming a matter solely of individual initiatives by embassies and High Commissions, without adequate central co-ordination." The plus points of hosting the Games also come with potential risks to Britain's international reputation.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5go3buPzPjXVLTLXdbTX0IGb5VIBw?docId=B32884091297021948A0000

So whats happening with the aquatics center, are those supports on the sides or stands for spectators, because if its the latter then there was no point in building such a beautiful (and expensive) venue as you cant see it!

They're for spectators, but they're only temporary. After the Olympics, I'm pretty sure they're going to be removed. :)

Looks like the Stadium will be West Ham's home after the games

West Ham beat Tottenham to win Olympic stadium backing
By Adrian Warner
Olympics correspondent, BBC London

West Ham have won the backing of Olympic bosses in the battle for the 2012 stadium, BBC London has learned.

Olympic Park Legacy Company executives have decided the offer from the club - which would retain the athletics track - is better than Tottenham's rival bid.

The OPLC board will be asked to support the view and announce the Hammers as preferred bidder on Friday.

The government and London's mayor will take a final decision but are expected to back the OPLC's recommendation.

An OPLC spokesman said: "It is pure speculation to say that a decision has been made.

"Our board meets on Friday. There will be presentations by OPLC officers of both bids and a vote to recommend a preferred bidder."

It would be a surprise if ministers and the mayor, Boris Johnson, overturn the recommendation of OPLC executives, who have spent the last few months discussing the various plans with both clubs in detail, when they reveal their decision in the coming weeks.

West Ham are happy for the athletics track to be kept in the stadium and for the venue to be used for a variety of sports and concerts.

Tottenham's plans were to dismantle the stadium in Stratford and build a new football ground in its place.

The Spurs proposal has faced huge criticism from the athletics world, MPs and the public.

A recent BBC London poll suggested 81% of Londoners were against the proposals to rip up the athletics track.

The ComRes phone poll, carried out between 21 and 23 January, also suggested 72% of people in London wanted West Ham to get the stadium, with only 13% supporting Tottenham.

Ministers and the mayor are understood to be well aware that the Tottenham option would have been a "hard sell" to taxpayers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12412739

Palace finish for Olympic road race

Cyclists are to sprint down The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace in the climax to the London 2012 cycle road race, it has been announced. Hopes will be high for homegrown success in the opening weekend of the 2012 Olympics with sprint king Mark Cavendish plus Olympic champion Nicole Cooke and Beijing women's time-trial silver medalist Emma Pooley likely to be among the pack.

The men's Olympic race, featuring 145 of the world's top riders, is on the first full day of sport while the 67-strong women's race starts the following day. The race will begin and finish in The Mall in central London cutting through Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham to cross the River Thames at Putney Bridge.

Richmond is set to be the heart of the race. Riders will speed through Richmond Park, back across the Thames at Richmond Bridge before passing through Bushy Park, Hampton Court Palace and into Surrey. From Richmond the athletes head off on a large loop through Surrey taking in Walton on Thames, Weybridge, West Byfleet, West Horsley and Dorking.

This is where a "challenging" 15.5km circuit around Box Hill, including the National Trust's Zig Zag Hill, kicks in, according to London 2012. This loop is repeated several times to help make up the approximately 240km distance for men's race and the 130km course for the women's competition.

The pack then heads back to London through Leatherhead, Esher, Hampton Court, Kingston and Richmond Park before using the same route back to The Mall. Cavendish, who won his 15th Tour de France stage last year, is already looking forward to his Olympic challenge.

"Competing in a home Olympic Games is a once in a lifetime opportunity," he said. "To compete in the road race on the opening day of the London 2012 Games in front of home fans is going to be amazing. I look forward to checking out the course in detail and to experiencing the well known cycling terrain in Surrey through to the finish on The Mall."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hFVWG90mCNhYo8vc7KqSkyahxiIg?docId=B22488621297332571A00

London 2012 Olympics: venue guide


1) Venue: Aquatics Centre
Location: South-east Corner of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Diving, Swimming, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo, Paralympic Swimming, Modern Pentathlon.
Capacity: 17,500 for Diving and Swimming events and 5,000 for Water Polo.
About: New venue for the Games, with a stunning wave-like roof 160m long and 80m wide.
Fact: The roof of the centre will have a longer single span than Heathrow Terminal 5
Post Games: It will be transformed into a facility for locals as well as elite swimmers. Two of the wings will be removed leaving a maximum capacity of 3,500.

2) Venue: Basketball Arena
Location: North of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Basketball, Handball, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby.
Capacity: 12,000 during the Olympic games; 10,000 during the Paralympic Games.
About: New venue for the Games, however it is only temporary and will be one of the largest ever temporary venues built for any Olympics.
Fact: To accommodate the size of the athletes, all doors in the venue are required to be at least 2.4 metres high.
Post Games: It will be dismantled after the Games.

3) Venue: Earls Court
Location: West London, near the Natural History and Science Museums
Hosting: Indoor Volleyball
Capacity: 15,000
About: Existing venue which during the year hosts hundreds of events as well as music concerts.
Fact: Britain’s first supermarket opened in Earls Court in 1951.
Post Games: After the Games, Earls Court will go back to being an exhibition centre and music arena.

4) Venue: Eton Dorney
Location: Near Windsor Castle, 25 miles west of London
Hosting: Rowing, Canoe Sprint, Paralympic Rowing.
Capacity: Up to 30,000
About: Existing venue which hosts all types of races, including internationals, and is in the process of being enhanced. The lake came about as an idea by Eton College teachers in the 60s, who wanted a still-water course rather than the choppy waters of the Thames.
Fact: To minimise disruption to the local community extracted construction material was removed on a special conveyor belt to a point two miles away for collection by lorry there.
Post Games: The venue will continue to be a world class training and competition facility.

5) Venue: Eton Manor
Location: In the north of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Wheelchair Tennis
Capacity: 10,500
About: New facilities are being built here on the site of the old Eton Manor Sports Club which has been disused since 2001. During the Games, Eton Manor will have temporary pools for swimmers in aquatics events, and will then host the Wheelchair Tennis during the Paralympics.
Fact: There are more than 120 tournaments on the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour worldwide.
Post Games: Eton Manor will be transformed into a unique mix of sporting facilities for local communities, which will include 10 tennis courts (four indoor, six outdoor), two hockey pitches and five-a-side football pitches.

6) Venue: ExCeL
Location: Near London City Airport in East London.
Hosting: Boxing, Fencing, Judo, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Weightlifting, Wrestling, Boccia, Paralympic Table Tennis, Paralympic Judo, Paralympic Powerlifting, Sitting Volleyball, Wheelchair Fencing.
Capacity: ExCeL will be divided into 4 sports halls with capacities ranging from 6,000 to 10,000.
About: It is an existing venue which is an exhibitions and conference centre and rivals Earls Court for being the best exhibition centre in London. No work will need to be done to the centre.
Fact: Since 2000, ExCeL has welcomed over 5 million visitors from over 200 different countries.
Post Games: The venue will revert to being one of Europe’s largest exhibition spaces.

7) Venue: Greenwich Park
Location: In south-east London on the south bank of the river Thames.
Hosting: Equestrian- Jumping, Dressage, Eventing and Paralympic Equestrian. Also Modern Pentathlon.
Capacity: 23,000.
About: Existing venue, which is an enclosed royal park, with the Old Royal Naval College and the National Maritime Museum also within its grounds.
Fact: Henry VIII introduced deer to Greenwich Park in the 16th Century for him to be able to hunt them. He did not catch them all however, and some still remain in the park today.
Post Games: The temporary structures will be taken down and the park will return to the way it was.

8) Venue: Hadleigh Farm
Location: East of London in Essex
Hosting: Mountain Bike
Capacity: 3,000, not including standing around the course
About: It is a new, 550 acre venue, which is the alternative site to the original Weald County Park which was deemed not challenging enough.
Fact: Hadleigh Farm is owned by the Salvation Army
Post Games: The temporary structures will be taken down.

9) Venue: Handball Arena
Location: In the west of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Handball, Goalball, Modern Pentathlon.
Capacity: 7,000
About: New, permanent venue which will host the handball games up to the quarter-final, but the semis and the finals will be played in the larger Basketball Arena.
Fact: Rainwater collected from the venue’s roof will be used to flush lavatories and reduce water usage by 40%.
Post Games: It will be adapted to become a multi-use sports centre for the community to use, as well a training centre for athletes and a venue for small to medium sized competitions.

10) Venue: Hockey Centre
Location: Olympic Park
Hosting: Hockey, Paralympic 5-a-side Football, Paralympic 7-a-side Football.
Capacity: 15,000
About: New venue, composed of two pitches, the main pitch with a capacity of 15,000 and the second pitch with a capacity of 5,000.
Fact: The first Olympic Hockey final was played in 1908 in London, where England defeated Ireland 8-1.
Post Games: The hockey pitches will relocate to the north of the Olympic Park, joining a collection of facilities in a place known as Eton Manor.

11) Venue: Horse Guards Parade
Location: In Whitehall, in the heart of London next to Downing Street and Buckingham Palace
Hosting: Beach Volleyball
Capacity: 15,000
About: The venue will be new, however the Parade has a long history, hosting the Queen’s official birthday celebration each year with the Trooping of the Colour.
Fact: At the 1996 Olympics, The USA men's side were so good that they had two teams playing each other in the final.
Post Games: The temporary facility will be taken down.

12) Venue: Hyde Park
Location: In the West End of London
Hosting: Triathlon, 10k Open Water Swim.
Capacity: 3,000
About: Hyde Park is the largest of London’s Royal Parks and has been open to the public since 1637. The seating will be a new but temporary addition to the park.
Fact: Queen played a concert here in 1976 with an estimated audience of between 150-200,000 people turning up.
Post Games: The course and the grandstand will be removed.

13) Venue: Lee Valley White Water Centre
Location: 30km north of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Canoe Slalom
Capacity: Up to 12,000
About: The centre will be a new, permanent venue which is made up of two courses, one for training, one for competition.
Fact: 15 cubic metres of water per second will flow into the 300m competition course – enough to fill a 50m swimming pool every minute.
Post Games: The venue will remain a Canoe centre open to the public as well as elite athletes, but the temporary seats will all be removed.

14) Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground
Location: North-west London near Regent’s Park
Hosting: Archery
Capacity: 6,500
About: Lord’s is an existing venue and in sporting terms, is the ‘home of cricket’ and has been since 1814, hosting international matches on a regular basis.
Fact: The ground slopes 8ft 8in from one square boundary to the other.
Post Games: The ground will go back to being home for the Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex County Cricket Club. Archery equipment from the Games will be given to schools across the country.

15) Venue: North Greenwich Arena
Location: Right at the point of the Greenwich peninsular in East London near Canary Wharf
Hosting: Artistic Gymnastics, Trampoline, Basketball, Wheelchair Basketball
Capacity: 20,000
About: The Arena (also known as the O2 Arena), is an existing venue which currently hosts hundreds of concerts a year as well as sporting events such as tennis. It is widely regarded as one of the best venues in the world, attracting the biggest names in entertainment.
Fact: If the Eiffel Tower was laid on its side, it would still fit inside the arena.
Post Games: It will remain an entertainments venue, attracting people from all over the world.

16) Venue: Olympic Stadium
Location: In the south of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Athletics, Paralympic Athletics
Capacity: 80,000
About: The Stadium is being built from scratch and aims to be constructed by next year. 55,000 of the 80,000 capacity is removable, which apparently has never been attempted before.
Fact: 10,000 tonnes of steel are being used to build the venue, compared to the 42,000 used by Beijing for their ‘Bird’s Nest’.
Post Games: Negotiations are still ongoing as to what exactly will happen to the Stadium, with various sporting clubs in London all expressing interest in using or leasing it.

17) Venue: Olympic Village
Location: In the Olympic Park
Hosting: All athletes and officials.
Capacity: 17,000
About: As well as residential apartments, the village will comprise of shops, restaurants, medical, media and leisure facilities. There will also be a ‘Plaza’, where athletes can meet up with friends and families.
Fact: The plan of the village has been based around London’s tradition of building homes around communal squares and courtyards.
Post Games: The village will become housing for new residents in east London, transforming into 2800 homes.

18) Venue: Regent’s Park
Location: In the north-western part of central London partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden.
Hosting: Road Cycling
Capacity: 3,000
About: Another Royal Park, open to the public since 1845. The park is home to London Zoo as well as the Open Air Theatre. It will provide the location for the finish of the Road event in front of a temporary stand of 3,000 spectators
Fact: Britain’s first ever Gold in road cycling came in Beijing 2008, when Nicole Cooke won the Women’s Road Race
Post Games: All temporary structures will be taken down, and the park will go back to its original state.

19) Venue: The Royal Artillery Barracks
Location: On the edge of Woolwich Common in south-east London.
Hosting: Shooting, Paralympic Shooting, Paralympic Archery
Capacity: 7,500
About: The artillery barracks were constructed in the 18th century and it only seems fitting that the shooting events take place here. Four temporary indoor ranges will be built for Pistol and Rifle shooting, with outdoor ranges for Trap and Skeet events.
Fact: Hungarian shooter Karoly Takac, taught himself to shoot left-handed after a grenade blew off his right arm in 1938. 10 years later, he won two gold medals at the London 1948 Games.
Post Games: There is still uncertainty as to where elements of the venue and sports equipment could be reused after the Games.

20) Venue: Velo Park
Location: In the North of the Olympic Park
Hosting: Track Cycling, BMX, Paralympic Track Cycling.
Capacity: 6000 in the Velodrome (permanent), 6000 at the BMX track (temporary)
About: Totally new venue with the velodrome having two tiers, with a glass window in between the tiers for a 360-degree view of the Olympic Park.
Fact: Sir Chris Hoy was involved in the design process of the Velodrome.
Post Games: The BMX seating will be removed and the track reconfigured. A new mountain bike course and road cycle circuit will be added to create one venue which will encompass all disciplines of the sport.

21) Venue: Wembley Arena
Location: Northwest London, 6 miles from the city centre.
Hosting: Badminton, Rhythmic Gymnastics
Capacity: 6,000
About: Wembley Arena is one of the most famous concert venues in the world and has been host to many of the biggest names in the music industry. It has also hosted sporting events such as boxing, ice hockey and darts, so very little preparation needs to be done for it to be ready.
Fact: Wembley Stadium was the primary venue the last time the Games were held in London, in 1948. Was built for the equivalent of the Commonwealth Games (The Empire Games) in 1934 by Sir Arthur Elvin, and originally was intended to be a swimming pool.
Post Games: It will return to being a world-class concert venue.

22) Venue: Weymouth and Portland
Location: In Dorset on England’s South Coast
Hosting: Sailing, Paralympic Sailing.
Capacity: No seating at venue
About: Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour provide some of the best natural sailing waters anywhere in the UK, along with facilities to match on land. It has already hosted the World Youth Championships which was attended by over 60 nations.
Fact: Great Britain has been the most successful sailing nation at the last three Olympics.
Post Games: The venue will be used predominantly by the National Sailing Academy after the Games, who will no doubt benefit from the improved facilities. Local community use will also be allowed.

