London & Partners

Staging the
Games
With the eyes of the
world on London this
summer, we take a
look at the state-ofthe-art
venues that
form the backdrop
to the greatest
show on earth.
By Thomas Cooper
Like its magnificent predecessors
built for so many glorious sporting
summers of the past, London’s
award-winning Olympic Stadium
will be at the heart of the London
2012 Paralympic Games. The
Olympic Park’s status as the
focal point of the Games is only
26
heightened further by the
surrounding waterways,
which give it the feel of a standalone
island. The traditional Opening
Ceremony (p. 9) will officially
commence proceedings on
29 Aug before the great, the good
and the hopeful of the track and field
world begin their quest for gold on
31 Aug. The 80,000-capacity arena
will play host to nine days and 15
sessions of competition. The women’s
and men’s 100m finals come on the
2 and 3 Sep respectively, with the
curtain-closing relay race finals (4-5
Sep) bringing the sprint tournament
to a thrilling climax. On 9 Sep, the
stadium will enjoy global attention for
the dazzling Closing Ceremony (p. 9),
which signals the beginning of the
countdown to the 2016 Olympic
and Paralympic Games in Rio De
Janeiro, Brazil.
| visitlondon.com|LONDON PLANNER|London 2012 Issue August/September
Quite possibly the most
spectacular venue in the Olympic
Park is the Aquatics Centre. Its
eye-catching wave-like roof reaches
160m long and nearly 80m wide
and was designed by renowned
Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The
centre’s 50m competition pool and
25m competition diving pool will host
swimming in the shape of freestyle,
breaststroke, butterfly, backstroke and
medleys. With daily competition from
30 Aug-8 Sep it will be one of the
2012 Games’ busiest venues.
The Copper Box is the home of
goalball from 30 Aug until 7 Sep
(the exhilarating sport which utilises
a sound-enhanced ball during play).
The venue is literally named after the
3,000m² of mostly recycled, external
copper cladding that covers it. The
exterior has been designed with the
purpose of giving the venue
PARALYMPIC FACT: The Paralympics began as the UK’s Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948
IMAGES © LONDON 2012/LOCOG; EXCEPT AQUATICS CENTRE IMAGE © STEVE BATES/ODA