Bird’s eye view of 2012 Olympics site taking shape

07 May 2008

2012 Olympics stadium site begins to take shape

IT LOOKS like a sea calm sea of mud, in the middle of a square mile of 'empty earth.'

The aerial photograph of what the site looks like now has just been released by the Olympics Development authority.

But the next few weeks will witness the start of its transformation into the most up-to-date world standard 'sports city' on the planet.

By 2012, this massive site becomes the London Olympics stadium, part of a huge park stretching for more than a mile along the River Lea in East London, from the Bow Bridge to Hackney Marshes, an area almost big enough to swallow the ancient square-mile City of London itself.

The process of churning mud into Britain's sporting dream began last week when the contract to design a cluster of sports venues at one end of the huge Olympics park was awarded to Stanton Williams design consultancy by the authority.

The old Eton Manor site half-a-mile north of the main stadium, disused since 2001, will be turned into a 'cluster' of centres which includes an archery range with seating for 3,000 spectators and nine tennis courts with seating for 10,500.

The 'legacy' after 2012 includes a permanent hockey centre, tennis centre and other multi-purpose sports facilities as well as the main stadium which will stage the opening and closing Olympics ceremony in four years' time.