Download an artist's impression of the temporary arena viewed from the Queen's House

Download a map showing the layout of what is happening on the Park

We know Greenwich Park is a site of unique historical, environmental and archaeological significance and that it is important to local residents and users. We will ensure the Park is returned in the condition we receive it.

Protecting the local environment

Large-scale Equestrian events often take place in parks of outstanding natural importance across the country. We are working closely with The Royal Parks, Greenwich Council, English Heritage, Natural England, statutory bodies and other organisations to agree how best to develop the venue. We have also engaged with local residents.

We are carrying out detailed studies and surveys on subjects ranging from archaeology to trees. These studies inform our Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The results will be reported in an Environmental Statement which will be submitted as part of our town planning application.

The EIA will include information on topics such as noise, air quality, ecology, cultural heritage, transport and socio-economic assessments. It will allow us to put in protective measures to prevent any long-term impact on the Park.

Our venue proposals

The main Arena will be a temporary structure seating approximately 23,000 people around a field of play measuring 80m x 100m. This will be located immediately to the south of the Queen’s House. We expect work to start in this area in April 2012.

Following consultation with local people, we have made a number of changes to our plans in order to create as little disruption as possible to the Park and the local area. These include:

• Changing the entrance to the venue to the National Maritime Museum side of Romney Road, rather than the Old Royal Naval College. The chnage means Romney Road will no longer be within the venue perimeter so the road and the Old Royal Naval College will be accessible to the public during the Games.
• Moving the training areas from the lawn to the north of the Queen’s House, which is archaeologically sensitive, to the open area of the Park, west of the main Arena.
• Moving operational areas such as the catering compound from the National Maritime Museum to Circus Field on Blackheath. This reduces access restrictions to the National Maritime Museum and Romney Road; ensures the Queen's House and Museum buildings can be presented at their best; and reduces the need for large vehicles to access the Park along Romney Road, minimising their impact on both the Park and local residents.

Full details can be found by downloading the updated 'Greenwich Park' brochure (PDF, 3.1MB)

Spectators on Cross Country day

The Cross Country event will take place on a single day and will be one of the highlights of the Games. At present the Cross Country event is planned for 31 July 2012. The course will showcase the history and significance of Greenwich to the world and promote Greenwich Park domestically and internationally.

Spectators will be able to walk around the course, stopping to watch horses pass over particular jumps - just as spectators at golf competitions follow a group of players around a course and pause to watch at particular tees and greens. We are currently assessing a total number of 75,000 spectators within the Park and Arena on Cross Country day.

Park closures

We are very aware that residents are keen to see closures to the Park kept to a minimum. For safety and security reasons we will need to restrict access to certain areas of the Park during the event set-up, competition and removal periods.

We currently anticipate a four-week period from approximately 6 July to 3 August 2012 when most of the Park will need to be closed for public access.

Following feedback from residents, the Children’s Playground and large parts of the Flower Garden will now stay open throughout the Games, apart from on the day of the Cross Country event.

We anticipate that sections of the Park will re-open after the Cross Country day of competition when jumps and other event facilities have been removed. In some areas this could be as soon as 3 August.

We are unable to make guarantees about Park closures and operational measures as we will always place the security and safety of the Park, residents, competitors, officials and spectators first. However, we want to keep disruption to an absolute minimum.