Olympic Park opens up to the public for first time

As part of London’s ‘Open House’ architectural festival, the ODA opened up the Olympic Park for the first time, offering the public the opportunity to see the work currently underway cleaning and clearing the site for the start of construction of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic venues and parklands next summer.

David Higgins, ODA Chief Executive, said:

“Open House has given us a fantastic opportunity to open up the Olympic Park to the public, offering them the chance to see how this area of east London is being transformed, both for 2012 and long after.

“This is a hugely challenging project – twice the size of Terminal 5 in just half of the time – and we have made a strong start. The work to clear and clean the majority of the site by Beijing 2008 is well underway and the tours over the weekend allowed people to judge the progress that is being made.

“There was an overwhelmingly positive response from the public and we look forward to doing a similar event next year.”

The tours started in the north at the old Eton Manor sports ground which is now the main offices for the site and began with an overview of the Velopark area. The public were then driven through the centre of the Park, past the main venues and the tour concluded at the Olympic Stadium site, where there they could see the demolition and archaeological work that is on-going.

Tour participants included famous faces such as Olympic Gold Medallist Daley Thompson and Paralympian Ade Adepitan.

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For further information please contact the Olympic Delivery Authority Press Office on +44 (0)203 2012 700 or visit the website at www.london2012.com.