23) Venue: All England Lawn Tennis Club
Location: Wimbledon, London
Hosting: Tennis
Capacity: 30,000
About: Wimbledon is the home of the All England Tennis and Croquet Club and is the setting for arguably the best tennis tournament in the world which takes place every summer. It is famous for being the only major grass-court venue in the world.
Fact: ‘Love’ – the term for ‘no points’ in tennis – is thought to come from the French word ‘l’oeuf’, meaning ‘egg’ – the shape of a zero.
Post Games: Wimbledon will go back to being host of the major tennis tournament.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/7908313/London-2012-Olympics-venue-guide.html

We only meet fortnightly but i now dontthink they are coming back and i have paid two lots of money for them. do you think Girlguiding will give it back to me as we are a small unit and are tight on funds.

How London's Olympic Stadium looks


See Video>


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12461687

The color is great but I don't agree with the design.

I'm glad to see that London is taking these games seriously, and really looking forward to them.

So far, the architecture seems bad. The landscaping, the actual games and the ceromonies have to be good or else this will be a terrible olympics. What happened to that wrap around the olympic stadium? Is it just not there yet or are they not doing it.

A terrible Olympics? Unless you watch the Olympics for architecture rather than for sport, that's a completely ridiculous thing to say.

Besides which, the architecture is anything but bad and few hosts in the past or future will match what London is offering.

I'll refer you to a post I made a while ago to prove my point:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=70065875&postcount=326

And if that isn't enough architecture for you zapor:

Two bits of cauldron news:

Thomas Heatherwick (http://www.heatherwick.com/), creator of the UK Pavillion at The Shanghai Expo is to design the Olympic Cauldron.

http://www.paralympic.org/Media_Centre/News/General_News/2011_02_18_a.html

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Also, news that the Olympic torch will be carried on a floating stage along the Thames from Hampton Court to Stratford on the day of the opening ceremony

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-olympics/article-23924582-olympic-torch-will-travel-down-thames-on-floating-stage-to-grand-opening.do

Gensler draws up ski slope for Olympic media site

Gensler has drawn up plans for a radical indoor snow resort which could be built on the site of the Olympic media centre in Stratford. The 28,500sq m snow sports and leisure complex - called Snow in the City - is being built by artificial ski slope creator Acer Snowmec.

The company, which is behind a giant indoor ski slope at a Dubai shopping mall, said it had submitted an expression of interest to the Olympic Park Legacy Company for the scheme.

Plans include provision for downhill skiing, cross country skiing, bobsleigh, ice skating and curling. The scheme will also include a sports academy, office and media centre. The design has been conceived to minimise the shadowing effect of the 89m-high structure by creating an open undercroft area so that natural light can pierce the building.

The media centre was intended to be transformed into a new home for hi-tech businesses, but no major broadcaster or media group has yet been signed up to be an anchor tenant.

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/pictures/800x400fitpad%5B238%5D/4/2/2/1686422_Street_01.jpg

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http://www.bdonline.co.uk/pictures/800x400fitpad%5B238%5D/4/2/4/1686424_Aerial_02.jpg

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/gensler-draws-up-ski-slope-for-olympic-media-site/5013415.article

New Velodrome Pics:

http://www.building.co.uk/Pictures/web/w/d/k/2_RD.jpg

http://www.building.co.uk/Pictures/web/z/g/a/CIMG1492a.jpg

http://www.building.co.uk/pictures/741x405/4/5/0/1686450_3_RD.jpg

http://www.building.co.uk/pictures/800x400fitpad%5B150%5D/4/5/7/1686457_11_.jpg

http://www.building.co.uk/buildings/case-studies/high-velocity-the-olympic-velodrome/5013390.article

You just know this Olympics is going to be amazing yet people who have disagreed throughout will keep their stance so they aren't proved wrong. The facilities are perfect. the concept is perfect. the way it's laid out is perfect and with the UK's general media and sporting know it will be head and shoulders above every one. Only New York could replicate this type of Olympics.

Just look at it's setting! all clustered. Terrific.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5173/5448408580_71e4a32f04_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5214/5448405732_f5b2012920_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5132/5430873939_0e7e0dafd6_b.jpg

The Velodrome is really the gem of this Olympic Park, together with the Aquatics Centre.

As soon as the grass and track are in the stadium, opinions will change - Joe Public's excitement levels will rise greatly as they realise just how close the games are!

Olympic torch will travel down Thames on floating stage to grand opening

The Olympic torch will be carried on a floating stage along the Thames from Hampton Court to Stratford on the day of the opening ceremony, the Standard has learned.

Plans for a spectacular finale to the torch relay are being developed by 2012 creative supremos Stephen Daldry and Danny Boyle. The themed barge is inspired by the floating stages in annual open-air festivals at the Austrian city of Bregenz on Lake Constance. These have in recent years included water-borne adaptations of West Side Story and Il Trovatore.

The floating stage will depart from Hampton Court on the morning of July 27, then dock near the Olympic Park. The ceremonial cauldron will be lit in the stadium at 8.12pm. The Thames route was chosen as an ideal showcase for landmarks and also to keep the traffic convoy off the roads. The torch relay arrives in London a week before the Games after a nationwide journey that begins on May 18.

First details of the route will be revealed soon when Games organisers Locog name 69 evening celebration sites. Towns linking these will be identified later in the year but the street-by-street route will be kept secret until the last-minute, partly to minimise the risk of disruption by protesters.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-olympics/article-23924582-olympic-torch-will-travel-down-thames-on-floating-stage-to-grand-opening.do

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5132/5430873939_0e7e0dafd6_b.jpg

Excellent photos, coming along quite nicely :cheers:

Question: Why did they go for different shaped lights in the end? Ive only just noticed they are different from the renders on the Olympic website :lol:

Question: Why did they go for different shaped lights in the end? Ive only just noticed they are different from the renders on the Olympic website :lol:

The increase in HD technology since the stadium design was unveiled meant a redesign of the lighting rigs - they now sit higher and in a different configuration to get even more light onto the track to basically 'over saturate' everything for the cameras.

As soon as the grass and track are in the stadium, opinions will change - Joe Public's excitement levels will rise greatly as they realise just how close the games are!

I really hope your right, i just hope that the daily mail stop to think before they spread their lies and ruin these games for many people. Loving that shot of the olympic stadium above, i genuinely think that those spiked lighting towers are going to become iconic when its image is broadcasted across the world come next summer.

The Daily Mail has a reputation for that - it riles the public up if it disagrees with anything the government say or do. In the Olympics case, it was the overspending in the Games when we had labour, and now it's the cut backs on the Olympic budget with the Lib-Con coalition - the politicians can't win! :lol:

Also the Daily Mail will probably moan about the huge influx of foreign visitors coming to Britain in 2012!!

The parkland is beginning to come together:

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/5854/olympic415.jpg

http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/pix/2011/02/OlympicVillage415.jpg

Olympic velodrome opens tomorrow

The London 2012 Olympic Games velodrome will officially launch tomorrow (Tuesday, February 22), with an opening ceremony featuring several of Britain's track stars, fresh from appearing at the Track World Cup in Manchester at the weekend.

The distinctive 'Pringle' velodrome in the Olympic velopark is the first venue for the Games to be completed, and the structure has been widely applauded for its architecture and for the fact that - rarely for a national sporting venue - it has been completed on time and without construction problems.
British track stars Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Becky James will all be there, alongside chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee Seb Coe, UCI preisdent Pat McQuaid, British Cycling president Brian Cookson and a mass of press eager to start the 2012 build-up in earnest.

Hugh Pearman, architecture critic for the Sunday Times called the velodrome "one hell of a good building" in an extensive article in Sunday's edition of the paper that heaped praise on the structure. "One thing is clear," said Pearman, "of the permanent sporting venues the best is the velodrome... it is such a refreshingly good building."

The velodrome's shape looks like a giant Pringle crisp, and mimics the lines of the cycling track contained within it. Architect for the project was Mike Taylor of Hopkins Architects, and the Siberian pine track was designed by Ron Webb, also responsible for the Manchester and Newport velodromes. Inside, the velodrome is naturally lit with a roof free from girders and supports providing a wide, uncluttered arena. A total of 16 kilometres of steel cable keep the roof securely in place.

Triple 2008 Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy had a say in its design, and there are numerous touches that only someone who truly understands track racing will have incorporated. For instance, there's a dual heating system so that the track area is warmer than the ventilated 6,000 seat spectator area. Perfect for setting world-record-setting times whilst keeping the fans cool.

Cycling Weekly will be at the London 2012 velodrome opening and will be bringing you photos and a report from the venue.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/516929/olympic-velodrome-opens-tomorrow.html

Here are the links to a Video from bbc:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/london_2012/9403566.stm

and here are some beautiful pictures of the inside and outside:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12301465

I love the curves of the roof in the 5th picture and the way it looks almost like it is floating above its concrete base, enjoy people! :cheers:

A big post coming up but full of new aerial photos released today by London 2012:

from the London 2012 website (thanks to DarJoLe for downloading and putting onto Flickr)

STADIUM

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5299/5467576969_aca05b56e8_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5058/5468173458_010f3a0c3c_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5214/5468173376_080dcd764d_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5018/5467576575_c89b945621_b.jpg

PARKLANDS

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5251/5468174258_194b3dbc89_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5058/5467577321_d58120373d_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5098/5468174808_c05025547e_b.jpg

VELODROME

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5139/5467577227_180fe41739_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5175/5468174142_52d7b97799_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5259/5468174496_3084641b2d_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5300/5467578637_bbda43768c_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5131/5468174358_0bcec5b1b9_b.jpg

OLYMPIC VILLAGE

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5052/5467575877_1452a81de3_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5019/5468172656_26abe491b1_b.jpg

AQUATICS CENTRE

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5292/5468174968_e636906570_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5057/5467576423_e0743783ab_b.jpg

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http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5098/5468172856_5540f99d0d_b.jpg


BASKETBALL ARENA

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5091/5467578733_d5ca4c3a22_b.jpg

PARK

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5097/5468174046_d8e569db65_b.jpg

Now just imagine that scene above in the last photo in a few years when all the trees are green,grown and bushy and hopefully in the bottom where the big warehouse that is the IBC instead there may be an indoor ski slope, just imagine the variety of sports on offer :)

On a hot summer British day after watching some of the Olympic football in the pub having a pint then making your way across to the Olympic village for the Swimming finals or something similar will be an experience like no other. I just know this is going to blow all other olympics out the water. What could be better?

Let's hope so; long way to go before we can say that though.

Populous: Olympic Beach Volleyball Venue
http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/15886_1_POPULOUS_Horse_Guards_Parade_2012_Olympic_Beach_Volleyball_Venue.jpg

Populous: Lords
http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/15886_2_Populous_2012Lords%5B1%5D.jpg

Populous: Greenwich
http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/15886_3_Populous_2012Greenwich%5B1%5D.jpg

Populous: Lee Valley White Water Centre
http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/15886_4_Populous_2012Broxbourne.jpg
http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=15904

ODA: Velodrome
http://i56.tinypic.com/2jfzvio.jpg
> Higher res (http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/15886_5_110208_ODA_MDA_AC_046_HI.JPG)

http://i56.tinypic.com/2zpjhqg.jpg
> Higher res (http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/15886_6_110208_ODA_MDA_AC_062_HI.JPG) - http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=15904

Coool one so much i like it....:)

-7nRcaUwq68

http://www.building.co.uk/Pictures/web/l/u/n/stratford_city_cad3_sep07.jpg

^^ What about this tower?

2012 story continues......

LUpXSfrL9X8

Olympic BMX track construction begins

Construction on the BMX track for the London 2012 Olympic Games is now underway, according to the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA). The 400-meter track is located next to the Velodrome in the North of Olympic Park and will have 6,000 temporary seats to host the Olympic BMX race in 2012.

The track is a key part of the legacy VeloPark, where the Velodrome and BMX track will be joined by a road cycle circuit and mountain bike course to eventually become one Olympic cycling hub.

"The start of work on the BMX Track is the next piece in the jigsaw of delivering a world-class cycling legacy from the Games. The BMX Track will be a first-class venue for the world's best riders in 2012 and after the Games, the reconfigured course will be a great facility for people of all ages and abilities to try out this exciting and growing sport," said ODA Chairman John Armitt.

The first stage of construction involves the load-in of 14,000 cubic meters of soil, enough to fill three Olympic size swimming pools. The soil will be used to create a series of levels up to 4 meters high upon which the final track surface will be formed by a yet unnamed BMX track designer. Construction of the BMX track is due for completion in summer 2011, with the track to be used for a test event in August.

BMX is the newest Olympic Cycling discipline, introduced at the beijing 2008 Games. At the London 2012 Games, 48 professional BMX racers will compete for men and women's gold medals. The BMX competition will take place over three days at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Following the completion of the Games, the BMX track will be reconfigured to make it suitable for BMX racers of all ages and abilities.

http://sports.espn.go.com/action/bmx/news/story?id=6173954

is the exterior of the olympic stadium done yet? If it is, thats really depressing. And the aquatics centre, what happened to that part of it that actually made it look good?

The Aquatics centre has two temporary "wings" for extra seating during Games time.

As for the stadium, we simply don't know yet; the wrap is up for tender, and I expect we'll hear an announcement in the next couple of months as to how that'll be finished off.

First London 2012 Olympic rings unveiled

A giant set of Olympic rings has been revealed at St Pancras International station in central London.

The set of rings was unveiled by London Mayor Boris Johnson and London 2012 Chair Sebastian Coe.

Video http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12635821

The rings are really shining, the perfect match for such a modern station.

WQcisrt0_qo

£10,000 a week to rent a London home for the Olympics

Homeowners in south-east London are demanding up to £10,000 a week in rent for their houses during next summer's Olympics. The rents being asked -four times higher than normal - are the first signs of the expected accommodation gold rush near the main Games venues.

The most expensive "Olympics-only" property offered for rent so far is a five-bedroom house in Blackheath billed as "perfect" for corporate hospitality and "a minute away" from the entrance to Greenwich Park, where the equestrian events are taking place. The owners want £10,850 a week, the sort of rate usually associated only with property in Chelsea or Kensington.

At the other end of the scale, the owner of a one-bedroom flat in Greenwich is asking for £1,692 a week, considerably more than it could usually command in a month. Average rents in Greenwich are £1,229 a month.

At estate agent River Habitat, which has about 60 "Olympic landlords" on its books, finance director Julian Jarvis said enquiries from potential tenants have doubled over the past month. "A few travel agents representing particular clients are now looking seriously. One represents the Olympic committee of a certain country. Swiss authorities say they need at least 60 rooms. And the representative of a big media organisation is looking primarily in Limehouse and Wapping."

Most owners are looking for tenants for at least a month, meaning some could earn close to £50,000. Blackheath is proving particularly popular. "If you are coming from somewhere like Austria you are used to open spaces so somewhere like Blackheath is appealing," said Mr Jarvis.

Nigel Lewis, property analyst at the FindaProperty website, said:"We've talked about the Olympics effect for a long time in the property world but we're finally seeing hard evidence.

"Rental prices in Barcelona and Sydney spiked when those cities hosted the Games, and Wimbledon sees rent hikes of around 400 to 500 per cent during the tennis championship." Although most evident in the east of the capital, the Olympics effect is starting to be felt more widely. Finance worker Edith Turay, 32, said she planned to double the rent for a room in her house in Hayes, 15 minutes from Heathrow, to £200 a week.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23928746-pound-10000-a-week-to-rent-a-home-for-the-olympics.do

i think in general prizes will be gigantic...
crazy amounts..
especially for atheltics finals/swim finals I think the ticket prize will be incredible..

With video.

Olympics tickets go on sale in a week

The London Olympics opens in 508 days from now and it is only a week until those coveted Olympics tickets go on sale.

