London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Nov 24, 2025

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: The legacy London 2012 promised

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: The legacy London 2012 promised

In an Olympic history strewn with white elephants, London looks set to create a genuinely impressive physical legacy out of the 2012 Games.

What was once a heavily polluted industrial wasteland, peppered with electricity pylons and invaded by Japanese knotweed, is now a tranquil landscape of wetland, woodland and wildflower meadows.

More than a million visits were made here in the year before Covid-19.

The curved architecture of the Aquatic Centre still dominates the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park


The aquatic centre, on the edge of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, was built for the Games and for future elite competition. It is also now a community pool with few equals.

Together with the Copper Box Arena - where there's a gym and exercise studios, and a sports centre for badminton, netball and basketball - these are facilities being used mainly by local people paying typical prices for east London.

Prices are kept down by an annual subsidy of more than £2m from the taxpayer, which legacy officials say won't change when operating contracts come up for renewal.

Wild flowers and trees are seen beside the pathways within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

The former main Olympic venue area was controversially re-landscaped from an old industrial estate


Of course, the centrepiece is the London Stadium.

It costs more than £100,000 for each match West Ham United plays here - because of a deal made by Boris Johnson as mayor. A deal later branded as "poor" by independent auditors.

It means the Premier League club rents the venue at a concession, with ownership and financial responsibilities remaining in public hands.

On the other hand, the presence of an anchor tenant ensures life and vitality. It is difficult to put a price on that.

This is a physical legacy which is unfinished - after all, it's only been 10 years.

The London Stadium reflected in a bubble before the a West Ham match

Now the home of West Ham United, the London stadium has hosted a number of guest events


Cranes tower over the park, accompanied by the hum of constant drilling as a new arts, cultural and academic quarter takes shape.

East Bank is due to emerge in stages over the next few years, which officials say will bring big economic returns and jobs, skills and training.

The London College of Fashion is on track to move to a single campus here in September 2023, housing 5,000 students. Next door, the Sadler's Wells dance company is due to open its new venue shortly afterwards. The first courses at UCL's new campus start this September, when its new student accommodation will also open.

The V&A is creating a storage facility and a new museum.

The BBC, which once disappointed legacy officials by discarding plans to bring the production of EastEnders to the park, is due to build new music studios here by 2025.

Sadler's Wells, home to London's famous dance company, has built a brand new, multi-purpose venue located in the park

Sadler's Wells' new venue will form part of the East Bank development alongside the London College of Fashion, the V&A, UCL and the BBC


The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) - the mayoral agency driving regeneration - admits these developments may have squeezed out affordable housing, but the plans ensure a diverse and sustainable vision for the future.

It estimates, that through additional council tax and business rates, the park and surrounding area delivers £75m a year now. The projection is that by 2040 it will be £200m per annum.

There are also the economic benefits that do not appear on the official balance sheet.

Two Major League Baseball matches in 2019 brought in an estimated £37m through tourism.

On his recent trip to the US, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced more big baseball events, starting next year.

The 2022 Netball Quad Series was held at the Copper Box Arena

Two games of Major League baseball were played at the London Stadium in 2019


But investment comes at a price. Debts continue to rise. And last year there was a £35m gap between spending and income - a gap plugged by continuing contributions - via the mayor - from London taxpayers.

Next year the gap is expected to be about £32m, the following year £28m. As the building is completed and the new institutions open that gap should disappear.

One of the biggest legacy challenges was to find a use for the 2012 press and broadcast centres - but that is now taking shape in the form of Here East. Currently at 90% capacity, it provides jobs or studying facilities for 4,500 people.

It is the headquarters of BT Sport, and has become a hub for gaming, cyber-security and digital start-ups, as well as for social enterprises and design companies.

The LMA music and performing arts college and four universities have also opened campuses.

A 25m-tall specially-commissioned digital artwork, Aurora Arbour, was the tallest LED Christmas tree ever built in London

Sadiq Khan opened the London Blossom Garden in the park, which features 33 blossoming trees - one for each London borough - for people to "contemplate and reflect on the impact of the pandemic"


Lyn Garner, chief executive of the LLDC, said the agency's "bold vision" brought investment to the area which wouldn't otherwise have come for decades.

"Thousands of new homes have already been built with thousands more still to come - many of them affordable. Thousands of high value jobs are relocating to the area. We're working with the local boroughs and colleges to make sure young people have the skills and training to fill the vacancies."

London, she says, is now seen by cities and regeneration projects around the world as a blueprint for Olympic legacy.

