February 2012 Archives

I enjoyed a trip to the 2012 Olympic Velodrome on Friday afternoon courtesy of the good folks at Drivers Jonas Deloitte - see the photos from my colleague Debbie Ford below.

I have been covering the progress at the Olympic Park for a good while now, but this was the first time I have seen a venue being used for compeitive action. And it was brilliant.

The roar of the crowd when Great Britain were in action made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. 

It gave me a small glimpse of what to expect come the Olympics.

And that was just one 6,000-seater venue in action. Within in a matter of a couple of hundred metres you can add the 80,000-capacity main stadium, 17,500-seat aquatics centre and 12,000-seater basketball arena. The enormity of the whole thing is incredible.

Some might complain about disruption to London's infrastructure, but once the Games are underway I am certain people will get in the spirit and the atmosphere is going to be electric.

The post Olympic name games are under way.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company has launched a process to sell the naming rights for the Olympic venues after the 2012 Games.

Parties have until 2 March 2012 to register their interest, before being invited to submit a proposal to buy the naming rights for the stadium, aquatics centre and multi-use arena.

It remains to be seen how popular it will be to associate names and brands with the venues after the Games. It will be a strong indicator of how keen business is to invest in the legacy of the Olympic Park.

The OPLC is reckoning on 9.3 million visitors a year to the 500-acre park's venues from 2016.

The aquatics centre will become the country's top swimming facility with two 50m pools with moveable floors and booms, along with a diving pool and 2,500 seats which can be extended to 3,500 seats for large events.

It is anticipated to attract up to 800,000 visitations a year.

The multi-use arena, known as the copper box and hosting handball during the Games, will be the third largest indoor arena in London with 7,500 seats and will host an exciting mix of sporting, commercial and cultural events, along with community sport. It is anticipated to attract up to 400,000 visitors a year.

The stadium will be a 60,000 seat multi-purpose venue and the new national centre for athletics. It remains to be seen who will be its permanent tenant, but a decision will be taken in the next few months.

The OPLC aims to appoint naming rights sponsors in May 2012.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company today appointed BAM Nuttall to deliver crucial conversion work at the Olympic Park after this Summer's Games.

The OPLC is calling the new phase 'Clear, Connect, Complete' which will be funded out of the £292m already set aside in the Olympic budget.

BAM Nuttall has won two separate contracts to deliver £70m worth of the work in the North Park and South Park areas of the site.

The construction work is expected to take up to 18 months, although the OPLC has structured its phasing so that sections of the Park will be opened to the public from summer 2013.

It goes without saying that not everything important that is going on in East London involves bricks and mortar.

Obviously a major driver to attracting tenants to Westfield's offices, Lend Lease's International Quarter and residents to the new housing in the Olympic Park will be the first rate new facilities.

But also crucial is the cultural offering and this is being shown off through the launch of the new Stratford Rising 12 month programme of cultural and artistic events for 2012.

The launch event occurred yesterday with one of the key themes being the link between culture, the arts and regeneration in Stratford.

It should be pointed out that the cultural sector in Stratford already has an overall turnover of £9m and attracts more than 400,000 visitors to performances and shows.

But it is safe to say that the area's artistic scene will have seen a year like this one with millions of eyes focused on East London like never before

Here are few photos from the Stratford Rising launch event courtesy of Andrew Baker Photography.

From left to right - Eddie Nestor, BBC Radio London (and who started his acting career at Theatre Royal Stratford East), Cllr Richard Crawford, Stratford councillor, Moira Sinclair, London Executive Director of Arts Council England, John Burton, Director of Development for Westfield and Chair of Stratford Renaissance Partnership, Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham, Munira Mirza, Mayor of London's Advisor on Youth and Culture, and Kerry Michael, Chair of Stratford Rising and Artistic Director, Theatre Royal Stratford East.