To make sure the whole of the UK feels involved and not just London, the chairman of the organising body Lord Coe has been flying the 2012 flag in Glasgow and Belfast.

The BBC's sports editor David Bond travelled with him.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12671311

SU-M8AoNzYU

2012 venues access website launched

A website to help sports fans find out about how accessible facilities are at the London 2012 venues and tourist hotspots has been launched. The InclusiveLondon.com website has been built to help people find out about the accessibility features of a range of places including the 2012 Games venues, hotels, restaurants, pubs, shops, museums and tourist attractions.

Reviews and feedback can be posted on the site which currently has details of 7,700 London locations. The site, which stays online after the 2012 Games, can filter searches by queries such as whether there is wheelchair or pushchair access, if assistance dogs are welcome or whether there are hearing loops.

It has been developed by a special London 2012 team working with Direct Enquiries, founders of the Nationwide Access Register. Chris Holmes, London 2012's director of Paralympic Integration and a nine-times Paralympic swimming champion, said: "InclusiveLondon.com is a fantastic tool that will help us to deliver the most accessible and inclusive Games ever.

"The site is an invaluable resource for anyone with additional access needs, whether you're a sports fan planning a trip to the city or simply someone who wants to soak up the party atmosphere during the Games." Deputy London mayor Richard Barnes said: "This is a first for a host city and I am confident that as users add information to the site it will become a valuable one stop shop to help visitors with specific access needs to get around the capital and make the most of their stay."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jydxE2KAInjazhuLosxPl568TmXQ?docId=B3128481299853645A00

Great! Very Impressive :rock: http://freeimagestock4you.com/img/o/Bi.png

Thank you For Sharing http://freeimagestock4you.com/img/C/Bi.png

Boris Johnson invites bids for first Olympic Park neighbourhood

Boris Johnson today asked construction firms to bid to build the first Olympic Park neighbourhood. Speaking at an international property fair in Cannes, the Mayor said it was the "first major opportunity for developers to create one of several new neighbourhoods in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park".

From next month, they can bid to build up to 800 homes on a site between the VeloPark and the Olympic Village in the north-east of the park.
The development will be a mixture of flats, mews and town houses with 60 per cent being family homes.

The neighbourhood, which will be developed from 2013, will be at the centre of new facilities including a polyclinic, two nurseries and community centre. The homes will be served by Chobham Academy School, which will open as part of the 2,800 unit development in the neighbouring Olympic Village. It will be the first of five neighbourhoods to be created in the future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park over the next 20 years, accommodating up to 8,000 new homes with up to 35 per cent being affordable housing.

Margaret Ford, chairwoman of the Olympic Park Legacy Company, said: "This is the most exciting neighbourhood development opportunity in the UK. We will be looking for an exceptional developer who shares our vision to bring together the best traditions of London's architecture and design to create a real family environment."

Mr Johnson said: "Our spectacular Olympic Park with its world-class venues is already changing the landscape of east London and delivering a legacy. This milestone signals the dawn of creating a district where communities will be created around excellent facilities."

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23930222-boris-johnson-invites-bids-for-first-olympic-park-neighbourhood.do

Starting gun fired in race for Olympics tickets

Olympics chiefs said today they will make history by selling out 2012 tickets when they go on sale next week. Britain's biggest sporting ticket sale begins on Tuesday afternoon with almost seven million available for next year's Games.

Millions of people are expected to inundate the official website.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "In just over 500 days London and the UK will become the stage for this wonderful festival of sport and from next week everyone has the chance to be part of it. Sign up for the greatest tickets to the greatest show on the planet." Games chiefs will embark on one of the most complex retail exercises ever as they sell tickets for 640 sessions across 26 sports.

They predict they will make Olympic history by selling all the tickets, which have a combined value of £500 million. Paul Deighton, chief executive of organiser Locog, said all could be gone by July 27, when the Games begin. This would be a record for a one-off sports event. But amid concerns of a website crash customers were urged not to panic because they have six weeks to submit their applications and would gain no advantage from applying on the first day.

There are fears of a repeat of the chaos this year when 20 million Take That fans crashed websites and swamped the BT network as a million tickets were sold for the band's tour in 24 hours. Games chief Sebastian Coe added: "With 42 days to apply for Olympic tickets, there's no need to rush, and it's not first come first served. There is a huge choice of tickets to the greatest show on earth."

Mr Deighton told would-be spectators: "The track cycling is going to be in tight demand. Also the Olympic Park venues will be in high demand because we think people will want to come to the park." By all means apply for these events, he said, but hedge your bets with volleyball, handball and football - and experiment. "Big team sports have a lot of sessions in reasonably-sized venues and you would assume they are likely to have more tickets left over," he added.

A London 2012 milestone will also be marked on the day the sale begins. A seven-metre tall clock in the shape of the Olympic logo will be unveiled in Trafalgar Square to begin the 500-day countdown to the opening ceremony. Prices range from £20 to £2,102 for the ceremony. The premium charge for the best seats is a strategy by Games chiefs to make as many cheaper seats as possible available.

Q&A


What is the process for applying?

Tickets go on sale next Tuesday on the official website for six weeks until April 6. It is not first come first served. There will be 6.6 million tickets on sale to the public. Prices are listed at london2012.com and range for sports from £20 to £725 and ceremonies from £20.12 to £2,012.

How are tickets allocated?

You can apply across all 26 sports but will have to pay if granted everything. Fans applying for an oversubscribed event will enter an automated ballot.

How do I make sure of a ticket?

Apply for the heats of popular events such as athletics, track cycling or swimming as they will be oversubscribed in the latter stages of competition. Football is a good bet as there are one million tickets available.

Is there a limit on what I can apply for?

Yes. The cap is set according to anticipated demand for each session. So you can buy a maximum four per household for a night at the athletics, but up to 30 for a qualifier session (of two matches) in the football.

How do I pay?

Visa card, cheque, cash or postal order. You can also fill out applications at Lloyds TSB branches.

What happens after the end of the ticket sales phase?

For oversubscribed events there will be an automated ballot. But all applicants will be informed by late June about their allocation and payments taken then.

Is there a second chance?

You may be offered slightly cheaper or more expensive tickets if your preferred price is sold out. Unsold tickets will be available last-minute at box offices at the venues but there may only be a tiny number left. Official advice is not to delay until next year.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-olympics/article-23931125-starting-gun-fired-in-race-for-olympics-tickets.do

The London 2012 Countdown clock has been unveiled in Trafalgar square tonight with 500 days to go until the Opening ceremony. Heres a link to the BBC article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12733676

http://i54.tinypic.com/2hxm4x1.jpg

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Count down...

Now less than 500 days to go...

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http://i52.tinypic.com/241jxig.jpg

Looking good!

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lol scared the shit out of the birds!

Thanks for posting :D

Wellcome Trust puts in £1bn bid for Olympic Park site

The Wellcome Trust has tabled a £1bn offer to the body managing the future of the Olympic Park to buy up the freehold for the majority of the site. The trust has tabled the speculative bid for the freehold to land that includes the stadium, the aquatics centre and the media centre. The £14.5bn Wellcome Trust had already been named as one of nine bidders for the athletes' village, which will be converted into 2,800 apartments after the 2012 Games.

Under the latest proposal, the government and City Hall would see an immediate return on the £675m owed to the National Lottery towards its contribution to the Games and could also start to repay the debts for the land in east London, according to the Financial Times.

The debt taken on by the London Development Agency in acquiring the land for the Olympic site has been taken on by the government under a deal that granted the freehold to the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), which in turn is due to be subsumed into the new Mayoral Development Agency. The government and the London mayor, joint shareholders in the OPLC, have delegated responsibility for all negotiations over the future of the park to the company, chaired by Lady Ford.

Whitehall sources said that if the embryonic Wellcome bid was taken seriously, a formal tender process would have to be launched to invite rival offers.

It was envisaged that the OPLC would gradually repay the money owed to the government, the Greater London Authority and the lottery out of the receipts generated from overseeing the development of the park over the next 20 years. By selling the freehold it could start balancing the books immediately.

"In exploring [the Olympic village bid] further, we are giving detailed consideration as to how we may also become investors in the wider Olympic Park and optimise the legacy of the Olympics," the trust told the FT.

Given Wellcome's interests in early stage technology companies, it could prove an attractive option given David Cameron's desire to see the media centre become the hub of a science and technology park. But there are contrasting views on how viable that vision is, with Ford yesterday telling the London assembly that the media centre would be one of the more challenging venues to let.

Another practical obstacle would concern how a bid for the freehold of the land on which the media centre, stadium and other venues sit could affect the Olympic Development Agency's parallel auction for the athlete's village.

The ODA is now seeking bids from developers after originally taking the decision to fund the development wholly from the public purse at the height of the financial crisis.

Other heavyweight bidders for the development include the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, Sir Robert McAlpine's construction group, insurance giant Aviva, Hutchison Whampoa and a string of property groups. The OPLC is currently in the process of finding tenants for the venues at the Park and recently awarded the lease for the stadium to a joint bid from West Ham United and Newham council. At a property fair in Cannes, the OPLC also recently went to market with the first phase of its developments of 8,000 homes on the site.

Under Wellcome's plans, they would remain true to the masterplan developed by the OPLC.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/mar/17/wellcome-trust-bid-olympic-park

Some renders of the Olympic Village in legacy mode.

http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/2319/livingroominterior26030.jpg

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/6157/olympicvillage.jpg

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3351/villageacademy.jpg

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/6821/blockn07viewfromcascade.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/5223/blocksn03n04legacy.jpg

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/8703/courtyardareablockn03.jpg

thank you for share.

Games a win-win for London

The 2012 London Olympics development looks like being both environmentally inspirational and a financial success for decades after the games are over. At the recent Green Cities conference, Dan Epstein, director of sustainability for the London Olympic Authority, shared some highlights of that rare item – a major development coming in before time and under budget.

The site, in Stratford, East London, was horribly polluted, with its soil contaminated by more than a century and a half's chemical factory runoff, heavy metals, landfill and poisons. The average life expectancy of its residents was eight years less than that of those in nearby more affluent areas. "this was the dumping ground of London," said Epstein.

So the Olympic Authority aimed high, allocating 75p in every pound spent on the site to permanent infrastructure. More than 220 buildings were removed and 90 percent of the demolition materials were saved for reuse on the site.
The contaminated soil was put through gigantic soil washing machines, allowing 85 percent of it to be reused in landscaping. Extra materials were brought to the site by train or barge (the defunct canals were dredged and cleaned for the purpose) to achieve a 75 percent reduction in the carbon cost implicit in road transport.

Buildings, like the aquatic centre and the velodrome, were designed with later use in mind – large portions were demountable so after the games, smaller, more workable community facilities would be left. The Olympic Village was designed for future use too, currently providing 17,000 apartments in mixed-use developments with public transport, walking and cycling routes to greater London.

The landscaping produced "the largest British Park to be delivered in more than a century", with a development strategy which encompassed 10, 15 and 20 year milestones. In 20 years' time the site will have 2 million sq m of retail space and 20,000 homes. And the people weren't neglected either. Nearly 240 trainees benefited from the Olympic Apprentice Scheme.

This is a truly inspirational example of what can be achieved if you carefully plan the rejuvenation of an existing city area. The Olympic Park Legacy Company will be running the site after the Games end, and it will be working with a well-planned, exceptionally green precinct. As surprising as it seems, there could be some lessons here for the the redevelopment of the RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane and, hopefully, for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

http://www.propertyoz.com.au/Article/NewsDetail.aspx?p=16&id=4185

Quote "Extra materials were brought to the site by train or barge (the defunct canals were dredged and cleaned for the purpose) to achieve a 75 percent reduction in the carbon cost implicit in road transport"

Has anyone seen any barges moving materials, I certainly haven't and I walk down the Greenway to work nearly everyday.

The stabilising of the tidal flow has had a negative effect on the Three Mills Island Trust who were hoping to generate electricity in the tidal mill to get an ongoing income for upkeep and repair of the historic tidal mills. This is now unfeasible with such a small mill pond.

A great fuss was made about the Prescott Lock and it has hardly been used.

I guess it's a case of who shouts loudest, the developers with lovely waterside premises instead of smelly tidal mudflats and the Trust trying to maintain some historic buildings.

^^Watch part 5.:cheers:

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Thanks for that PortoNuts, great movies but as a local I know that a great hype was made about the the Prescot Lock being needed to deliver materials. However the tidal time constraints made it unviable to navigate the large barges from Prescot Lock to the Thames compared to rail.
The Olympic Park zone ends just a few hundred meters short of Three Mills (http://www.housemill.org.uk/). if only the Mills were included, perhaps they too would of had a more sustainable future.

http://www.housemill.org.uk/images/pictures/mill%20front%20_fmt.jpeg

http://i54.tinypic.com/4rz6ae.png

http://i52.tinypic.com/9karo1.png
from bbc

Lessons of Barcelona-on-Thames: 1992 Games provided model for London... and few warnings

Barcelona has been hailed as the Olympics that set the standard for leaving a legacy beyond the two-week sporting event. And today it can be revealed that the 1992 Games provided the model for next year's event. London 2012 hired the Catalan city's chief architect to pass on the blueprint from the Barcelona Games, which has bequeathed well-used sports venues and a new coastal quarter of the city.

Ken Livingstone, Mayor during the 2012 bid, said Barcelona's achievement in transforming run-down areas had shaped London's plan to regenerate the East End. "The 1992 Games were a model for us, I often talked during the bid about creating Barcelona-on-Thames," he said. "Theirs was primarily a plan about using the Games for regeneration. After we won the bid I went back to ministers and fought for more funding to improve the wider area. Barcelona helped me make the case."

Barcelona's legacy masterplan was simple. The benefits of new buildings were distributed across the city in four sports "clusters", each connected by a new 30-mile road link that would speed athletes to events, but also alleviate road congestion after the Games. An apartment complex for 15,000 athletes was built in the then derelict docklands to the east of the city.

The makeover of the area - now known as the Port Olimpic - was complete as city planners created a marina for the sailing event and turned an industrial tip into a three-mile stretch of sandy beach. All this was linked to the city centre by an extension of the Metro. Barcelona, thanks to the Games, had reclaimed its seafront. This exercise in rebalancing the city's wealth to the east convinced Mr Livingstone that the Lower Lea Valley could be regenerated for London 2012.

Josep Acebillo, one of Spain's leading architects who led the Olympic building quango, was the link for this, acting as a consultant to the London 2012 project in its infancy. He said: "We were the first Olympics conceived primarily for the transformation of the city. London was influenced by our philosophy through Lord Rogers (architecture adviser to Mr Livingstone)."

Mr Acebillo said that by the time Barcelona was awarded the Olympics in 1987, all the building blocks were in place. A legacy plan had been agreed two years earlier; world-class sports venues such as the open-air velodrome had been built during the bidding process; and there was plenty of cash. However, of the £10 billion in public funds, only 10 per cent went on new stadia with the bulk used for improvements to transport, housing, irrigation and re-shaping the city's seafront. When the Standard visited Montjuic, Barcelona's Olympic park, it is clear that the legacy plans have succeeded.

At the former gymnastics venue, a stylish domed structure, a group of roadies unpacked for the weekend's sold-out Kylie Minogue concerts. Nearby, scores of recreational swimmers enjoyed the 50-metre pool while outside a group of schoolchildren on a daytrip play among the pergolas and modernist art installations after a picnic. At the Port Olimpic, the marina was coming to life as crews prepared boats after their winter hibernation. The harbour now boasts the Catalan Yachting Federation's HQ and its youth academy, and the eight restaurants created in 1992 have multiplied tenfold.

