8 November 2004. London 2012 today unveiled a stunning vision and planning approach that shows what the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games would look like if the Games come to London in 2012.

The unique approach, based on a celebration of sport and the human body, outlines a spectacular Olympic Park and shows how the Games would become the catalyst for a thriving new community within the East End of London.

The inspiration for the plans are two-fold. Firstly, the stadium uses the concept of human form to visualise and celebrate the athletes that will take part in the Games. This is most apparent in the striking roof concept, which wraps itself around the stadium in a similar way that muscles support and represent the human body.

Alejandro Zaero-Pollo of Foreign Office Architects and chief designer on the project, explains: ‘We are trying to make the building communicate the idea of physical strength, sport, and movement – this is what constitutes the conceptual backbone of all the buildings. In the design of the Olympic Park itself, which is very different from any Park that has preceded it, we are not creating another Olympic Village that is just a series of nice, white, modern buildings on a flat land. We are creating something that will grow out of the specific conditions and form of the Lea Valley, making it totally unique. This will be part of the lasting legacy for the local community.’

The brand new stadium, designed specifically for athletics, is the centrepiece of London’s unique plans to create a purpose built Olympic Park, which will also house key venues including the Aquatic Centre, the Velodrome, indoor sports arenas, training facilities and the Athletes Village.

Along with London’s plans to use many of the capital’s existing world famous sporting and cultural landmarks and royal parks as Games venues, the new innovative Olympic Park has been designed around the priorities of the IOC for hosting the Olympic Games. These include security, care of athletes, scale and complexity of the Games, transport, and urban legacy.

‘Our futuristic stadium will provide the best natural conditions for the world’s athletes. There is no doubt world records will be set,’ said bid chairman, Sebastian Coe.

The co-location of the Stadium with other key sports venues, the Athletes Village and media facilities – all close to an unprecedented 10 rail lines (9 of which already exist) and just seven minutes from the city centre – makes London’s proposed Olympic Park the most compact and accessible in Olympic Games history.

‘The athletes deserve to be competing in the best facilities on the planet and we will put those in place,’ said Sebastian Coe.

‘We aim to end up with the best collection of sports facilities in Europe, maybe anywhere in the world. All in one area, in an extraordinary environment that meets the needs of local people, the wider London area and the South East but which will also be a real boost to our international sporting achievements in the decades that follow,’ added Coe.

The regeneration of the area is major focus for the London 2012 bid as Jason Prior of planning consultants EDAW and Chief planner on the project, explains: ‘At the centre of this Park will be the river Lea but not the river Lea we see today which is polluted and held between canalised walls. We are going to liberate that river into a new flood plain area. We’re going to remove all the contaminated materials and re-create the river out of the former Lea Valley area.’

Throughout the regeneration of the Lower Lea Valley area the planners will be looking far beyond the Games themselves. For example, The Olympic Village will be turned into housing with the newly built train line linking that community to central London in only seven minutes.

Sebastian Coe explains the local approach behind the London 2012 vision, ‘Locally it is very important that we’re able to leave a legacy that lasts and facilities that are used by communities for generations to come. No community should just simply be left pressing their noses up against facilities that they can’t use.’

The plans also draw support from the athletes as two Olympic gold medallists, Daley Thompson & Denise Lewis, explain. ‘From a competitor’s point of view, to be able to be in the Village and see the main stadium as well as the Olympic flame makes it so much more inspiring and real,’ said Daley.

Denise, on the future after the Games, said, ‘To have amazing facilities which these plans show will be out of this world, gives something that the kids can really look up to. That is so important for the future of sport in this country.’

For further information please contact:
London 2012 Press Office – 020 7093 5100