MARCH | COVER FEATURE
THE GOVERNMENT’S
OLYMPIC AMBITION
Winning the 2012 Olympic Games
bid in 2005 was the Government’s
biggest statement to date on the
power of major events. Access
examines what the Games did for
UK Plc and our industry, eight years
on...
With so many ‘White Elephant’
sites still lying dormant after major
events came and went, the 2012
Olympic Games was among the first
to champion legacy as part of its
initial proposition. Indeed, among
the heirlooms of the 2012 Games
was a commitment to put events
front and centre. Peter Tudor,
director of visitor services, London
Legacy Development Corporation
took Access on a tour of the
rejuvenated Park, detailing the site’s
achievements to date, and those to
look forward to.
After the phenomenal success
of Britain’s athletes in 2012, it’s
easy to forget the scepticism that
foreshadowed the Games, when
everything from the logo to the
spiralling costs were under intense
scrutiny. There were also concerns
about the long-term viability of the
Olympic Park, and how it would
serve the country after the last
competitor had left the Athletes
Village.
The beginnings of a wave of
optimism we first registered after
the spectacular inaugural event,
says Tudor: “Danny Boyle’s Opening
Ceremony burst the national
cynicism, and was a great advert
for the brilliance of the UK event
industry. For local people, the fence
had gone up for construction and
stayed up during the Olympics and
Paralympics as our athletes enjoyed
phenomenal success. But, our job
at London Legacy Development
Corporation was to handle what
happened after the fence came
down. We knew we didn’t want to
build something like Docklands
that the local people had no
connection to.”
The transformation after the
Games saw a further £272m
injected into a Games that cost
an estimated £9.3bn. The project
would involve transforming the
site’s venues for legacy use and
ensuring the Park became a vibrant,
sustainable area for Londoners. The
Legacy Corporation ran parallel
with LOCOG, inheriting the Park
after the Games. “We had Local
Authority-style powers to really
plan what happens from the start,
influencing venue designs, and
examining how you bring together
communities and new residents
while attracting international
events. For some cities finding
a meaningful legacy has been a
challenge - look at Rio (which hosted
the Games in 2016) – but thanks to
all that work before London 2012,
the Park is going from strength to
strength.”
In eight short years, Queen
Elizabeth Olympic Park has already
enjoyed ample success: The London
Aquatics Centre now welcomes
18 MONTHS
Transformation
Programme lasted 18
months from end of the
Paralympic Games to
reopening of the Park
in 2014.
4,300
4,300 new trees
planted on the Park
1 million visitors per year, the
Copper Box Arena boasts 450,000
attendees per year, Lee Valley
VeloPark gets 900,000 visitors and
the London Stadium – thanks to its
occupancy by West Ham FC – gets
1.4 million per year, with another
500k from periphery events.
Meanwhile, the Hockey and Tennis
Centre is primed for a boost when
Pro League hits the venue in May/
June this year.
“Our challenge was to have more
international and national events
coming to London,” says Tudor,
as we pass the elegant, Kubrick-
esque London Aquatics Centre.
“We have the World Diving Series
in March closely followed by the
British Swimming Championships,
but in the main the Aquatics
Centre is busy hosting swimming
lessons and it’s used as a regular
leisure centre. Indeed, the price
of admission is that of a normal
Council run pool, which is an
achievement in itself.
“At the Copper Box Arena
we’ve hosted everything from
International Netball to Call of
Duty live, and in May the Street
League Skateboarding World
Championships comes to the venue,
with skateboarding set to debut at
Tokyo’s Olympics.
“Our Park Champion volunteers,
meanwhile, continue to do all sorts
to help the area, from gardening,
and looking after visitors, to
volunteering on events, and
welcoming and guiding visitors. A
legacy from the Gamesmakers of
London 2012”
The Athletes’ Village was
another success story. It was fully
occupied after The Games, with
3,000 homes. Meanwhile the site
of the 2012 temporary basketball
arena is now a new resident plot
known as Chobham Manor, which is
almost fully built and includes 13%
affordable housing. The West Park
has taken on a similar ethos,
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