At the seven-storey Olympic village, built on the site of a railway which once cut Barcelona off from the seafront, there is a waiting list for one of the 2,000 flats. The athletes' dining hall has been converted into a shopping mall; their polyclinic is the GPs' surgery; and there is a 17-screen cinema. Development has spread further east with the 19th-century warehouses - rebranded @22 - now the address of film studios, new media and loft apartments. Think of London's Olympic ripple effect reaching beyond Stratford to Barking and you have a measure of what has been achieved.

But regeneration has had its critics with locals voicing their opposition by daubing anti-gentrification graffiti across the warehouse conversions. According to Mayor Jordi Hereu, the Games put Barcelona firmly on the map. A global television audience of several billion got a taste for the city, most famously by watching the diving competition with divers framed against a backdrop of Antoni Gaudí's gothic church, the Sagrada Família.

"It was the start of Barcelona going from a local to a global city" said Mr Hereu. "There's also something intangible which was the pride given to the people of Barcelona." It was fortunate timing that the Catalan capital attained global recognition as the era of budget airlines took off.

The number of airline passengers to Barcelona has tripled over two decades to 29 million and hotel capacity has more than doubled to 60,000 rooms in the same period. But for all its triumphs, Barcelona has failed to find a solution to the problem of the legacy of the main Olympic stadium. Last year resident club Espanyol FC moved to a purpose-built football stadium after fans complained that watching their team across a running track killed the atmosphere.

Mr Hereu points out the 70,000-seat venue still hosts regular internationals. But the fact the home side is Catalonia and not Spain means it remains a millstone. It is food for thought for Boris Johnson, as West Ham prepare to make its Stratford equivalent home.

[B]Barcelona

Athletes 9,300

Nations169

Budget £11bn

Concept The regeneration games. Minimal new sports venues; four main clusters spread around city and major overhaul of deprived eastern docklands.

Olympic Park Existing hillside Montjuic Park, home to world-famous Miro museum, was main hub with revamped Olympic stadium, new swimming complex, gymnastics arena and wrestling venue now home to the national sports research institute

White elephants velodrome does not meet international standards. Main stadium has no anchor tenant

London

Athletes10,500

Nations 205

Budget£9.3bn

Conceptcompact Games with majority of sport in new urban park.

Olympic Park former low-rent industrial site given £8bn makeover with new Olympic stadium, aquatics centre, velodrome and village

White elephants Questions remain over long-term viability of main stadium and the only Olympic broadcast centre ever purpose-built for Games could yet be demolished

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23933816-the-olympic-legacy-lessons-of-barcelona-on-thames-1992-games-provided-model-for-london-and-a-few-warnings.do

I can't belive the Barcelona games were £11bn whilse ours is only £9.3bn

A lot of people will say that's already way too much.

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I'm not sure this is a promo video but the title and the fact that an Olympic Stadium render is shown are suggesting.

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IT sector given temporary shot in arm from Olympics job boost

The Olympic Games could create up to 5,000 jobs in the IT and telecoms sector, with £250 million potentially on offer for wages. According to a report from IT recruitment agency Greythorn, the Olympics will provide significantly greater opportunities for the UK because of the “unprecedented level of technology services” required to cope with the 2012 Games.

As well as the benefits for other job sectors such as construction, a huge operation will be required to put in place a technologically sound infrastructure that is able to support the media presence, as well as coping with cyber security measures. “The IT and telecoms infrastructure required to host the Olympics will leave a significant high-tech footprint on the UK labour market,” said Greythorn MD Paul Winchester, stating that elements such as the introduction such as emergency service lines and expansion of WiFi coverage will mean significant short term job increases.

Also with mobile-operator-turned-international-spy-ring Huawei offering to help put in place a mobile network on London’s dilapidated Underground there will be plenty to keep an eye on.

Greythorn believes that this will all mean that the London games are set to have a greater legacy than previous Games in Sydney, Athens or Barcelona, with total permanent and temporary jobs expected to far exceed the 77,000 mark seen in Atlanta. This is thought to be due to the stronger capacity of the private sector in London that will enable the continued economic momentum provided by the Games.

While many of the jobs created will of course be short term in nature because of the timescale of the events, Greythorn spokesman Tom Cartlidge told TechEye that there will be longer lasting jobs too. “The Olympics will essentially bring large firms into the UK with investments that will create IT jobs, however we expect that this will continue into longer term contracts with companies once they have become established here,” Cartlidge said.

“The Olympics is likely to just be the start of investment.”

Although a downturn can be expected immediately after the games, some projects have been put into place that are designed to “promote economic activity after the Games”, with £28 million put forward by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games programme to secure more long term jobs.

However there are inherent security risks in the recruitment of large numbers of new employees on such a high-profile, and potentially high-risk event, which employers need to be aware of. “Employers are always concerned over recruitment safety and this is one of the reasons why longer term contracts are often preferable in such environments, as there are more risks with short term employees,” said Cartlidge.

"Long term contracts are important in this sense as they allow greater monitoring of employees with regard to security issues.” However the main reason for longer term contracts are certainly economic.” Who exactly the jobs will go to is another question entirely.

http://www.techeye.net/business/it-sector-given-temporary-shot-in-arm-from-olympics-job-boost

IT jobs sector will see Olympic boost of £250m

The London 2012 Olympic Games will generate hundreds of millions of pounds for the IT and telecoms sector through the creation of new jobs.

This is according to new research from Greythorn, an IT recruiter, which found that as many as 5,000 new jobs within the aforementioned sectors will be created due to the Olympics.

The increase in IT and telecom workers will come from the need to improve technology services, such as emergency service lines, WiFi coverage and cyber security, in order to meet the demands of the Games. The average salary for IT and technology professionals is £48,562. If the estimated 5,000 jobs are created this will equate to £250 million being generated per year.

Paul Winchester, Managing Director of Greythorn, says: “The IT and telecoms infrastructure required to host the Olympics will leave a significant high-tech footprint on the UK labour market.

“The demand for skilled technology professionals is already increasing markedly. Given that 5% of the UK’s 29.12 million strong workforce work in IT and telecoms, and government forecasts suggest 103,000 permanent jobs will be created by the Games, our estimate may be on the conservative side.”


http://www.thegrapevinemagazine.com/recruitment/?newsid=3790

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Over 3,000 additional BA flights forecast for London during 2012 Olympics

With less than 500 days to go, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is expected to welcome up to 70,000 members of the “Olympic Family” and sponsors, as well as 600,000 spectators. These large volumes, combined with the increased numbers of Heads of State and VIPs, will mean that the summer months of 2012 will witness some of the busiest periods of air travel ever experienced across London and the South East of England.

To support the Department for Transport (DfT) in preparing for this challenge, Atkins, the UK’s largest engineering and design consultancy, is providing expert airport and aviation advisory services. Early in 2010 Atkins delivered a comprehensive demand forecast for summer 2012 air traffic and undertook a detailed assessment of airport capacity across the South East of England.

Forecasts compiled by Atkins indicate a net addition over the peak 31-day period of the Games, of about 240,000 passengers over baseline commercial air passenger numbers. On the peak day, predicted to be 13 August after the closing ceremony, there are expected to be up to 200 additional departures from the five primary London area airports.

A significant contribution to the additional air traffic demand will be from business and executive aviation flights, forecast to account for over 3000 additional flights in the peak 31-day period.

The DfT subsequently commissioned Atkins to provide a detailed study into the potential demand for, and use of, commercial helicopters across the London area for air transport purposes during the Games. With these studies complete, the DfT, in conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has also now launched a brochure, prepared by Atkins, entitled “London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics - Airport Options for Non-Scheduled Flights” which will serve as a guide to airports across the South East, providing detailed information for international dignitaries and entourages that will be flying to the UK to attend the Games.

Flowing from the reports, and in cooperation with the wider aviation community, the Government is proposing to introduce new measures to help control the flow of aircraft in the air and on the ground during the Games period.

The CAA has recently published a number of temporary changes to airspace that will be implemented for summer 2012 and the DfT has completed a consultation on the proposal to implement slot coordination across the majority of airports in the South East of England for the Games period.

Mike Pearson, Airport Development Director, Atkins said, “Our work has shown that London’s airports can handle the air traffic demands of a large international event such as the Olympics and that they offer sufficient capacity and flexibility to accommodate the varying demands that will be imposed. Whilst the current studies have not fully addressed the impact of every possible operational hitch, the early strategic assessment of airport requirements during Games-time allows us to identify and address any potential issues.”

http://www.blueskyexecutiveaviation.co.uk/issue118/over_3000_additional_BA-flights_forecast_for_London_during_2012_olympics.htm

Hockey players will compete on blue pitches for the first time ever at an Olympic Games following an announcement from the London 2012 Organising Committee today.

Traditionally hockey is played on a green surface but Locog have approved the move to blue, which should provide a striking contrast with the white ball and pitch markings.

In a further break with the tradition, the pitch run off areas will be coloured pink, to offer what Locog describe as a "striking and dynamic look" to the Hockey Centre.

The venue, which is a temporary stadium based at the northern end of the Olympic Park, will be completed in the spring of 2012. The main pitch will host all the 76 matches played between July 29 and August 11.Team GB hockey international Alex Danson was involved in the colour testing and backed Locog's decision to go with blue.

"The London Blue pitch is great," she said. "It provides a really strong contrast for players against the white ball and white lines and I quickly adapted to the change. I really like the pink surround as well. It's another great example of hockey's willingness to lead the way and try new things. It will certainly make the sport stand out in 2012."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/8410959/London-2012-Olympics-Hockey-Centre-pitches-will-be-blue-Locog-announces.html

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01858/Hockey_Render_Pitc_1858535b.jpg

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/8410959/London-2012-Olympics-Hockey-Centre-pitches-will-be-blue-Locog-announces.html

superb............. Logo of olympics is also nice to see
its great work done

http://static.worldarchitecturenews.com/news_images/16228_1_olympic1.jpg

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http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=16228

By Jonathan McEvoy Olympics Correspondent | Last updated at 1:21 AM on 30th March 2011

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/03/29/article-1371180-0B646C9400000578-269_634x411.jpg
Green for go: The newly-turfed Olympic Stadium in all its glory

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/03/29/article-1371180-0B63C9FD00000578-226_634x450.jpg
Turfed out: Fredricks (right) and Lord Coe oversee the laying of the last turf at the Olympic venue

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/03/29/article-1371180-0B63C15900000578-932_634x420.jpg
Almost there: Only the running track remains to be laid in Stratford

Britain has won the first race of the London Olympics - by building the stadium in world record time.

The showpiece arena that will host the stars of track and field in 485 days' time, took just 1,000 days to complete, around 90 fewer than planned.

It also came in under budget at £486million, a saving of £10m on the original estimate.

After the national embarrassment of the cost of rebuilding Wembley spiralling to more than £1billion and dragging on for seven years, the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium had the final piece of turf laid to mark its official handover to the Organising Committee.

Lord Coe said: 'As chairman of the Organising Committee to be able to tick off this venue is terrific.

'It is fantastic. I think it will be an intimate theatre for sport and it has fantastic legacy potential.

'I do not want anybody to run away with the idea that this stadium is ready to stage a track-and-field championship tomorrow. We have work to make it ready for a competition.'

The running track, gantries, cabling and scoreboards must still be added before it is used for the test event in May next year.

Nonetheless, the completion of the structure under the direction of the Olympic Delivery Authority - the body responsible for building all venues with £9.3bn of Government funding - is timely with the International Olympic Committee's eighth inspection of the site due to start on Wednesday.

Populous, the architects behind Arsenal's acclaimed Emirates Stadium, designed the structure, which was built by Robert McAlpine with the help of 5,000 workers from 240 British businesses.

The honour of laying the final piece of turf fell to Frankie Fredericks, four-time Olympic silver medal-winning sprinter.

'Just walking in, the sheer magnitude of the stadium hits you,' said the Namibian, who is in London as part of the IOC inspection.

'But if you have 80,000 people and you are from Britain it is going to be a big welcome.

'When people start cheering, I think the British athletes will find a wonderful experience.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-1371180/London-2012-Olympic-Stadium-ready-months-ahead-schedule.html

Thanks for that PortoNuts, great movies but as a local I know that a great hype was made about the the Prescot Lock being needed to deliver materials. However the tidal time constraints made it unviable to navigate the large barges from Prescot Lock to the Thames compared to rail.
The Olympic Park zone ends just a few hundred meters short of Three Mills (http://www.housemill.org.uk/). if only the Mills were included, perhaps they too would of had a more sustainable future.

http://www.housemill.org.uk/images/pictures/mill%20front%20_fmt.jpeg

I was looking around the area there on Street View when bored at work and there are some really pretty ex-industrial buildings that would have been great to include.

Superb flythrough of the Olympic Park, presented by Jonathan Edwards. Well worth watching this!

http://www.london2012.com/videos/2011/olympic-park-fly-through.php

http://i53.tinypic.com/2rxh3dl.jpg

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from London 2012 website

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Public to name Olympic suburbs

-- Link to BBC London article (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12771744) --

-- BBC London Slideshow (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12785816) --

Duncan Innes, who is in charge of real estate at the Olympic Park Legacy Company, introduces each neighbourhood and talks about its unique characteristics

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51781000/jpg/_51781913_2012_oplc_plan_624.jpg

Neighbourhood 1
This neighbourhood will become the most 'village like' of all the residential areas in the Olympic Park with a modern take on some of London's finest architecture including mews and town houses. The homes will be near the Chobham Academy campus, in the Athletes' Village, and the Velopark.

The area bears little resemblance to the Lee Valley marshland of prehistoric times. Discoveries of ancient axes show people have lived in the area since the Palaeolithic period (part of the Stone Age) and coins and medals dating from Roman times have also been found.

This area lay within the ancient parish of West Ham, which probably took its name from the manors of Ham (meaning low-lying pasture), and also within part of Leyton (settlement on the Lee). Both places were mentioned in the Domesday Book of AD 1086.

During the Second World War on 7 September 1940 a heavy anti-aircraft gun near Manor Garden Allotments was the first to shoot down an enemy aircraft. The military pillboxes used as part of the defence of London during the war in this area were later used as potting sheds.

Neighbourhood 2
This area will offer family homes framing the edge of the parklands with a primary school and a community centre. It will also be the Olympic Park's main employment zone. During the Games it will house the Broadcast and Press centres and the nearby Handball arena will host handball and fencing for the men's modern pentathlon plus goalball during the Paralympic Games.

The area, close to Hackney Wick, has for centuries been dominated by the River Lee and, more recently, the man-made Hackney Cut canal. During the Great Plague in 1665 barges helped save Londoners from starvation by transporting food into the capital.

The area became home to industry including White Post Lane which was the site of the Hope Chemical Works. In 1948 Clarnico - the country's largest confectioner - moved into Waterden Road due to war damage to its Hackney premises. Waterden Road was also home to the Hackney Wick stadium, which opened in 1932 for greyhound and motorcycle racing. It was demolished in 2003.

Neighbourhood 3
This is the highest point of the Olympic Park and a mix of studios, flats and family homes will be built here alongside the Lee Navigation Canal. There will be a continuous riverside walk along the canal, connecting Hackney Wick, Fish Island and the Olympic Park for the first time. During the Games, this area will be the main destination for food, information and 2012 Olympic souvenirs and merchandise.

