London 2012 - Skybar and News

[spindrift]

A new entertainment quarter in east London featuring a giant dome will recreate the pleasure gardens that were at the heart of the capital’s social life for more than 200 years.

A 15-acre site at the Royal Docks in Newham is to be transformed into the London Pleasure Gardens, hosting a string of Olympic-year shows. Performers lined up include Groove Armada, Gary Numan and Baaba Maal.

There will be a 1,000-capacity dome with a 6.30am licence, sculpture garden, floating cocktail bar and dance and theatre arenas.

The park will be able to host 35,000 people in total. It will officially open on June 30 with the Paradise Gardens weekend, featuring Roots Manuva, Alabama 3 and Jerry Dammers of The Specials.

There will also be fireworks and a theatrical performance at Silo D, a restored Grade II-listed concrete grain solo, inspired by a 1917 tragedy when a TNT factory exploded.

The park will host the BLOC electronic music festival, featuring Orbital, Snoop Dogg and Gary Numan, and replace Jubilee Gardens as the venue for African concerts in the BT River of Music programme, with star names such as Hugh Masekela, Staff Benda Bilili and The Noisettes. There will also be free entertainment throughout the summer.

Pleasure gardens were a feature of city life from the mid-17th to mid-19th century and were sites of mass entertainment. They were also a popular place for romantic assignations.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/l...s-7714700.html

[bertyboy]

What the hell is that? It looks like a tacky scale model of Hong Kong harbour!

[DarJoLe]

Thanks to Ken Livingstone, London has made it to the Olympic finishing line
10 May, 2012
By Paul Finch

Paul Finch’s Letter from London: The reason we are celebrating our Olympic facilities can be summed up in two words: Ken Livingstone

The formal opening of the Olympic Stadium is a good moment to take stock of an extraordinary building in the context of the phenomenal project that is the Olympic Park. The on-time, on-budget mantra beloved of the Olympic Delivery Authority has proved to be accurate – once a sensible budget had been established.

Because the Olympic project looks as though it will defy the Cassandras who predicted massive time and cost over-runs, the moaning minnies are now complaining about traffic, defence arrangements and other tangential issues. That is the nature of grievance politics.

There are several messages that people might take from the story of the stadium, especially those embarking on other global sporting developments.

The first is that clarity of the brief and of the timelines for decision-making hugely increase your chances of success. In the case of the London bid, it began a year late because Tony Blair wouldn’t come to a decision on it and problems arose as a result. It required a massive effort to get back on programme once we had won the bid.

An obvious failure was nailing down the likely future of the stadium after the games. The planned reduction in size, brilliantly designed in by Populous and Buro Happold, has turned out to be less than ideal, because the brief has now changed in respect of legacy strategies and possible football or rugby use. There is still a question mark, despite the promises made, about the extent to which it will really be a home for British athletics and, if so, of what sort. Conversion work is now planned, which will add to the already significant cost of the project.

In short, there was none of the clarity which informed the conversion of the Manchester stadium built for the Commonwealth Games and then converted for use by Manchester City. In retrospect, this looks like planning of a very high order. One can scarcely blame the designers for the London situation, since they responded to a very precise brief. Nor did West Ham United’s owners do much to help. If they wanted the stadium they should have got their purse out, instead of assuming it would fall into their lap.

Another message, certainly for the UK government, is about the management of costs and risk on major developments. Put crudely, the reason why the Olympic project has come in on cost, leaving aside the question of materials and subcontract savings because of the recession, is that an army of construction and engineering consultants have been paid vast sums, including very substantial personal bonuses, to check the work of the people actually designing, engineering and building the project. In other words, you save money by paying twice.

As ever, the contractual arrangements around this have made the lawyers very happy. It would be an interesting exercise to strip out all the costs involved with oversight, legals and multilayered management in relation to the entire project and see exactly what was actually spent on buildings and landscape. There is probably someone in the Treasury charged with doing just this; let’s hope the work sees the light of day.

The other message is that, at a certain level, these projects are inevitably about politics as much as planning, architecture and construction. The only reason we are celebrating our marvellous Olympic facilities can be summed up in two words: Ken Livingstone, which was why he won the AJ award for his outstanding contributions to architecture three years ago.

He may not have won the mayoral election, but London owes him a debt of gratitude.

[fiddlediddle]

I'd find it VERY difficult to spit on Livingstone if he was on fire!

[jdjones]

Originally Posted by fiddlediddle

I'd find it VERY difficult to spit on Livingstone if he was on fire!

Then you are a barbarian, to allow someone to die is awful! Of course you meant is as a joke (at least I hope), but hardly a funny subject, being burnt alive.

[RobH]

"Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

Good article though, succint but agree with all of it. Livingstone, whatever people think of him, did a remarkable job to win the bid and set the preparations on the right track so that now - with just a couple of months left - everything seems pretty relaxed. The antithesis of Wembley and the Dome.

[brummad]

if you thought the remaining tickets would be crap think again, if you are able to get on the ticket site as there are some awesome tickets left for athletics!

[Sykocs]

isn't it ever so slightly annoying that i bid for athletics final ticket along with others in round one -nothing hours on-line to get tickets round 2 - got hockey , handball and swimming (brilliant) but if i had got nothing I would be getting better events and tickets if I could bid now.....

[tuten]

I got athletics!

