It was simply called The Olympic Park during the Games but was later renamed to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II[4] (though it is not an official Royal Park of London).[5] The park occupies an area straddling four east London boroughs; Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest. Part of the park reopened in July 2013,[6] while a large majority of the rest (including the Aquatics Centre, Velopark and Orbit observation tower) reopened in April 2014.[7]
The Royal Mail gave the park and Stratford City the postcode E20, which had previously only appeared in the television soap operaEastEnders for the fictional suburb of Walford.[9]
On 2 August 2011, it was announced the five neighbourhoods of housing and amenities (anti-clockwise from north-east) are:
These names have relevant history in the area.[10] All four of the East London boroughs covering the park as such have a neighbourhood except for Waltham Forest.
History
Design
The park was designed by the EDAW Consortium (including EDAW, Allies and Morrison and Buro Happold), working with Arup and WS Atkins. Detailed landscape architecture was by LDA Design in conjunction with Hargreaves Associates. LDA design contracted Wallace Whittle to carry out various aspects of the M+E Building services design. The NHBC carried out the Sustainability assessments. The park was illuminated with a lighting scheme[11] designed by Speirs + Major.[12]
The Legacy List is the independent charity for Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, set up in 2011 to support the legacy of the Games. Their mission is to make creative connections between people and the Park by developing, commissioning and supporting high quality art, education and skill building initiatives, to engage, educate and inspire current and future generations.[14]
Construction
During its construction over 80,000 workers were engaged on the project.[15] The construction of the Olympic Park was managed by CLM Delivery Partner, comprising CH2M Hill, Laing O'Rourke and Mace. CLM specifically managed the "white" space between the venue construction zones, including managing the internal road network. To enable the major phase of construction to begin, the 52 electricity pylons, up to 65 metres (213 feet) high, that dominated the landscape in and around the park were removed and the power transferred through the new Lower Lea Valley Cable Tunnels constructed by Murphy. Also there was a Roman village underground when they were digging it up [16] Following site clearance, the soil across the Park site was cleaned down to a human health layer, by soil washing.[citation needed]
One of the largest urban parks created in Western Europe for more than 150 years, designed to enrich and preserve the local environment, by restoring wetland habitats and planting native species of plants.[20]
The ArcelorMittal Orbit, a steel tower which is the largest public work of art in the UK and a tourist attraction.[22]
In 2012, it was announced that the UK's main Olympic Museum would be opened at the park in 2014 next to the ArcelorMittal Orbit.[23] The plans were shelved in July 2013.[24]
V&A East and UAL building construction in April 2023
As of January 2021, several arts and creativity institutions are constructing outposts at the park as part of a £1.1billion[26][27] development,[28][29] including:
Stratford Cross will include 4 million sq ft of commercial office space,[36] 330 homes known as Glasshouse Gardens and a new hotel.[37] The area is accessible via Stratford station.
Subsequent international sporting events
Although the sporting venues in the park were reduced in scale after the conclusion of London 2012, part of the legacy is to ensure the continued use of those facilities that are permanent, as local and community resources and for major international sporting events that make use of the world class facilities constructed for the Olympics and Paralympics:
In 2010, a bid was submitted to use the Stadium as the venue for the 2015 World Athletics Championships. Due to the then uncertainty over the future use of the stadium, this bid was withdrawn, with instead a subsequent bid for the 2017 World Championships submitted instead. The success of this bid was announced on 13 November 2011.[40]
London was announced as the only formal bidder for the 2017 World Paralympic Championships in October 2012.[42]
In December 2012 the International Tennis Federation announced that the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre would host the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters between 2014 and 2016.[43]
In addition to the use of the venues for international events, some of them are intended for use on a regular basis by amateur and professional sports teams in various sports.
On 11 February 2011, West Ham United were selected as preferred bidders, ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, to take over the Olympic Stadium as a football venue after the end of the games. However, five days later Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn announced that he would be challenging the decision to allow West Ham to relocate to the stadium, as he believed that having West Ham playing within one mile (1.6 kilometres) of their Brisbane Road stadium could cost Orient support and even their existence.[47] Incidentally, Hearn had expressed interest some years earlier in moving Orient to Olympic Park and reducing its capacity to 25,000 seats,[48] while West Ham would cut the capacity to 60,000 if their relocation went ahead.[49]Tottenham Hotspur also pursued legal action over the decision and eventually the deal with West Ham collapsed due to legal pressure on 11 October 2011. West Ham did go on to win the later tenancy bid and began using the stadium from the start of the 2016–17 football season as the main tenant.[50]
In 2021, ABBA began construction of a purpose-built arena in the Olympic Park, called the ABBA Arena, for a motion-capture hologram concert residency which would take place from May 2022. The announcement of the arena's construction and purpose took place during a YouTube livestream to announce the release of their album Voyage.[58]
Pudding Mill Lane DLR station is another DLR station just south of the park. It was rebuilt in 2014 after the Olympics; the previous station was so small that it was closed during the Olympics for safety reasons. DLR trains serve the station from Stratford, Lewisham, Greenwich and Canary Wharf.
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