Historically, the area has been a hive of industry as well as mired in controversy. It is situated between the Hackney Cut and River Lee and most of the marshland that had been gradually drained for use as meadows was once again submerged in water when the East London Waterworks Company (ELWC) built a reservoir in the middle of the 19th Century. However, it was filled in by the end of the century when it was hit by scandal.

In 1866 it was claimed that contaminated water was spreading cholera. Locals claimed that putrid eels had been found in their water pipes. ELWC denied supplying unfiltered water, but was eventually found guilty of criminal negligence. The case was so difficult to prove and the fine so small that no prosecution took place. In the late 19th to early 20th Century the growth of chemical, confectionary and petroleum-related industries really took off.

Wallis Road in Hackney Wick was crucial in the history of the invention of plastic. This is where Alexander Parkes made the first type of plastic, which he called Parkesine. White Post Lane was the home of Achille Serre - the company that introduced dry cleaning to the UK in 1876. The French cleaning process used a chemical solvent rather than water.

Neighbourhood 4
This area will be the cultural quarter with residential areas and shops, restaurants and bars. It will be close to the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre and the rail connections at Stratford Regional and Stratford International stations. During the Games, the Aquatics Centre will adjoin the main entrance to the Olympic Park. Swimming and synchronised swimming, diving and events from the modern pentathlon will be watched by 17,500 spectators.

This area is all about railways - without the development of the railways Stratford would not be the place it is today. Bordered to the east and south by railway lines - like much of the Olympic Park - the area was transformed by the train. The line to the south was originally the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) from London to Romford, built in the 1830s. It crossed the Lee Valley on a man-made embankment that included a short viaduct between Pudding Mill Lane and Marshgate Lane.

The ECR was one of London's earliest lines and attracted businesses from the centre of the capital to relocate to the area. Stratford became a major railway intersection and the main ECR depot. In the early 20th Century the works employed over 6,000 people and the area was dubbed Hudson's Town, after George Hudson, the chairman of the ECR.

The second half of the 19th Century saw commercial development of Carpenter's Road and Warton Road, the bank of the City Mill River and Marshgate Lane along Pudding Mill River - which was filled in to make way for the Olympic Stadium.

Neighbourhood 5
Here, rivers and canal converge to create a network of waterfronts to the south, east and west. As one of the three prospective employment zones in the Park, the area will be a mix of residential, light-industrial and business uses.

It is the closest neighbourhood to the secondary school that will will be built in the future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, adjacent to Stratford High Street. During the Games, the area will house facilities for the athletes including physiotherapy, doctors and trainers.

The River Lee was a difficult obstacle for our ancestors and this area was once the site of the main crossing across the water, known as Queen Matilda's Causeway. Built around AD1110, it linked settlements at Bow and Stratford on opposite sides of the valley. It was apparently requested by Matilda, wife of King Henry I, as the old Roman crossing had become unsafe.

The earliest businesses were located on the High Street between Marshgate Lane Lock and Bow Bridge and included Thomas Frye's Bow Porcelain Works, founded in the 1740s, one of the first in Britain to make porcelain.

Wow, so the stadium is complete? This is the most lame Olympic stadium ever.

Wow, so the stadium is complete? This is the most lame Olympic stadium ever.

See http://www.dezeen.com/2011/03/31/2012-london-olympic-stadium-by-populous/

hJ4SUgjESBI

U7d89Anzmdo

London now ahead of Athens

London ahead of Athens says Olympic Games inspector (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-olympics/article-23937735-london-ahead-of-athens-says-olympic-games-inspector.do)
Matthew Beard, Sports News Correspondent Matthew Beard, Sports News

Preperations for the London Olympics are at the same stage as Athens was a day before the Games opened in the Greek capital in 2004, the chief Olympics inspector said today.

Denis Oswald, head of the International Olympic Committee's inspection team, contrasted the near-complete Olympic Park with the chaos in Athens before the 2004 Games. On a visit to London this week his team was impressed by the completed Olympic stadium and the athletes' village, where one block is ready.

Mr Oswald said trees and plants were now taking root- in contrast to Athens where they were being planted as the athletes arrived.

He said: "The London Olympic park looks now like Athens did a day before the Games.

"In Athens they were planting trees when athletes were moving into the village. It's a big difference and it's why we congratulate Locog on planning the preparations
so well."

He added Games organiser Locog was "on the right track" despite an ongoing financial row with the British Olympic Association.

Images from London2012.com (http://www.london2012.com)

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kool

Images from London2012.com (http://www.london2012.com)

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kool

Images from London2012.com (http://www.london2012.com)

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kool

Images from London2012.com (http://www.london2012.com)

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/7897/110324odamdaac038hi.jpg

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kool

Olympic Village

Images from London2012.com (http://www.london2012.com)

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Aquatics Centre

Images from London2012.com (http://www.london2012.com)

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/2832/110324odamdaac071hi.jpg

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2137/110324odamdaac089hi.jpg

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http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/8313/110324odamdaac121hi.jpg

Aquatics Centre

Images from London2012.com (http://www.london2012.com)

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/2404/110324odamdaac069hi.jpg
Wow looks like things are looking up, gotta love the trees and grass layed down; just a year to go and this place might look like hyde park. The aquatic center and the velodrome looks the most impressive so far.

Even the wrap around the stadium is going up, I think they got the money for the wrap from a private company; hope everyone thanked that company for making this stadium more interesting:lol:

me justa!

Well done London. Impressive stuff!

^^ thats not the Stadium Wrap - its just a trial one! ( we thinks )

Rest assured, people of the World.. Here in the UK the Olympics is beginning to kick start its countdown in the media, with newspaper adverts and tv commercials and the stadium, whilst looking very basic at present, already looks stunning on tv - there's already a real sense that magic will take place amongst this park late next year, this will be an amazing Olympic games!

can't really judge the stadium until they finish the exterior (the wrap). Also it's going to be surrounded by little pods for food and merchandise.

See the white zig zag line around the stadium plaza, out side of this, there will be a raised wooden decking where 'Pods' selling juice, food, merchandise ect will be placed in small groups called 'Pod Villages' and a covered walkway will follow the zig zag all the way around the stadium.

http://www.building.co.uk/pictures/458xAny/5/6/3/1646563_Stadium_39_WEB.jpg

Well, they said the stadium was "complete". I guess that didn't include the warp, I liked the old one better though.

Handball Arena

Image from London2012.com (http://www.london2012.com)

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/8203/110324odamdaac021hi.jpg

Media Centre

Images from London2012.com (http://www.london2012.com)

http://img852.imageshack.us/img852/8049/110324odamdaac107hi.jpg

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/6365/110324odamdaac095hi.jpg

See the white zig zag line around the stadium plaza, out side of this, there will be a raised wooden decking where 'Pods' selling juice, food, merchandise ect will be placed in small groups called 'Pod Villages' and a covered walkway will follow the zig zag all the way around the stadium.

http://www.building.co.uk/pictures/458xAny/5/6/3/1646563_Stadium_39_WEB.jpg

If that is the wrap and finished article we get I will be very impressed! I think they've been very clever with the wrap colour there too. I was a little worried that, if the ribbon strips were all 'painted' in the rainbow colour it could look too tacky. It looks like they have done this, but left every other ribbon white, and the ones that are coloured look very dull (not in a bad way) faded and subtle. But keeping the coloured lights turned on in the day makes it as eye catching!

Love it :cheers:

lighting is more than capable of giving the desired effect without the use of colour on the wrap. Has it actually got funding now?

^^ The stadium was built well under budget so i'm sure they will be able to use the spare money on the wrap :)

^^ The stadium was built well under budget so i'm sure they will be able to use the spare money on the wrap :)

The Wrap is now being paid for by a Business Sponser

hJ4SUgjESBI

London 2012 Olympics: International Paralympics Day moved to host city

International Paralympic Day will be hosted by London at Trafalgar Square in September to coincide with the beginning of the ticketing application process for the London 2012 Paralympics. The celebration, normally held in Germany every two years by the International Paralympic Committee, has been moved to London as part of its capacity as host nation.

Those members of the public visiting the Square on September 8 will have the chance to meet and join UK and international Paralympic athletes as well as taking up the opportunity to find out more about the 20 sports at the Games. Lord Sebastian Coe, Locog chair, said: 'I'm thrilled and honoured that we'll be hosting International Paralympic Day here in London in September.

"It's a fantastic way for the public to learn more about Paralympic sports and get a taster of the excitement that they will witness during the Paralympic Games in just over 500 days time." Ticket applications for the Games will open on September 9, 2011, while an announcement on prices and scheduling will be made in May.

Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee added: "The last International Paralympic Day was held in Berlin in front of the Brandenburg Gate so it’s fantastic that this year the event will be held in another iconic location.

"International Paralympic Day will be the greatest showcase of Paralympic sport in the UK before the start of the Paralympic Games in 2012 and I’m delighted that London 2012 is hosting it.’

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/8429290/London-2012-Olympics-International-Paralympics-Day-moved-to-host-city.html

Brazil 2012 team to train at Palace

Brazil is to use the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre as its training base for the London 2012 Games. Up to 200 Brazilian competitors will use the south London facility before and during the Games under an agreement signed by Carlos Nuzman, President of both the Rio 2016 organising committee and the Brazilian Olympic Committee, and Crystal Palace operators GLL Sport Foundation.

He said: "Signing this historic agreement is a major step in the preparation plans for Team Brazil in 2012, while also laying the foundations for Brazil's planning for the 2016 Games.We are confident that Crystal Palace National Sports Centre will offer the best possible training and preparation environment for our athletes, enabling them to achieve the best possible sporting results."

"In addition, the sports centre will house all members of the Brazilian delegation not accredited to the Olympic Village such as doctors, assistant coaches and physiotherapists - forming the headquarters for Brazil during the London Games."

London Development Agency chief executive Peter Rogers said: "This is great news for London. By coming to Crystal Palace, Brazil's Olympians will enjoy some of the best sporting facilities in Britain as they prepare for London 2012. The London Development Agency has invested over £17 million bringing the National Sports Centre up to modern international standards. This investment is now being enjoyed by world class athletes and the local community alike."


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iXCgKotRp30_N82ADkV1ftXBvWKw?docId=A27846271302031210A0000

new trees:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5269/5596077370_582a8eefbd_b.jpg

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athletes village:
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olympic stadium: note the writing on the wrap:
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velodrome:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5108/5596098822_7f6b4cb7d9_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5143/5595528149_14cf734cfa_b.jpg

Olympic Village:
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http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5109/5596107932_330716ff82_b.jpg

Basketball Arena:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5110/5596110944_a9cd98658d_b.jpg

hmm the canals/side of the canals really need cleaning up but everything else looks really great and im pleased with the wrapping on the stadium.

Nice pics....:okay:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5224/5595510265_2c4058d335_b.jpg

The fence is the Olympic Park perimeter boundary right, so everything to the right is not the responsbility of London 2012, so they won't have to clean these waterway banks.

Great set of pics wawd! :applause: It's all coming along nicely, the park will lose this rough look once those trees start to mature.

London 2012 Olympics: Village bidders short-listed

Qatari Diar and the Wellcome Trust, the UK's largest charity, have been named on the short-list to acquire the 2012 Olympic Village. The Olympic Delivery Authority is looking to off-load 1,439 homes in Stratford and development sites with room for 2,000 more homes.

It has named Qatari Diar with Jamie Ritblat's Delancey, the Wellcome Trust, and Hong Kong listed-conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa on the short-list for the village.

The Wellcome Trust has approached Olympic organisers about a £1bn bid for the entire Olympic Park and is considered the front-runner for the village by industry sources. The winning bid will be announced in the summer. Six bidders did not make the short-list, including Aviva with JP Morgan, and London & Stamford with David Wilson and Sir Robert McAlpine.

Dennis Hone, ODA chief executive, said: "The quality of the three short-listed parties is a vote of confidence in the Olympic Village, demonstrating both UK and international interest in first-class British property."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/london-olympics-business/8433206/London-2012-Olympics-Village-bidders-short-listed.html#

The fence is the Olympic Park perimeter boundary right, so everything to the right is not the responsbility of London 2012, so they won't have to clean these waterway banks.

that may be the case however the canalside walk is currently closed for upgrading so it looks like they're doing something...

These canals give lots of charisma to the Park.

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Fans get chance to use 2012 stadium before the athletes

Thousands of Londoners will be able to take part in sports competitions at the new world-class venues in the Olympic Park before the Games begin. Major community events will be held in swimming, cycling, running and a multi-sport mini-Olympics in an initiative by Mayor Boris Johnson to give Londoners a sense of "ownership" of the new Park.

Winners could be included in a new sporting order of merit- or "mayor's medal" - inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger who ran the scheme as governor of California and suggested it during a visit to London last week. Sports events for both children and adults have been timetabled starting this summer in agreement with Games organiser Locog.

This will entitle participants to privileged use of the newly-completed venues, such as the £300 million aquatics centre and the £500 million Olympic stadium. The Mayor and London 2012 chief Sebastian Coe hope that familiarising Londoners with the facilities will encourage them back after the Games and contribute to a sports legacy both men have campaigned for.

City Hall is in talks with several potential "delivery partners" and details of the events will be agreed in the coming months. Staging community events has only become a prospect as the building programme, which is now 80 per cent complete, has advanced.

Mr Johnson told the Standard: "Londoners need to feel they have ownership as early as we can manage. We want to give them the chance to get into this incredible park and enjoy it. There was a long time when we were looking at nothing and we were not going to lift the lid off the site until the opening ceremony."

The Park will also next summer play host to the Government's flagship school sports competition, the UK School Games.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-olympics/article-23939851-fans-get-chance-to-use-2012-stadium-before-the-athletes.do

Aquatics Centre

by kfrost.

http://img857.imageshack.us/img857/1213/dscn4629.jpg (http://img857.imageshack.us/i/dscn4629.jpg/)

Springtime in the Olympic park. Images from the London 2012 website

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/1536/img7591o.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/i/img7591o.jpg/)

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/5038/img7972a.jpg (http://img831.imageshack.us/i/img7972a.jpg/)


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It's looking great! Amazing how a bit of greenary makes such a difference.

London 2012 Olympic Stadium invites bids for $163 million conversion

West Ham United and the London Borough of Newham are inviting bids for the £100 million ($163.4 million) conversion project of the Olympic Stadium into a football ground.

Bidders will be required to execute design and construction works to convert the London 2012 Olympic Stadium into a multi-use venue. The converted venue is expected to have a capacity of 60,000 for football matches, 74,000 for athletics meets and 90,000 for concerts.

The scope of the work will include extending or replacing the roof so that it covers most of the seating, installing hospitality facilities, corporate boxes, office or retail space along with the construction of a community warm-up track. The contract could also include retractable seating, depending on the cost and design.

The winner will be expected to complete work on the project by May 2014.

West Ham and the London Borough of Newham have together set up Legacy Stadium Partnership LLP as a special purpose vehicle for the project.

http://www.worldinteriordesignnetwork.com/news/london_2012_olympic_stadium_invites_bids_for_163_million_conversion_110412/

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Rio Tinto strikes gold, silver and bronze in London 2012 Olympics

There is still more than a year until the Olympics, but one FTSE 100 company has already struck gold with the London Games. Rio Tinto, the mining group, has agreed a deal with 2012 organisers to supply the metal for the Olympic medals.

Tom Albanese, chief executive, said it is a "special job" for the company. The gold, silver, and copper – for the bronze medals – will come from Rio's Kennecott Utah Copper mine in Salt Lake City, and its Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia.

