The battle to keep Olympic “afterglow” burning

Posted: Fri, 17 Aug 2012 12:06

London 2012 legacy officials have raised concerns over the 18 month closure of the entire Olympic Park for redevelopment. Daniel Moylan, the chair of the London Legacy Development Corporation, said that whilst the infrastructure from the Games would remain, ""what we might lose is some of that Olympic afterglow, and we'd like to do everything we can to keep it"."

Only days after the Paralympic Games finish the renovation and redevelopment will begin. This will include the construction of a public plaza in the southern area of the Olympic Park. The hope is that this will be used for festivals and shows.

Mr. Moylan went on to say that "I expect the Queen Elizabeth Park to be here in one form or another to be here for at least 100 years maybe 200 hundred years. And it's not going to survive and attract visitors just on the memory of what happened at 2012. That is a good kick start but it's got to be a worthwhile and attractive place in itself that people want to come to."

One of the proposed ideas to keep up public interest in the site is for the Arcelor Mittal Orbit sculpture to be kept open. The plans would mean that you would be able to pre –book a bus to the Orbit whilst the area around it is a building site. This would give people an indication of what was going on in the park when the Games are over from the top of the 337ft structure. No indication of the ticket price was given but Mr. Moylan mentioned the possibility of boat rides up and down the canals and rivers in the park as well. However as the water level is significantly below the ground level in many points this idea might come to nothing.

Tags: London 2012, London Legacy Development Committee, Olympics, Orbit, legacy