AT011 which includes:

Men:110m Hurdles: semi-finals, final 200m: semi-finals 1500m: victory ceremony High Jump: victory ceremony Discus: victory ceremonJavelin: qualifying Decathlon: high jump, 400m Womens:100m Hurdles: victory ceremony 200m: final 400m Hurdles: final, victory ceremony 1500m: semi-finals Long jump: final

[brummad]

good work Tuten i shall give you a wave from the grey areas.

[pagey17]

Originally Posted by tuten

I got athletics!

AT011 which includes:

Men:110m Hurdles: semi-finals, final 200m: semi-finals 1500m: victory ceremony High Jump: victory ceremony Discus: victory ceremonJavelin: qualifying Decathlon: high jump, 400m Womens:100m Hurdles: victory ceremony 200m: final 400m Hurdles: final, victory ceremony 1500m: semi-finals Long jump: final

Long jump final should be awesome.

[eddyk]

I am going to see...

Category C Ticket.

Men's 4 x 400m Relay Victory Ceremony
Women's High Jump Final
Men's Pole Vault Victory Ceremony
Men's Javelin Throw Final
Men's 5000m Final
Women's Hammer Throw Victory Ceremony
Women's 800m Final
Men's 50km Walk Victory Ceremony
Women's 4 x 400m Relay Final
Men's 5000m Victory Ceremony
Women's 20km Walk Victory Ceremony
Men's 4 x 100m Relay Final
Women's 800m Victory Ceremony
Women's 4 x 400m Relay Victory Ceremony
Men's Javelin Throw Victory Ceremony
Men's 4 x 100m Relay Victory Ceremony
Women's High Jump Victory Ceremony


I was on my phone at work selecting and buying the tickets. It was nerve-racking watching that little time count down as I fiddled with the keys. And then I forgot my VISA security code and had to fill it a lot more info with the clock still counting down.

Tomorrow I shall buy train tickets.


My Paralympic Athletics ticket.

Men's 100m, T36: round 1
Men's 100m, T52: round 1
Men's 100m, T54: semi-finals
Men's 200m, T46: semi-finals
Men's 400m, T13: round 1
Men's 400m, T38: round 1
Men's 400m, T53: round 1
Men's 1500m, T11: semi-finals
Men's Discus, F42: final, victory ceremony
Women's 100m, T12: semi-finals
Women's 100m, T37: round 1
Women's 100m, T44: final, victory ceremony
Women's 200m, T11: semi-finals
Women's 200m, T46: victory ceremony
Women's 1500m, T12: round 1
Women's 5000m, T54: final, victory ceremony
Women's Long Jump, F42/44: final, victory ceremony
Women's Javelin, F12/13: final, victory ceremony
Women's Shot Put, F35/36: final, victory ceremony

[tuten]

bitch stole my thunder.

[brummad]

I get to see over the 10 days of comp every race before the one that I am working on. So I need to make sure I do all the ones after the big finals lol must remember not to react at all whilst on field of play ha ha look for me on the grey bits (it will make sense on the day)

[jdjones]

Originally Posted by brummad

I get to see over the 10 days of comp every race before the one that I am working on. So I need to make sure I do all the ones after the big finals lol must remember not to react at all whilst on field of play ha ha look for me on the grey bits (it will make sense on the day)

Are you going to be one of the ladies presenting the medals? I'll wave to you from my BMW!

[tuten]

Originally Posted by brummad

I get to see over the 10 days of comp every race before the one that I am working on. So I need to make sure I do all the ones after the big finals lol must remember not to react at all whilst on field of play ha ha look for me on the grey bits (it will make sense on the day)

I thought you were doing the ceremonies? Can you do that and be a volunteer?

[eddyk]

Originally Posted by tuten

bitch stole my thunder.

You got the 200m Mens final in your list?

That's ace as well.



Seeing Usain Bolt run at the Olympics will be amazing... after my devastation of being unsuccessful last year. I am over the moon.

I didn't even know if I would be able to buy them on mobile browser. I had my selection ready to go.... as soon as it hit 11am I hit purchase.

[jdjones]

Originally Posted by tuten

I thought you were doing the ceremonies? Can you do that and be a volunteer?

Depends on your volunteer role, mine for example means I have to be available from a week before the opening ceremony to a few days after the closing ceremony, meaning I'll be doing volunteering on the ceremony days and could not apply to be in the ceremonies. If your volunteer role is on days other than the ceremonies I can't see how they would stop you, I don't think the people in charge of games makers are the same as opening ceremony organisers, I could be wrong though.

[tuten]

Originally Posted by eddyk

You got the 200m Mens final in your list?

That's ace as well.

Seeing Usain Bolt run at the Olympics will be amazing... after my devastation of being unsuccessful last year. I am over the moon.

I didn't even know if I would be able to buy them on mobile browser. I had my selection ready to go.... as soon as it hit 11am I hit purchase.

The men's 200m is a semi final, so a 50/50 chance of bolt! I'm chuffed as well, seriously didn't think that I'd have a chance of getting athletics tickets this late, been bragging to everyone all day!

I did have to spend £150 though, at least the seats will be in a fairly good position (hopefully)

[eddyk]

Ha, I've been telling everyone as well.

I knew I was already visiting the Olympic Stadium at the Paralympics, so I was wondering whether I should go for Swimming or Cycling tickets instead so I could pay a visit to somewhere else in the park.


Train tickets tomorrow.