The Anglo-Australian group must supply enough metal for 4,700 medals, which could cost about £10m. In return, Rio has been named a Tier Three sponsor for London 2012. Bitter rival BHP Billiton provided the metal for the Beijing Olympics, although Rio was the supplier for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Mr Albanese said: "All of us at Rio Tinto are excited to have the special job of digging the ore that will become treasured medals for the world's elite athletes." The announcement coincided with Rio reporting first-quarter output fell because of the severe weather in Australia.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/london-olympics-business/8448687/Rio-Tinto-strikes-gold-silver-and-bronze-in-London-2012-Olympics.html

more trees going in and, presumably grass is being seeded:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5149/5612954934_78b20ca079_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612954934/)
Olympic Park Visit 11th April 2011 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612954934/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5027/5612375729_6de66c6487_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612375729/)
Olympic Park Visit 11th April 2011 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612375729/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5306/5612957166_8397e37d1d_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612957166/)
Olympic Park Visit 11th April 2011 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612957166/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

constructing lawn borders?:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5142/5612958256_cb9b2516b6_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612958256/)
Olympic Park Visit 11th April 2011 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612958256/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5262/5612959664_fdb691e9aa_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612959664/)
Olympic Park Visit 11th April 2011 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612959664/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

Olympic Park traffic:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/5612974026_221d22d472_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612974026/)
Olympic Park Visit 11th April 2011 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612974026/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

the Icona building will boast some of the best park views from those colourful balconies:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5268/5612397125_a8757d16a3_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612397125/)
Olympic Park Visit 11th April 2011 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612397125/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

here are some images from my helicopter trip over London last Sunday:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5183/5612882258_5d19857a2f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612882258/)
Helicopter Trip over Central London (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612882258/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5307/5612305133_736cea4a8e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612305133/)
Helicopter Trip over Central London (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612305133/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

more here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/sets/72157626481474370/with/5612310093/

Olympic Stadium, taken April 11th:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5185/5612366969_7eaafca28b_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612366969/)
Olympic Park Visit 11th April 2011 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612366969/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5223/5612398945_87f0bfc55b_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612398945/)
Olympic Park Visit 11th April 2011 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612398945/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5263/5612399795_670ef1db2a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612399795/)
Olympic Park Visit 11th April 2011 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5612399795/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

Fantastic shots wawd, the whole things is really coming along. :okay:

No va a superar a Beijing el estadio es bastante simple

No va a superar a Beijing el estadio es bastante simple

Quizás. Pero ten en cuenta que el estadio ya no está acabado... aún tienen que poner el 'chal' y otras cosas.

No va a superar a Beijing el estadio es bastante simple

Thank you for this truly illuminating input.

Will save to a usb stick and read to grandchildren.

Will save to a usb stick and read to grandchildren.

:lol:

No va a superar a Beijing el estadio es bastante simple

Beijing se ve mejor en el exterior, pero tiene menos caracteres en el interior. Espere hasta que este lugar está terminado y listo para los juegos antes de hacer juicio.

Much has been made of the seating issue at the Olympic Stadium. Putting that aside for a while, what do you guys think will happen with the roof?
Will they opt for the very similar tension ring and fabric roof and just replace it with an extended version?
Or will they explore other possibilities like the Stadio Olympico in Rome or The Emirates Stadium as per the links below.
How about a translucent roof?
Also, I have been looking a little on the web and seen that a new tension structure roof may well cost up to £80million..........

Apologies for not knowing how to attach the actual images here! :o)

http://architecture.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/364086/

http://www.byrne-bros.co.uk/p/h/Projects/Emirates_Stadium/342/

London wins bid to host 2015 canoe slalom worlds

London has won its bid to host the 2015 Canoe Slalom World Championships - the first major event to be confirmed for an Olympic venue after the 2012 Games.

The Lee Valley course, host to the 2012 canoe slalom events, beat a bid from Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the French Alps.

London's Olympic venues failed in bids to host the 2015 World Athletics and 2014 Hockey World Cup.

"I look forward to welcoming the canoeing world to the UK in 2015," said Olympic minister Hugh Robertson.

"This is the first major sporting event confirmed for an Olympic venue after the Games and will be part of the legacy from London 2012."

UK Sport's chief executive, Liz Nicholl, said the event would "provide a magnificent platform for the sport in this country" while the British Canoe Union's Paul Owen promised his sport would deliver "a fantastic event, providing an excellent opportunity to showcase our sport worldwide".

The Lee Valley White Water Centre was the first brand new London 2012 venue to be completed, in December 2010, at a cost of £31m.

Britain's top slalom canoeists have had exclusive use of the course since then, but Lee Valley opens to the public - and foreign rivals - on 22 April.

Bringing major events in Olympic sports to Britain after the Games have concluded is a cornerstone of the London 2012 organising committee's ambition to deliver what it calls a "legacy" after the Olympics.

But previous attempts to secure the sporting side of that legacy have failed, most notably London's bid to stage the 2015 World Championships in Athletics.

The city was forced to withdraw from that bidding process in November 2010, as continued uncertainty over the future of the Olympic Stadium meant the bid team could not even guarantee a running track would remain in place.

One week later, London lost a bid to bring the men's and women's Hockey World Cups to the Olympic Park in 2014.

Both sports have promised to fight back - UK Athletics says it will bid for the 2017 World Championships, and England Hockey has told BBC Sport a world event in Britain in 2015 or 2016 is "pretty likely".

But slalom canoeing is the first sport past the post with a major championships at an Olympic venue.

Britain has twice previously staged the Slalom Worlds, in 1981 near the Welsh town of Bala and at Nottingham's Holme Pierrepont course in 1995, which also staged the 2009 European Championships.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/canoeing/13094894.stm

So good for legacy! :applause:

Work on Thames cable car set to start this summer

-- Link to Wharf article (http://www.wharf.co.uk/2011/04/work-on-thames-cable-car-set-t.html) --

Work on Boris Johnson's Thames cable car should start this summer with a preferred bidder for the £40million link having been selected. The bidder, who will not be named until legal agreements have been signed, will start work on the crossing by the summer, and it could be operational in time for next year's Olympic Games.

Planning approval has already been granted by Newham and Greenwich Councils and the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation.

But Transport for London were unable to confirm which private companies would be putting up the money for the project, which Mr Johnson has insisted will be privately funded. And it denied that there will be any need for it to subsidise the scheme, despite more than £1million of its money already put into it.

A spokeswoman said: "The proposal is that a contractor will initially be contracted to operate the cable car for up to three years. We expect the cable car to deliver a profit and would not expect the need for any public subsidy. These surplus funds would be used to pay for capital costs. Discussions for funding, which is expected to come from a combination of sources including third party, sponsorship and fare revenues sources, are ongoing."

http://www.wharf.co.uk/aa-jul8-cablemap.jpg

Fares could start from £2.50 for a single trip with an Oyster pay-as-you-go card. Although the cable car is designed to carry up to 2,500 passengers per hour, doubts remain that demand - even from tourists - will be sufficient for it to break even, despite The O2 being located next to the southern terminal.

The spokeswoman said: "It will arrive frequently carrying up to 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction. Figures on predicted actual passenger uptake are not yet available but we are confident the cable car will provide a popular transport link where one currently does not exist. It is too early to say what the fare structure for the cable car will be, but they will be competitively priced in terms of being incorporated of London's public transport network and Oyster will be accepted."

But for many it does not answer the pressing need for new river crossings in the region.

One sceptic is John Biggs, London Assembly member for City and East. He said: "It's an excellent tourist attraction and will be effective at putting east London on the tourist map. I'll welcome it if it happens, but it could never be part of the transport network. Boris would have to put in a lot of public subsidy, because I'm not sure there's enough there to attract people to the area. Either that, or it will be a purely commercial operation, charging premium rates. If it was going from North Greenwich to Canary Wharf it might make more sense. There's a massive shortage of river crossings, and we need at least one road crossing over the Thames here. The cable car is an attractive bit of kit, but it falls between two stools."

In his transport strategy published last year Mr Johnson insisted he remains fully committed to improving cross-river transport in east London. His other proposals include developing plans for a new road crossing at Silvertown, and a replacement for the Woolwich ferry, and a potential bridge at Gallions Reach.

The proposed scheme will span 1,100metre stretch across the River Thames between North Greenwich and the Royal Docks (above). At its highest point it will rise around 54metres above the river. The two main supporting towers will be 90m tall.

The cable car will have the capacity to carry 2,500 passengers per hour, with cars arriving at the stations at 15 second intervals. In one year it could carry up to 30million passengers. Journey time is estimated to be five minutes. By comparison, a journey by DLR and Tube between North Greenwich and Royal Victoria takes around eight minutes.

The northern terminal will serve the Royal Docks, including Excel and the proposed Siemens Pavilion, which is expected to attract over 100,000 visitors a year when it opens. The southern terminal will serve The O2.

2012 Paralympic countdown hits 500-day mark

With 500 days to go to the start of the 2012 Paralympics, already there is plenty of speculation that London will host the most spectacular Games ever seen. Britain has a proud history in Paralympic sport, with the first event taking place in Stoke Mandeville Hospital in 1948 when hospitals where British war veterans with spinal injuries were being treated competed against each other.

The first modern Paralympics were staged in Rome in 1960 and Britain have always been among the most successful nations, finishing second in the medal table behind the hosts China in Beijing in 2008 with 102 medals, including 42 golds.

Second place is again a realistic target, with the likes of swimmers Ellie Simmonds and Sascha Kindred, cyclists Sarah Storey, Jody Cundy and Darren Kenny, wheelchair racer Dave Weir and the rest of the GB squad relishing the chance to shine on home soil.

They will line up alongside world superstars like swimmer Natalie du Toit, tennis star Esther Vergeer and sprint rivals Oscar Pistorius and Jerome Singleton for a feast of elite disability sport.

More than 4,200 athletes from around 150 countries will participate in 20 different sports at the Games from 29 August - 9 September 2012.

The Beijing Games attracted 3,951 athletes from 146 countries and a total of 279 world records were broken during the 12 days of competition, which were watched by a global television audience of 3.8bn people.

Great Britain was represented in 18 sports in Beijing and the sports that missed out last time - goalball and sitting volleyball - will be hopeful of inclusion this time around, with a decision on their participation to be made later this year. ParalympicsGB performance director Penny Briscoe knows the GB squad will have added pressure on their shoulders when it comes to the 2012 Games.

"We have been open about our ambition of maintaining our second place in the medal table, but we also recognise that Paralympic sport is developing quickly and we face ever-increasing levels of competition, so there is no room for us to be complacent," she said.

"2012 is undoubtedly the biggest event we have ever prepared for, so we have taken all the work that we have done in previous Games and expanded on it to ensure that we can say on 29 August 2012 that our team is physically, psychologically, technically and tactically ready.

"We all know that this is a one-off opportunity to put Paralympic sport on the map in Britain."

The Games will be staged in many of the Olympic venues, including the Olympic Stadium (athletics), Aquatics Centre (swimming) and Velodrome (cycling), as well as the likes of Eton Dorney (rowing), Weymouth (sailing) and Greenwich Park (equestrian para-dressage).

The Olympic Park will also stage the five-a-side and seven-a-side football at the Olympic hockey centre and goalball at the Olympic handball arena, as well as wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball at the Olympic basketball arena, although some basketball will also be held at the North Greenwich Arena.

The ExCel exhibition centre in the Docklands will host boccia, judo, sitting volleyball, wheelchair fencing, table tennis and powerlifting.

The wheelchair tennis events will be staged at Eton Manor while the archery and shooting will both be held at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich. The London 2012 Organising Committee (Locog) will announce the ticket prices for the Games on 10 May with tickets going on sale on 9 September until 30 September.

Organisers say that in London there will be around two million tickets available to buy and so far more than 750,000 people have signed up for tickets - the most ever 500 days out from the start of the Games. In Beijing, a total of 1.82m tickets were sold with a further 1.62m tickets provided to children, education and community groups.

Since finishing second in Beijing, Britain's Paralympic athletes have not been allowed to rest on their laurels and despite the recent departure of chief executive Phil Lane, they have continued to amass top-level success. UK Sport had set a target of 34-52 medals for GB teams at 2011 World Championships.

However, that target has already been beaten with the athletics team winning 38 medals (their target was 15-25) at their World Championships in New Zealand in January.

The track cycling team, who were among the star performers in Beijing in 2008, were set a target of 10-16 medals from their World Championships in Italy last month and improved on that with 18 medals, including nine golds.

They have another chance to add to their medal haul in September's Road World Championships, which will be another key event as they bid to earn qualifying places for next year's Games. Still to come this summer, the archery team, including Paralympic and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Danielle Brown, will be hoping for medals at their World Championships in Italy.

Paralympic single sculls rowing champion Tom Aggar will be bidding to retain his World Championship title in Slovenia while the sailing squad face a busy period with two competitions over the 2012 course in Weymouth - the Sail for Gold regatta for Olympic and Paralympic classes, as well as their own Paralympic World Championships.

Eleven-time Paralympic gold medallist Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson told the BBC that she has high hopes for the London Games.

"Back when I started competing the word Paralympic wasn't used that much and my first Games in Seoul in 1988 there was very little media coverage," she said.

"But since then, each Games has seen the Paralympic movement advance and this time, athletes have the most amazing opportunities in terms of media profile, access to sponsorship and the chance to become a household name.

"For the guys who are aiming for 2012 they can almost feel it - they know almost how many training sessions are left and what they need to be doing and it is getting exciting.

"I believe London will be the best Paralympics we've ever seen but we also have to use the legacy of the Games to encourage more young disabled people to get involved in sport at all levels."

International Paralympic Committee president Sir Philip Craven, who represented GB at five Games from 1972-88, believes his home nation will stage a Games to remember.

"I always thought that the 2008 Beijing Paralympics would take some beating as they really did set the benchmark for future Games," he said.

"However, Locog has so far done a tremendous job going about things. On current form it would not surprise me if in just over 500 days' time at the closing ceremony of the Games I have to eat my words and say the same things about London as I did about Beijing four years ago.

"One thing that I think is an absolute certainty for next year is that the performance levels of athletes will once again be significantly raised.

"I think those who have never seen a Paralympic Games before will be surprised and taken aback at the sheer quality of performances from the athletes."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/disability_sport/13065994.stm

Final tile laid at London 2012 Aquatics Centre

Paralympic gold medal winning swimmer Liz Johnson has laid the final tile in the Aquatics Centre competition pool to mark 500 days to go to the London 2012 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony.

The 25-year-old from Newport was at the London 2012 Aquatics Centre for the first time as she put down the last of 180,000 tiles lining the 50 metre competition and training pools as well as the dive pool. The competition and diving pools will now be filled with millions of litres of water while the 50 metre training pool has already been filled.

"With just 500 days of training and preparation to go until the Paralympic Games open; it's great to see first-hand where I hope to be competing and to play a very small part in building it," said Johnson. "You can really imagine what the atmosphere will be like in 500 days' time in such a fantastic venue. I can't wait to compete at the Aquatics Centre in front of thousands of fans and it's great that it will be available for everyone to use once the Games have finished."

The Zaha Hadid-designed Aquatics Centre has come under fire in recent months due to the escalating costs of constructing the venue. The London 2012 bid book price estimated it would cost £73 million ($118 million) to build but the anticipated final cost in the latest figures released show that the price is now over £269 million ($434 million).

