Sonia O’Sulivan had the opportunity to visit the Olympic Stadium last week.
(Pictured with Sonia are Stephen Martin and Dermot Sherlock)
Its a short walk from the Olympic Village, and is one of a number of iconic new buildings that are part of the London Olympic Park legacy.
The Olympic Park will also host Basketball, Cycling, Hockey, Olympic Handball, Swimming and Water Polo.
Delegates who attended the Chef de Mission Seminar were given a briefing on how it wil operate from an athlete perspective during the Olympic Games.
Click here to listen to Sonia’s initial impressions of the Stadium and its close proximity to the athletics stadium.
About the Olympic Stadium
The London 2012 Olympic Stadium is the most sustainable ever built. With steel a resource in short supply, the build was made 75 per cent lighter in terms of steel use than other stadiums. It also features a low-carbon concrete, made from industrial waste and containing 40 per cent less embodied carbon than usual.
The top ring of the Stadium was built using surplus gas pipes; a visual testament to London 2012’s ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ approach to sustainability. Steel and concrete use was further reduced by designing the lower section of the stadium to sit within a bowl in the ground.
During the Games
The Olympic Stadium will be located in the south of the Olympic Park on an ‘island’ site, surrounded by waterways on three sides. Spectators will reach the venue via five bridges that link the site to the surrounding area.
The Stadium will have a capacity of 80,000 during the Games: 25,000 permanent seats in its permanent lower tier, and a temporary lightweight steel and concrete upper tier holding a further 55,000 spectators that can be removed after the Games.
Facilities for athletes within the Stadium include changing rooms, medical support facilities and an 80m warm-up track. Spectator services, refreshments and merchandise outlets will be located outside the venue on a ‘podium’ that will surround the Stadium, rather than being located within the Stadium itself.
After the Games
The Stadium is designed to be flexible enough to accommodate a number of different requirements and capacities in legacy. It will continue to be a venue for sport and athletics, as well as cultural and community events – leaving a lasting legacy.
On 11 February 2011, the Olympic Park Legacy Committee selected West Ham United of the English Premier League as the preferred bidder to assume ownership of the Stadium after the Games.
