The start of the handover of the Olympic Park has beenmarked by the London 2012 Organising Committee and the London LegacyDevelopment Corporation (LLDC)

The programme of work to transform the Olympic Park siteafter the Games is well underway. In just six weeks since the Paralympic GamesClosing Ceremony a significant proportion of the temporary overlay has alreadybeen removed from the Olympic Park.

The start of handover means that the LLDC have takenoperational control of the Olympic Park (perimeter security, access control andlogistics operations) and associated areas. The Legacy Corporation will thenbegin works to transform the Park into a new part of London, to be known asQueen Elizabeth Olympic Park, through a £292m construction project.

The Aquatics Centre, the Velodrome and the Basketball Arenahave now been handed over to LLDC, the Copper Box will be handed over inNovember and the Olympic Stadium and Press and Broadcast Centres will be handedover in December.

Meanwhile, LOCOG is also preparing to hand over the OlympicVillage to the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) so that a large-scaleretrofitting programme can begin, transforming the 2,818 apartments and housesinto East Village – a new community for London from 2013 onwards.

Seb Coe, LOCOG Chair, said: “The UK hosted aspectacular Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.  We have now begunthe first chapter of the lasting legacy we promised when we bid for the Games.We began our work straight after the Games to transform the venues, parklandsand facilities in the Olympic Park to ensure generations to come will benefitfrom a golden summer.  I congratulate my team for taking out all thetemporary structures so quickly so that the job of transformation continuesquickly.”