The complexity of the 160 metre long wave-shaped roof has also meant that two temporary wings have had to be attached to the venue for extra seating but the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) claim that it is on track to be completed as planned this summer in time for the scheduled test events ahead of the Games.

ODA chief executive Dennis Hone said: "The Aquatics Centre is on track to be a great sporting stage for the world's best athletes in 2012. After the Games it will become a fantastic new flexible and accessible facility for swimmers and divers of all ages and abilities."

The Aquatics Centre will be the main gateway into the Games' during London 2012 and second biggest venue on the Olympic Park behind the Olympic Stadium.

Hugh Robertson, the Sport and Olympics Minister said: "Good progress has been made in delivering this iconic and complex venue. With the tiles down and the water going in, the Aquatics Centre will soon be the third venue on the Park to be complete."

After the Games, the Aquatics Centre will become a 2,500 capacity venue providing two 50m swimming pools with moveable floors and separation booms, a diving pool and dry diving area for the full range of community and elite use.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "This awesome building will provide the perfect setting for the world's best swimmers to battle it out for gold, silver and bronze in 2012 and long into the future. With the likes of Paralympic athletes Liz Johnson and Ellie Simmonds competing next summer, I am sure that the cheers from the home crowds will be loud enough to raise the wave-shaped roof."

Andrew Altman, chief executive of the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), added: "We have already had a positive response in the first stages of looking for an operator to turn this iconic building into a much needed centre to be enjoyed by families, clubs and community groups after the 2012 Games.

"Its two 50m pools and a 25m diving pool, all with moveable floors, will also provide elite swimmers with a world class facility and encourage the next generation of swimmers to follow in their footsteps."

http://insidethegames.biz/summer-olympics/2012/12706-final-tile-laid-at-london-2012-aquatics-centre

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5301/5632062746_421c607467_b.jpg

kool

Build It Bigger: London Olympic Aquatic Stadium

-- Link to Science Channel: Build It Bigger (http://science.discovery.com/videos/build-it-bigger-season5-olympic-aquatic-center/) --

The London Aquatics Centre will host 44 swimming & diving events during the 2012 Olympics and live on as a new addition to the London landscape. Danny Forster goes with crews as they construct one of the most advanced swimming facilities ever built.

Clip 1 - Planners for the 2012 Olympics in London made a bold decision to hold the games East London - two miles away from the heart of the city.
F72NeF3Kyq0

Clip 2 - London prepares to host the 2012 Olympics by building a massive new aquatic stadium. Danny Forster gets a look at the 120,000 square foot steel roof in progress.
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Clip 3 - Danny Forster is on site as crews use two enormous cranes to test how the truss for the London Olympic Aquatic Stadium will hold up under pressure.
o-dl90xXTb8

Clip 4 - To create the ceiling for London's new Olympic Aquatic Stadium, crews install 37,000 custom-manufactured pieces of Brazilian lumber.
HYcBoX8cQUQ

Larger versions of interior:

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/8572/aquaticscentre2x1800.jpg

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3153/aquaticscentre1x1800.jpg

Aquatics Centre factfile

-- Link to London2012 (http://www.london2012.com/press/media-releases/2011/04/paralympic-gold-medalist-lays-final-tile-in-aquatics-cen.php) --


The Zaha Hadid designed Aquatics Centre is located in the south of the Olympic Park and will be the main ‘Gateway into the Games', hosting Swimming, Diving, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo finals and the swimming discipline of the Modern Pentathlon
The Aquatics Centre will have a capacity of 17,500 during the Games reducing in legacy to a maximum of 2,500, with the ability to add 1,000 for major events, and provide two 50m swimming pools with moveable floors and separator booms, a diving pool and dry diving area.
The Aquatics Centre is the second largest Olympic Park venue at over 200 metres long with a 22,000 metre squared footprint and a full size (volume) of approx 500,000 cubic metres.
Eleven industrial buildings have been demolished on the 55,000 sq m site.
Around 160,000 tonnes of soil have been dug out on of what was one of the more challenging and complex areas of the Olympic Park, contaminated with pollutants including petrol, oil, tar, solvents and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead
Four skeletons were discovered and removed from a prehistoric settlement discovered on the site of the Aquatic Centre.
140,000 tonnes of clean soil has been brought from other areas of the Olympic Park to prepare for construction to start.
Balfour Beatty is building the Aquatics Centre and huge land-bridge that forms the roof of the training pool and the main pedestrian access to the Olympic Park. Construction work will be complete in 2011 for test events ahead of the Games.
The river that runs alongside the venue has been widened by eight metres by building 550m of new river walls.
The sweeping roof, which is 160m long and 80m at its widest point, is an innovative steel structure weighing over 3,000 tonnes with a striking and robust aluminium covering, half of which is recycled, resting on three supports.
Construction started on the foundations in July 2008. A 3,000 tonne concrete ‘bridge’ has been built spanning and protecting the tunnels which have been dug to run powerlines beneath the site. The 18.5m tall northwest roof support has been built on top of this base.
The permanent section is complete of the 250m and 45m wide land bridge that forms the main ‘Gateway to the Games’ from the Stratford City development, spanning the Aquatics Centre and forming the roof of the training pool.
866,000 ceramic tiles made are being installed in the pools, poolside and changing rooms (180,000 lining the pools themselves). The tiles were delivered by train to the Olympic Park. Most of the tiles are white with blue tiles used for the lanes in the competition pool which have to be placed perfectly to ensure the lanes are straight.
Over 30,000 sections of sustainably sourced Red Lauro timber are currently being placed on the curved Aquatics Centre ceiling, after being precisely cut using 3D computer modelling – despite the ceiling curving in two directions the joining lines must be absolutely straight to make them easier for swimmers doing the backstroke to follow.
The two 1600 tonne steel frames of the temporary seating stands that sit either side of the Aquatics Centre roof are structurally complete with colourful steel seat supports and 19,000 metres squared of phalate-free uPVC wrap. Seats will start to be installed shortly.
Four miles of pipes and 13 filters each filled with 16 tonnes of sand are in place to manage the 15 million litres water in the three pools including the use of overflow water to flush the Aquatics Centre toilets.
The unique Zaha Hadid-designed curved concrete dive tower is complete. Following five months of laboratory and on-site trials the complex six-board tower was built with 462 tonnes of high-tech self-compacting concrete poured into glass-fibre reinforced plastic moulds, computer cut from a 3D model, around a skeleton of steel bars to make the distinctive shape. The tower includes a 5m board with 1m spring board below, 3m springboard and 3m board, 7.5m and 10m boards.


kool

IN the vid, the Olympic Stadium is actually 6 miles from the West End (downtown), not 2.

IN the vid, the Olympic Stadium is actually 6 miles from the West End (downtown), not 2.

Americans, give them a break.:cheers:

Heres another stunning photo of the aquatics centre, from a slightly different angle though, where you can see how it curves in, It has cave like quality which i really love. Just posted on the UK forums:

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/1585/phiuycopy.jpg

You can really appreciate the roof's curvature in that picture. :cheers2:

2012 Olympic tickets in high demand

London 2012 organisers say demand for tickets is high before Tuesday's deadline for applications, although they will not reveal whether the 80% sales target has been met.

"We genuinely don't know until we've got all the final data in," said Paul Williamson, Locog's director of ticketing. "We've always said that people who apply on day one should have the same chance as the people who apply on the last day so we want to make sure it's a level playing field for everyone."

He confirmed that figures would be released once the applications had been processed.

He believes the marketing campaign of the last seven days has resulted in a surge of interest. "We're confident that we're on target. We've had hundreds of thousands of orders come in. We've seen a real lift in applications in the last 48 hours and we expect that to follow through to Tuesday." Williamson said fears over the ticketing process had not been borne out. "We've got the world's most complicated sports event – 650 sessions, 26 sports, 17 days at 35 venues. We've tried to simplify it as much as we can."

Tessa Jowell, shadow minister for the Olympics, and Neale Coleman, Boris Johnson's adviser on London 2012, agree that application numbers have been high. "As far as I'm aware it's going really well," said Jowell. "I spoke to Locog just as week ago and I've got no reason to believe that there is any problem."

For those buying the tickets the biggest complaint seems to be the pricing and lack of transparency over exactly what each price bracket buys. Jack Miller, vice-president of the British Athletics Supporters Club, said the process compared favourably with the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002.

However, he criticised the system for not showing customers what kind of view they can expect – fearing a repeat of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics for he bought an expensive ticket with a terrible view.

"I got a grade A ticket for the 100m final in Atlanta ... but it turned out to be located around the 200m start line, which was utterly useless for watching the 100m. I felt robbed. I think that we would very much like to have known the layout of the 2012 stadium and where the different price category tickets begin and end."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/apr/22/2012-olympics-ticket-high-demand

wzCkWx26E3I

London's iconic Tower Bridge to get eco lighting makeover

London's iconic Tower Bridge is to undergo an eco makeover in time for next year's Olympic Games with the installation of a new energy-efficient lighting system. As well as helping to cut carbon and reduce energy costs, the project will enhance this global icon's architectural features at night.

The Mayor of London has announced the deal yesterday between City Hall, City of London Corporation, EDF and GE to upgrade the bridge with the state-of-the-art lighting.

Tower Bridge is one of the world's most instantly recognisable landmarks and has recently undergone major re-painting. A funding deal has now been brokered by the Mayor Boris Johnson, between the bridge owners, City of London Corporation, London 2012 Sustainability partners EDF and GE to upgrade the famous structure's 25-year old lighting system.

If given planning permission, this will deliver LEDs and flexible lighting and a new cabling system to complement the bridge's features - such as its gothic turrets, central aerial walkway and suspension chains - in colours sensitive to its listed building status.

The lighting system will be flexible, allowing for both varying colours and intensity of light, enabling Tower Bridge to respond to special events in a unique and spectacular manner.

Currently Tower Bridge has traditional, static flood-lighting which can flatten the architecture. The use of energy efficient LED technology will reduce the energy consumption of the existing lighting system by an estimated 40 per cent on today’s usage.

The project must now obtain the necessary planning permissions but if successful, work could start by September and be completed by spring 2012, in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Commercial agreements have now been signed between all relevant parties and a detailed planning application is being drawn-up.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “I want London to look its very best in 2012 as the eyes of the world are upon us. Tower Bridge is one of this city’s most stunning landmarks, recognised the world over and therefore deserving of a star role in these year-long celebrations.

“I am thrilled to have brokered this deal – at no cost to the taxpayer - to bathe Tower Bridge in eco-friendly light to create a fresh perspective of this wonderful icon. This is another great legacy for London stretching for decades beyond the Olympic year.”

In the first step of the project, global lighting experts Citelum has been appointed to design and subject to planning approvals, begin installation works. Citelum has a worldwide reputation for ambitious lighting projects on historic buildings including the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, Petronas Tower in Kuala Lumpur and the Eiffel Tower.

Stuart Fraser, chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee of the City of London, said: “The founders of the ancient Bridge House Estates charity that pays for the five City bridges would be amazed to see how the world has changed since 1097. “But I am sure they would want London to be as smart as possible for next year and this partnership achieves that at no cost to taxpayers, a fact that will surely double everyone’s pleasure at Tower Bridge’s elegant new look.”

EDF Energy, the UK subsidiary of EDF and a leading electricity supplier in London, will also become the lighting electricity supplier for Tower Bridge and will match every unit of electricity that it supplies to Tower Bridge with power generated from low carbon sources.

Vincent de Rivaz, Chief Executive at EDF Energy, the UK subsidiary of EDF Group, said: “Following our partnership with the London Eye, EDF is delighted to be involved in this exciting project to help reduce the carbon footprint of another iconic London landmark ahead of the Games.

“As the first sustainability partner of London 2012, EDF is making real its low carbon vision for the capital. We hope that the new energy efficient lighting will make Tower Bridge a shining symbol of sustainability, encouraging visitors and residents to think about how they can live a lower carbon lifestyle.”

Mark Elborne, President and CEO of GE in the UK, said: “The spotlight is going to be firmly on London in 2012, so it is the perfect time to be able to highlight one of London’s most iconic global landmarks. We are very proud that our LEDs and equipment will be used to enhance Tower Bridge, helping to create a sustainable and flexible legacy.”

http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/national-news/122185-londons-iconic-tower-bridge-gets-eco-lighting-makeover.html

Launch date announced for mega-mall near Olympic park

Europe's biggest urban shopping mall opens in London on September 13, it was revealed today.

The £1.5billion Westfield Stratford City, next to the Olympic park, will house more than 300 shops, including a John Lewis department store and large branches of Marks & Spencer and Waitrose.

It will also have 50 cafes and restaurants, three hotels, a 14-screen cinema and Britain's biggest casino, the Australian developers announced. The opening will come nine months ahead of the 2012 Games and less than three years after sister mall Westfield London opened in Shepherd's Bush.

The 1.9million sq ft arcade, part of the new E20 postcode being created, is forecast to generate 10,000 permanent jobs. John Lewis expects to recruit about 750 staff. About three-quarters of the mall's space is already let.

Michael Gutman, managing director of Westfield UK, spoke of "an exciting year for our clients".

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23941806-launch-date-announced-for-mega-mall-near-olympic-park.do

Excitement builds over shopping centre

There are less than 150 days until Europe’s largest urban shopping centre opens to the public. Westfield Stratford City will open its doors to the public on Tuesday, September 13. More than 10,000 new jobs will be created at the new centre, which has cost £1.45billion to build.

Westfield Stratford City will be home to more than 300 brands, more than 50 places to dine, a 14-screen all digital Vue cinema, the UK’s largest casino, three hotels, a bowling alley and central events and entertainment spaces. The new development will also serve as a gateway to the Olympic Games in 2012 with more than 70 per cent of all visitors expected to pass through the centre.

Michael Gutman, managing director for Westfield UK, said the facility would be ‘fantastic’. He said: “We are working towards the opening of our East London project in 150 days, which will be a wonderful curtain raiser for the excitement nine months later at the Olympic Games.

“Following on from the successful launch of Westfield London over two years ago, we are well underway with preparations for another exciting year for our retailers and consumers in September, leading into a busy Christmas period, Easter 2012 and then into the summer Olympic Games.”

More than one million square feet of office space is also planned, with 130,000 square feet already built and ready for occupation this September. Westfield Stratford City is also set to become one of the best connected retail destinations in the UK, with £17bn being invested in public transport in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics.

- The development will contain 5,000 car parking spaces.

- Three quarters of all Stratford City’s electrical power will be met through an on-site Combined Cooling, Heat and Power Plant (CCHP).

- Four million people live within a 45-minute drive time of the development.

- Fifty-eight trains per hour connecting central London will serve the centre.

- The development is 10 per cent more energy efficient than required by Building Regulations.

- More than 50 per cent of waste generated will be recycled.

http://www.yellowad.co.uk/news.cfm?id=15043&headline=Excitement%20builds%20over%20shopping%20centre

Olympic Park Development Corporation - consultation ends 28 April

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has published, and is now seeking views on, his proposals to reform the existing Olympic Park Legacy Company as a Mayoral Development Corporation. Centred on the Olympic Park but also incorporating a large part of the surrounding area (including Hackney Wick in Hackney), this new organisation is modelled on previous agencies charged with delivering new urban development, but would be accountable for the first time directly to Londoners through the office of the Mayor of London. This would specifically mean new powers relating to infrastructure, regeneration, development and other land-related activities in the area the new body would oversee.