But legacy is measured in decades not years. It is too early to deliver a verdict on the dividends provided by London 2012.

Nevertheless, many of those involved in the project feel what has so far emerged represents a solid foundation - and suggests a bright future.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Car Parts Leader Warns Europe Faces Heavy Job Losses in ‘Darwinian’ Auto Shake-Out
Arsenal Move Six Points Clear After Eze’s Historic Hat-Trick in Derby Rout
Wealthy New Yorkers Weigh Second Homes as the ‘Mamdani Effect’ Ripples Through Luxury Markets
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
UK Unveils Critical-Minerals Strategy to Break China Supply-Chain Grip
Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” Extends U.K. No. 1 Run to Five Weeks
UK VPN Sign-Ups Surge by Over 1,400 % as Age-Verification Law Takes Effect
Former MEP Nathan Gill Jailed for Over Ten Years After Taking Pro-Russia Bribes
Majority of UK Entrepreneurs Regard Government as ‘Anti-Business’, Survey Shows
UK’s Starmer and US President Trump Align as Geneva Talks Probe Ukraine Peace Plan
UK Prime Minister Signals Former Prince Andrew Should Testify to US Epstein Inquiry
Royal Navy Deploys HMS Severn to Shadow Russian Corvette and Tanker Off UK Coast
China’s Wedding Boom: Nightclubs, Mountains and a Demographic Reset
Fugees Founding Member Pras Michel Sentenced to 14 Years in High-Profile US Foreign Influence Case
WhatsApp’s Unexpected Rise Reshapes American Messaging Habits
United States: Judge Dressed Up as Elvis During Hearings – and Was Forced to Resign
Johnson Blasts ‘Incoherent’ Covid Inquiry Findings Amid Report’s Harsh Critique of His Government
Lord Rothermere Secures £500 Million Deal to Acquire Telegraph Titles
Maduro Tightens Security Measures as U.S. Strike Threat Intensifies
U.S. Envoys Deliver Ultimatum to Ukraine: Sign Peace Deal by Thursday or Risk Losing American Support
Zelenskyy Signals Progress Toward Ending the War: ‘One of the Hardest Moments in History’ (end of his business model?)
U.S. Issues Alert Declaring Venezuelan Airspace a Hazard Due to Escalating Security Conditions
The U.S. State Department Announces That Mass Migration Constitutes an Existential Threat to Western Civilization and Undermines the Stability of Key American Allies
Students Challenge AI-Driven Teaching at University of Staffordshire
Pikeville Medical Center Partners with UK’s Golisano Children’s Network to Expand Pediatric Care
Germany, France and UK Confirm Full Support for Ukraine in US-Backed Security Plan
UK Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods Face Rising Backlash as Pandemic Schemes Unravel
UK Records Coldest Night of Autumn as Sub-Zero Conditions Sweep the Country
UK at Risk of Losing International Doctors as Workforce Exodus Grows, Regulator Warns
ASU Launches ASU London, Extending Its Innovation Brand to the UK Education Market
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Visit China in January as Diplomatic Reset Accelerates
Google Launches Voluntary Buyouts for UK Staff Amid AI-Driven Company Realignment
UK braces for freezing snap as snow and ice warnings escalate
Majority of UK Novelists Fear AI Could Displace Their Work, Cambridge Study Finds
UK's Carrier Strike Group Achieves Full Operational Capability During NATO Drill in Mediterranean
Trump and Mamdani to Meet at the White House: “The Communist Asked”
Nvidia Again Beats Forecasts, Shares Jump in After-Hours Trading
Wintry Conditions Persist Along UK Coasts After Up to Seven Centimetres of Snow
UK Inflation Eases to 3.6 % in October, Opening Door for Rate Cut
UK Accelerates Munitions Factory Build-Out to Reinforce Warfighting Readiness
UK Consumer Optimism Plunges Ahead of November Budget
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
Caribbean Reparations Commission Seeks ‘Mutually Beneficial’ Justice from UK
EU Insists UK Must Contribute Financially for Access to Electricity Market and Broader Ties
UK to Outlaw Live-Event Ticket Resales Above Face Value
President Donald Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at White House to Seal Major Defence and Investment Deals
German Entertainment Icons Alice and Ellen Kessler Die Together at Age 89
UK Unveils Sweeping Asylum Reforms with 20-Year Settlement Wait and Conditional Status
UK Orders Twitter Hacker to Repay £4.1 Million Following 2020 High-Profile Breach
Popeyes UK Eyes Century Mark as Fried-Chicken Chain Accelerates Roll-out
×