Hackney Council is making representation, highlighting support for this body on the grounds that it is the best approach for the continued regeneration of Hackney Wick, of ensuring convergence of opportunity locally and delivering improved transport connections such as an improved Hackney Wick station and new bridges.

Hackney's specific requirements of any new Mayoral Development Corporation however include:

* Respect the existing adopted planning policy for the area, not least the Hackney Wick Area Action Plan, adopted in 2010 and devised with a large evidence base and the significant input of local residents, businesses and others.
* Ensure accountability, inclusion and transparency of the MDC to local communities, in the spirit of the Localism Bill.
* Establish clear and defined relationships with residents and Hackney officers, especially as Hackney will have a significant freehold within this new boundary including houses, community assets such as schools and communuity centres, green space and open parkland.

Olympic Site Gateway Towers Surface

Leading architecture firms Fletcher Priest and Make have teamed up to design a twin tower project to sit on one of the gateway sites between the 2012 Olympic Park and Athletes Village.

The proposals will sit on a plot opposite buildings N01 and N07 that are currently being constructed to accommodate athletes for the 2012 Olympics showing perhaps how poorly incoherent the development of the London games and the surrounding area has been - much of the architecture set to stand literally next door will still be a building site during the time of the Olympics.

Even more ironically, the principle of the towers is to mark the edge of the Olympic campus, something visitors to the games are unlikely to benefit from, despite the original plans surfacing sometime in 2008 almost four years before the games were due to start.

Consisting largely of new housing units, 448 to be precise, these are to be largely contained within the two 32-storey buildings that will sit diagonally across the site with an L-shaped block connecting the two buildings together visually and helping it align with the neighbouring buildings more formally. This section will accommodate 22 family friendly maisonettes in it of four bedrooms, a significant percentage of the total for the scheme. In addition, the project will sit above two basement levels that will host parking for 256 cars, 497 bicycles, and 54 motorbikes.

The design of the towers features a metallic look, projecting corner balconies, recessed horizontal and vertically arranged windows, and façade overruns on the tops of the towers that will provide a seemingly random pattern that perhaps appear as a mess of wires.

The towers will rise to an approximate height of 115 metres AOD, which should translate into a rough height above ground level of 102.5 metres making them the joint second tallest buildings within Stratford City, and helping to insure that the SOM design for Plot N24 a little over 200 metres to the immediate east will not stand entirely lonely, at least one day.

http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/6915/2826olympicsitegatewayt.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=2826

The Velodrome.

by Toby Cummins on Flickr.

http://img852.imageshack.us/img852/5164/562637791120e382584db1.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/toyboxstudio/5626377911/sizes/l/in/photostream/

satellite view of progress in the Olympic Park, with videos and more pictures of what will be the headquarters of the London 2012 Olympic Games http://www.satelliteview.org/satellite/Olympic-Park-London-2012

Great stuff. :bow:

London 2012: top tips for last minute ticket buyers

There are 6.6 million tickets available for sale across 645 session, so there are plenty of tickets to go around. But the opening and closing ceremonies, the athletics finals plus any event in a small venue -- especially the track cycling, the diving, and, curiously the weight lifting -- are all expected to be considerably oversubscribed.

The best chance of securing a ticket is for a ball sport, especially football, which is expected to be very unpopular, basketball and handball, as well as the cheaper morning sessions at the athletics. The potentially expensive option is to book for far more tickets than you actually want; if you receive too many you can resell them later at face value.

The downside is that the Olympics organisers will take the money in May or June this year, and you will only be able to resell them through its official website, which won't be operational until sometime next year. The Olympics organisers have not said whether there will be a fee for this service.

The most expensive option, but the most guaranteed, is to buy through Thomas Cook as part of a hotel-and-Olympics-ticket package. You will have to pay for the accomodation as well as, in most cases, a minimum of two events.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/news/8472235/London-2012-top-tips-for-last-minute-ticket-buyers.html

--

satellite view of progress in the Olympic Park, with videos and more pictures of what will be the headquarters of the London 2012 Olympic Games http://www.satelliteview.org/satellite/Olympic-Park-London-2012
Bookmarked! Thanks for sharing the link with us. :)

Are there any new hotels being built around the Olympic Park for tourists?

satellite view of progress in the Olympic Park, with videos and more pictures of what will be the headquarters of the London 2012 Olympic Games http://www.satelliteview.org/satellite/Olympic-Park-London-2012

all the photos of the orbit on that site are taken by me :shocked:

ferge, it's okay, I won't post more in this thread. ;) :cheers2:

http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/6915/2826olympicsitegatewayt.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=2826

The top op those buildings looks like a small ";)" to the birdsnest, the last olympic stadium.

ferge, it's okay, I won't post more in this thread. ;) :cheers2:

He wasn't speaking for all of us Porto :).

He definitely wasn't speaking for me. I have no idea what ferge's real issue is, or why he imagines that your frequent posting somehow prevents other forumers from doing so, but please ignore him and continue. :)

Keep on posting Porto Nuts!

Btw, 1hrs 2min to go! for tickets!

ferge, it's okay, I won't post more in this thread. ;) :cheers2:

I'm sorry Ferge but you don't speak for me either!

Keep posting PortoNuts! :)

Come on PortoNuts, this forum has stalled since you stopped posting.

I wanna see more of whats going on...

ferge, it's okay, I won't post more in this thread. ;) :cheers2:

keep POSTING:)

portonuts keep posting dude. ferge that is a silly thing to say. porto is posting stuff from the uk forum to this keep the international forumers up to date which anything from our country being promoted on here is a good thing and we should take a bit of pride in that. and if people post anything else beside porto they will nothing is stopping them. this problem is only confined to you ferge.

I don't bother with the UK forum as Porto is the Nuts - come back please

£2m ‘RUN’ sculpture to go up outside Olympic handball arena in Hackney Wick

A new two million pound sculpture will go up outside the Olympic handball arena in Hackney Wick. Three nine metre-tall letters forming the word ‘RUN’ will be constructed on the plaza of the handball arena in the north of the Olympic Park later this year.

The permanent artwork, by Monica Bonvicini, will be made of glass and stainless steel, producing a mirror affect during the day.

At night the letters will become more transparent and glow with internal LED lighting.Planning permission has already been granted and construction will begin in the autumn.

The project’s budget is £2.1 million and it will be funded mostly by the London Development Authority and the Greater London Authority with a smaller contribution from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).

Sarah Weir, head of art and cultural strategy at the ODA, said: “We wanted to commission a new and innovative piece of public art that would animate the plaza and be fitting for both the Games and the legacy of the park.

“A number of renowned artists were shortlisted for this commission but Monica’s proposal was chosen by an independent and expert panel because it fulfilled all the ambitions for this key location within the Olympic Park. The sculpture is unique and ambitious but will be relevant and fitting - we hope it will help illuminate this part of the Olympic Park for many years to come.”

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “This ambitious programme and the calibre of art reflects the remarkable creativity of our city and particularly east London today.”

Bonvicini’s artwork, ‘She Lies’ was installed last year in Oslo‘s harbour as a permanent work that floats opposite Norway‘s national Opera House.

http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/2m_run_sculpture_to_go_up_outside_olympic_handball_arena_in_hackney_wick_1_878563

"a mirror affect"

Christ on a bike, don't let CharlieP see this story!

The renders.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/3453/run1x1800.jpg

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/7978/run2x1800.jpg

Olympic Workforce Tops 12,000

The workforce on the Olympic Park and Athletes’ Village has reached 12,635 as the ‘big build’ nears completion.

As well as the economic legacy that is being created for people and companies working on the Park and Village, thousands more people across the UK are gaining employment and training helping to deliver the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 Games.

Twenty-five per cent of the current workforce live in the five Host Boroughs – the London boroughs nearest the Olympic Park (Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Greenwich) and more than 60 pre cent live in London.

Olympic Delivery Authority Chief Executive Dennis Hone said: "The Olympic Park and Village is being delivered on track and within budget by a dedicated and hard working team in London supported by thousands more people working for sub-contractors and suppliers up and down the country.

"The site and supplier workforce have done us proud, completing construction on the Olympic Stadium and Velodrome and being on track to finish all the main venues and infrastructure this summer ready for Test Events ahead of the Games.

"Alongside the immediate economic legacy of providing work, contracts and a showcase for the work of UK plc, the ‘big build’ has supported long-term career development for people living close to the Olympic Park, previously unemployed people and apprentices."

Programmes set up to maximise the ‘big build’ employment legacy have helped more than 1,400 previously unemployed local people gain work on the Park, delivered more than 3,400 places training people for work on the Park and other construction sites and enabled 426 apprentices to work on the project.


http://www.build.co.uk/construction_news.asp?newsid=125927

Stratford Residential Towers

by wawd.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5286/5688149110_100fcd21de_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5688149110/)
P1120749 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5688149110/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5143/5688151116_c8c8b1d901_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5688151116/)
P1120751 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5688151116/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5030/5688153430_18fc9f6d90_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5688153430/)
P1120752 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5688153430/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5261/5687587261_2a059ffb3d_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5687587261/)
P1120753 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5687587261/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flickr

London 2012 Olympic venues to stage test events this summer

Spectators will get their first taste of sport in the new 2012 Olympic venues this summer at test events including beach volleyball at Horse Guards Parade and basketball in the Olympic Park, London organisers have revealed.

A comprehensive 12-month testing programme will cover 42 events across 26 venues and involving 8,000 athletes from more than 50 countries. Not all of the events will be open to the public, depending on the emphasis of the tests. A total of 150,000 tickets costing between £5 and £35 will be on sale across several events, though others such as the London–Surrey Cycle Classic to test the road race route will be free.

Tickets for the equestrian test events at Greenwich Park will be given away to local residents. Altogether, a total of 250,000 spectators are expected to see events in the so-called "London Prepares Series".

"This is a dress rehearsal for us but the public, of course, will see the rehearsal not the dress. It will look and feel quite different," London 2012's chief executive, Paul Deighton, said. "We don't expect to get everything absolutely right. If we did I wouldn't be happy because we wouldn't be stress-testing things properly. We will learn from our mistakes and make changes."

The series takes in events organised and ticketed by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog), such as the mountain biking at Hadleigh Farm for which there will be 5,000 tickets available in July, and others, such as the Badminton World Championships at Wembley Arena in August, that it will not organise but will help to staff and operate.

The test events are grouped into three "clusters". The first, in July and August this year, predominantly take place at venues away from the Park. The exceptions are the BMX and basketball events on the Olympic Park, for which spectators will be bussed in to what will still be a construction site.

Locog will build reduced versions of the temporary grandstands that will be used for the Games at the showjumping arena in Greenwich Park and the beach volleyball venue at Horse Guards Parade.

The second cluster of events, from November to January next year, will include events at the aquatics centre and the velodrome, while the third cluster in April and May 2012 will test the rest of the Olympic Park venues including the athletics stadium.

Deighton said the events would be used to test technology, security, ticketing, crowd flows and logistical considerations surrounding the individual sports themselves. Modern pentathlon, for example, has recently switched to laser shooting in place of the traditional air rifles and will need to be rigorously tested in situ at Greenwich Park.

Deighton and Locog's head of sport, Debbie Jevans, said lessons had been learned about the staging of events from Beijing and about city-wide logistics from the Vancouver Winter Games. In Vancouver in 2010, organisers came under fire for the Own the Podium programme that attempted to maximise home advantage by restricting access to rival teams.

Asked whether London organisers risked going the other way by inviting top-class athletes to compete in Games-time conditions at new 2012 venues, Jevans said: "We have worked closely with the BOA but also with international federations to allow them access. We have to be open but we also have to get ready to deliver these Games."

Deighton also confirmed that those who did not get all the tickets they applied for in the first phase of applications, which closed on 26 April, would be offered the chance to buy other tickets in July. Those who didn't apply in the first phase won't be able to do so until late this year.Tickets for the test events will be sold through Ticketmaster from 26 May.


The four ticketed London 2012 test events this summer are

Mountain bike 31 July, Hadleigh Farm, Essex

Beach volleyball 9-14 August, Horse Guards Parade

Basketball 16-21 August, Basketball Arena, Olympic Park

BMX 19-20 August, BMX Track, Olympic Park

Other London 2012 venue ticketed events include

Gymnastics (artistic, rhythmic and trampoline) 10-18 January 2012, North Greenwich Arena

Cycling (track) 17-19 February 2012, Velodrome, Olympic Park

Aquatics (diving) 20-26 February 2012, Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park

Aquatics (synchronised swimming) 18-22 April 2012, Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park

Hockey 2-6 May 2012, Hockey Centre, Olympic Park

Wheelchair tennis 2-6 May 2012, Eton Manor, Olympic Park

Water polo 3-6 May 2012, Aquatics Centre, Olympic Park

Athletics 4-7 May 2012, Olympic Stadium

Paralympic athletics 8 May 2012, Olympic Stadium

Ticketing arrangements for these events will be announced later this year.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/may/06/london-2012-venues-test-events

Time-lapse movie of construction of London 2012 Media Center

yemBm1fqI60

With a report video.

London Olympic neighbourhood names suggested

Hundreds of ideas have been put forward in a competition to name five new neighbourhoods being built on the Olympic Park after the 2012 Games.

Plastic Fantastic, Dog and Bike, Little Athens and Redgravia are among the suggestions organisers have received from the public so far.

The new neighbourhoods will have up to 8,000 new homes in total, along with schools, nurseries and health centres.

The deadline to send in suggestions is 18 May.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13336194

They are mainly being built in Stratford High Street, right along the Olympic Park.

International Broadcast Centre/ Main Press Centre

The International Broadcast Centre/Main Press Centre (IBC/ MPC) will be a 24-hour media hub for around 20,000 broadcasters, photographers and journalists – bringing the Games to an estimated four billion people worldwide.

The IBC is located in the Main Media Complex in the north-west corner of the Olympic Park, alongside the Main Press Centre (MPC) which will provide extra facilities for journalists covering the Games.

It has been designed to be as flexible as possible to accommodate a range of potential tenants and uses after the Games. During the Games the IBC will include a 12,000 sq m catering village serving 50,000 meals per day. There will also be a 200m-long High Street between the MPC and IBC featuring outlets such as banks, newsagents, travel agents and a post office. The MPC includes 29,000sq m of ‘green’ office space with four storeys of workspace for journalists and photographers during the Games. It has an innovative design that enables the building to be adapted after the Games for either a single tenant in the whole building or on each floor, as well as multiple tenants on each floor. The MPC includes state-of-the-art utilities, power and digital connectivity during and after the Games

A Media Transport Mall providing a coach drop-off, car parking, accreditation and security screening during the Games alongside the IBC will provide car parking spaces to tenants after 2012, alongside walking, cycling and public transport connections.

After the Games, the facilities will create more than 80,000sq m of business space with the potential to generate thousands of new jobs. The Olympic Park Legacy Company is currently seeking expressions of interest from potential tenants for the IBC. The Legacy Company launched this market testing process to explore opportunities for the Press Centre and Broadcast Centre after the 2012 Games. The buildings and the surrounding site are highly flexible, offering the potential for a range of uses in legacy.

Interested parties had until 26 November 2010 to submit their proposals to the Legacy Company, which is now reviewing the Expressions of Interest received.

http://www.stratfordlondon.info/developments/international-broadcast-centre-main-press-centre

stadium lights are on tonight:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2802/5707956036_34a78de832_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5707956036/)
The Orbit Construction May 2011 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/wawd/5707956036/) by wawd (http://www.flickr.com/people/wawd/), on Flick

Looking at the olympic village, they really need to pull the finger out, only got a year left.